Windows 7 movie maker, has black screen but has audio

Anonymous
2013-04-16T05:33:22+00:00

I have windows 7 movie maker and the preview screen is black, I can here audio but can't see anything. How do I fix this?

Windows for home | Other | Music, photos, and video

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous
2013-04-16T16:20:01+00:00

The most common causes of black video (only audio) are:

  1. Not having the correct video codec to decode the video file.  This can happen with certain file types. While it might be possible to remedy this by figuring out what exact codec the file needs and then getting that installed on your system, this can be fraught with peril.  My recommendation in these cases is to convert the source video file to a supported file type (preferably .wmv).  I've used Freemake Video Converter for this task, but feel free to research your options.
  2. Having an outdated video graphics driver.  The solution for this is to run dxdiag and go to the Display tab.  Find out the make/model of your graphics card along with the installed driver version.  Then go to the manufacturer's website and find and install an update.  Alternatively, you may have to go to your PC manufacturer's website to get a graphics driver update, if they prevent you from installing driver updates directly.

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-08-30T13:37:33+00:00

    Hi buffy04,

    Thanks for participating here. I understand that you are having the same issue. I would like to clarify if you have tried updating your video driver. If not, please try using the steps provided on this thread. In case you already tried and still experiencing the same issue, I would like to request log files of your Movie Maker for investigation. For the instructions, kindly refer to my private message. You need to sign in to Microsoft Community to see Private Messages button in line with All Replies.

    Regards,

    Richard

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-08-30T12:15:37+00:00

    Eric did you find how to fix it?  cause I can't fix it and this make me really nervous.  I tried everything and nothing seems to work ...

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-08-30T12:12:26+00:00

    Did someone found out how to fix it? because I still have the same problem .. black preview and when I downloaded the new Movie Maker it's even worst !  Also I read on some other forum that Movie Maker don't support MP4 .. are you kidding? everyone is using MP4 today .. and btw screen is black even with .MPG  and .AVI ..

    I never had such a problem with Window 98 - XP - Vista .. I only have this problem with Window 7 .. so I'm pretty sure it's a Microsoft problem ... doesn't make sense so many ppl have the same problem and seems like Microsoft don't really care!

    I'm really upset!  This means I will have to go to my old Vista computer and edit video with it .. Really this make no sense at all.

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-08-01T08:17:41+00:00

    You know what, guys??? This is a bunch of B.S.

    This is Microsoft not us... I don't think you really know WHAT the problem is!

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