Windows Movie Maker Error- Not enough memory

Anonymous
2013-01-20T07:29:26+00:00

Whenever I try to save one of my movies a little bit into the save process it stops and says I do not have enough memory try again with a lower resolution. I've tried every resolution and bit rate and it still doesnt work. I am almost positive its not my computer hardware. I have a 3rd Gen i7 (1.9GHz), 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD (90 GB Free), and Intel HD 4000 Graphics. The movie when saved should be no more than 200 MB so i don't know what the problem is. If I can use a full Autodesk/AutoCAD suite to make parts and do 3D renderings, im sure my computer should be able to handle a slideshow of stills.

Original title: Windows Movie Maker Error- Not enough disk space

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
2014-10-20T20:10:27+00:00

Error:

Movie Maker

There isn’t enough memory available to save this file. Try saving it at a lower resolution.

I am using Movie Maker 2012 with Windows 7 Professional on an HP Pavilion dv6 notebook with 4 gigs of memory and an Intel Q720 processor at 1.6 Ghz.

My videos are .MOV files from a Canon PowerShot SX260 HS camera.

This error has occurred several times on several projects. The projects are saved and the error is replicable each time I tried to save the move in High Resolution (HD: 1920x1080). The error occurs at the same percentage on the progress bar, upon replication of the problem. Increasing the size of the Windows swap file makes no difference. While the movie is being rendered (before the error occurs) Task Manager shows CPU use at 80%+ and the memory use increases nearly linearly with time until 4 gigs are used. Then the memory use stays at 4 gigs, the CPU drops to near 0, and after a few minutes the error appears. The movies can be saved successfully at “Computer” resolution (854x480) and the memory use never went above 1.55 GB.

I can repeat the error with a single .MOV video of length 47 seconds. I saved the project with just this single video. The error is replicable with this long video at 26% complete. I then split that video, without shortening the total video, using the Split edit command. The movie can now be saved. To clarify, I did not shorten or edit the video, except to add a split at the 21 second point.  The movie renders successfully from this split video, and the memory use never went above 1.55 GB.

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-12-02T14:46:26+00:00

    Hi DP2357,

    For this concern, I would suggest that you refer to the link below which will redirect you to a similar thread and read the post made by skier-hughes.

    Not enough memory, save at lower resolution

    Now, we would like you to:

    1. Ensure that you have the latest version for Windows Movie Maker. You can download the latest version here.

    2. Check that the files you are using are of a supported format – Some file formats are not supported by Movie Maker. A list of supported formats can be found here.

    3. Ensure that you have the proper codecs to play your videos and audio files. Audio and Video require codecs to play the file and it’s important to have the right codecs installed or updated in your PC.

    · Try running the Microsoft Fix It tool for codecs.

    · Media info will be able to identify the codec required for your audio and video files, and will provide a link to the website for the required codec. You can get It here.

    Note*: If you can't find the codec you need you may convert the video to a supported format (eg. wmv) and then add it to your Movie Maker project.*

    4. Ensure that your video card drivers are up to date. Movie Maker makes extensive use of the video card GPU (graphics processing unit). The display driver affects the reliability, performance, and compatibility of the video card with various software.

    To determine the version and video card driver date, run the DirectX Diagnostic Tool (dxdiag):

    a. Click on Start button and type dxdiag in the Search programs and files box and press Enter key on the keyboard.

    b. Click on the Display tab and you will see the driver details including the driver version.

    c. If your video card driver seems outdated please go to the video card driver manufacturer and see if a newer version is available.

    Thanks!

    I have to agree with the folks saying this is an issue with Movie Maker.  I had the same problem when attempting to render at 1080 P.  Eventually, I saved the video at 720 P (zune setting), and no other changes.  I use an Intel Quad Core I5 6400 with 8 gigs of ram.  My memory was sufficient, but processor ran at 97% - 100%.  It has no trouble with file types, locations, video lengths within the movie, or transitions, all of which were suggested on the web.  It just couldn't handle 1080 P.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-03-02T07:36:18+00:00

    As far as I can tell, Microsoft has no plans to go forward with any updates to Movie Maker. You can probably guess from the name of the program (Windows Essentials 2012) which contains Movie Maker 2012, that the last update was made in 2012.

    When they released Windows 10, they didn't even bother to include Windows Essentials in the install, so I'm guessing that Microsoft is just hoping that they can ignore it.

    That being said, it does work on smaller projects as long as your file types are supported file types and you aren't using too many pictures. If you find that Movie Maker is overwhelmed, then make your project smaller until you are able to save the movie. Convert problem files to .wmv (for video) or .wma/.wav (for audio).

    Good luck. I wish I could tell you more. I'm just a fellow user who has used Movie Maker from the XP days, but is finding that I have to look to other options than Microsoft for video editing going forward.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-03-02T06:12:30+00:00

    Sooo, three years in to this thread (and I just installed a Microsoft essentials update TODAY, March 2, 2016), and no real response?  I'm just using a single video file and a single audio file, so it's not just a slideshow bug.  Same error as everyone else -- not enough memory, entirely repeatable.

    If you are not going to look into this can you at least say that you aren't going to support Movie Maker or something and close the thread?

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