Table of Contents:
- Why is My Windows Movie Maker showing a black screen?
- What to do when I face Windows Movie Maker black screen issue?
- How to Fix Black Screen in Windows Movie Maker?
- Set Audio Level in Windows Movie Maker
- Block Unnecessary Tasks
- Restart Windows Movie Maker
- Update Drivers
- Tune Windows Movie Maker
Why is My Windows Movie Maker showing a black screen?
Sometimes, Windows Movie Maker shows a black screen with only audio output during the playback. Incompatibility is the main reason for a black screen in Windows Movie Maker. And, this incompatibility issue might be the result of installed codecs or software that are not compatible with the Windows Movie Maker program.
Even though Windows Movie Maker video black screen is a small problem, it affects the user experience if it is not sorted out in the right way.
What to do when I face Windows Movie Maker black screen issue?
When the audio is muted in Windows Movie Maker, it will lead to a black screen. If the user is facing no sound problem along with the black screen issue in Windows Movie Maker, then try unmuting the audio; this may help to solve the problem.
In special cases, the computer screen may also result in WMM black display, if it is faulty (due to issues with a computer screen). At those times, the user will see a black screen, even if the Movie Maker is functioning fine. So, ensure that your computer screen is not having an issue.
There are various troubleshooting techniques to fix the black screen problem in Windows Movie Maker. And, few methods are described here based on the percentage of their outcome. So, try each fix until the black screen problem in WMM gets solved.
Set Audio Level in Windows Movie Maker:
As said earlier, muting the audio in Windows Movie Maker may give the black screen. As a solution, try to get rid of the mute settings of WMM. To do that,
- Select Timeline from the Windows Movie Maker menu
- Expand both audio and video
- Right-click and opt for Mute.
You can also try to set the sound level of all the clips to zero for solving the black screen problem.
Block Unnecessary Tasks:
Why several tasks should be running on a computer when the user is using only one? It not only degrades your current application’s performance but also leads to several other issues.
So, it is advised to close all unnecessary programs when working with Movie Maker to fix the black screen error.
Restart Windows Movie Maker:
Closing the WMM completely and restarting it from the scratch is a good way to tackle the Windows Movie Maker black screen error. This helps to find out whether any virus is causing the black screen to show up. So, you can scan the WMM program to remove all the spyware.
Update Drivers:
Windows Movie Maker needs the updated drivers to function properly. So, the easiest way to fix WMM black screen problem is by updating video card drivers.
And, here are the steps to update drivers.
- From the Start menu open Control Panel.
- Select Device Manager and open it.
- Find the Display adapters option and expand it.
- Right-click on the driver’s name.
- Choose Update Driver Software
- Next, opt Search automatically for updated driver software
- Now Windows will look for the latest driver software. If any new updates are found, it automatically downloads and installs them
- Finally, restart the computer.
Sometimes, the computer shows a message that states, “The best driver software for your device is already installed or it is up to date” when you try to update drivers. If so, then check your internet connection and try again.
Tune Windows Movie Maker:
Ensure that you have the latest version of Windows Movie Maker. If not, then update your WMM. If nothing works, then try reinstalling Movie Maker.
Also Read: Fix Second Monitor Not Detected on Windows 10
Not able to Fix the Issue in Windows Movie Maker!!
Still, if you are not able to fix the issue then it might be because of the corruption in your video. In that case, you need to use video repair software like Remo Video Repair Software to repair the corrupted File.
Remo Video Repair tool repairs the corrupted video file irrespective of the scenario.
- Download Now For Windows
Conclusion
Hope this article helped you in fixing the issue in Windows movie maker, If you have any questions please do mention them in the comment section.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Why is the video in Movie Maker black?
During playback, Windows Movie Maker occasionally displays a black screen with only audio output. The primary cause of a black screen in Windows Movie Maker is incompatibility. Additionally, this incompatibility issue could be caused by installed codecs or software that are incompatible with the Windows Movie Maker application.
Why can’t Windows Movie Maker display my video?
Your pictures and videos won’t display if your graphic drivers are broken or incompatible with Windows 10. Windows Movie Maker will also be unable to display your videos or play the sound if your video and audio codecs; which are used to decode your video and audio formats; are damaged or missing.
What should I do if Movie Maker no longer works?
a. Close all other programs, while you’re trying to fix Windows Movie Maker.
b. Update your graphics card driver.
c. Turn off any third-party video file filters.
d. Use third-party video editing tools as a replacement for Windows Movie Maker.
e. Try and launch Windows Movie Maker in compatibility mode.
f. Reinstall the Windows Live Essentials Suite.
g. Install Codecs again.
About the Author: John Harris
With a decade of experience in data recovery, John Harris, Senior Editor at Remo Software, is your go-to specialist. His focus includes partition management, Windows solutions, and data troubleshooting, delivering insightful content that serves both users and search engines. John’s expertise shines through in illuminating blog posts, untangling data loss intricacies across diverse storage platforms.…
If you’re looking to create or edit your video, then Windows Movie Maker is undoubtedly the best video editor ever which is free and easy to use. You can do all basic editing like adding captions, title, credit and screen effects. It can also merge multiple videos into one and you can add a background music of your choice.
Wrapping up all these points, Movie Maker is so far the best video editor which is free and good thing is, it doesn’t add copyright watermark to your edited videos.
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In earlier versions on Windows, Movie Maker was pre-installed but in new versions you’ve to download it from Internet and that too it comes under Windows Essentials pack. Few days back, I also installed it with lots of excitement but all my joy become sorrow when I created my first video. It’s showing black screen only with working audio sound. After this, I searched this problem on Google and found number of threads on Microsoft official forum. Unfortunately, nothing worked for me. After few hours of research, I finally managed to solve the issue.
If you’re facing this same problem, then you’re at right place and this tutorial is definitely going to troubleshoot your problem. Before moving to the solution, first let’s see what is the main problem.
What & where is the main problem?
After installing the Movie Maker for the first time, I created a new project in which I added two videos and edited them with title, captions, credit and simple background music. When I played it in preview window, the video was working fine. It was playing both videos with music and all edits. As I saved it, it only plays audio and there is a black screen. There is no video thumbnail as well. I also changed the format of video and played it in different media players but nothing worked.
So the main problem is that the saved videos are showing black screen only with working audio sound. This problem should not be confused with another black screen problem of Movie Maker. In that, video isn’t playing in preview window as well but here it was playing the preview properly.
How to fix this problem by updating drivers?
Windows Movie Maker needs up to date drivers in order to work properly. The easiest way to fix this black screen problem is by updating your video card drivers (also know as graphics drivers). Either you can install them manually or you can download them online. Here’s a step by step instructions to update them — (For this tutorial, I am using Windows 7 screenshots)
- First of all, click on start menu button and open Control Panel.
- Change the view by mode to «Large Icons«.
- Now find «Device Manager» option and open it.
- A new window will open. Here find «Display adapters» option and click the arrow icon left to it.
- Now right-click on your driver name and then click «Update Driver Software» option.
- After this, click «Search automatically for updated driver software» button. You can also install them manually with second option.
Now Windows will search your computer and the Internet for the latest driver software. If any new updates were found, it will download and install them automatically. This process will take few minutes.
Finally restart your computer and try to create a new video in Movie Maker (Make very simple edits). This time, it should work (Don’t forget to thank me in comments).
Many people have complained that their computer is showing a message as stated below —
The best driver software for your device is already installed or it is up to date.
If this was your problem, please check your Internet connection and try again. To update these drivers, your computer must be connected to Internet. Try to open Google in your primary browser. If Internet is working, then definitely you’ll not find such errors.
Same thing happened with me. When I tried it first time, my laptop isn’t connected to Internet and due to this reason, it shows me a message that driver software is already up to date. Then I tried it another time when I was online and hopefully it worked.
If the problem persists, please install the driver software manually by downloading it from manufacturer’s website. You can find your current driver information by running a dxdiag tool.
Alternative solutions
If above trick doesn’t worked, you can give a last try to these alternative solutions.
- Make sure the you’ve latest version of Windows Movie Maker. If not, then update it or download the latest version from Microsoft official website. For further assistance, you can read this guide on how to install Windows Movie Maker in Windows 10 PC.
- Movie Maker doesn’t support all format videos. The basic formats that it supports are mp4, mpeg series and wmv. If you’re trying to edit any other format video, then it may not work. You can check the complete list of supported formats by Movie Maker from here. If the format you’re trying to edit isn’t in the list, convert the video to wmv format and then try again. There are tons of video converters available. For example, you can try Freemake Movie Maker. It deals with all basic video editing tasks, plus this is a good video conversion software.
- Don’t edit long or HD videos. If you’re doing the same, first try to edit a short video of 2-3 minutes only.
- Last but not least, you can create a new thread in Microsoft forum and ask the experts to review your system information. Though you can also ask me but I am not a Movie Maker expert. Moreover, the problem may be different for different users, so I can’t figure out the proper solution for an individual. It’s better to send all your system information to the experts and after reviewing it, they can tell you the correct source of problem.
In this tutorial, I had covered common solutions only which may or may not work for all people. Just give them a try and hopefully It should work. You can also ask your individual problems in below comment box. If you know any other way to solve this Movie Maker black screen issue, please share it with other people.
Windows Movie Maker is the best video editing tool if anybody wants to edit or create their own videos. Many Video production houses are using it successfully to produce high definition videos for commercial use. Windows Movie Maker provides all the basic editing features such as adding title, captions, visual transition effects and video credits to any desired video. In addition, it also provides the ability to merge any number of videos into one or to separate any desired portion of the video. In the audio section, it provides all basic audio editing tools, from changing the background music to adding any custom music to the video. In simple words, Windows Movie Maker is all in one package for all your video editing needs at the cost of FREE. You never have to worry about the watermark restrictions in the free version of other third party video editing tools. Windows Movie Maker is completely free at the moment and will remain 100% free forever. Continue the readings if you are facing Black Screen Problem in Windows Movie Maker.
In previous versions of the Microsoft Windows, the Movie maker is bundled within the operating system files, and is available by default. In the latest versions of the Microsoft Windows, the user has to install it manually by downloading the Windows Essentials pack from the Microsoft Website. Few days back, when we decided to start using the Windows Movie Maker for our video editing needs, we had gone to the Windows Movie Maker official download page to download the Windows Essentials pack and was successful to put into our system. We were very eager and excited to see the end product results of the Windows Movie Maker. Sadly 🙁 , we have ended with a very annoying problem, which we will discuss and share the solution for the same with the internet community. Everything worked fine for us, just in the end product (video saved after editing), there was a black screen instead of the visuals, with perfect working audio. We thought this maybe any small problem and performed a quick research to get the solution for this Black Screen Problem in Windows Movie Maker. We found many useful links for the specific problem including Microsoft Official forum, implemented all the solution but nothing worked for us. Later, by the research and development of our team, we found a working solution for this Black Screen Problem in Windows Movie Maker.
This Black Screen Problem in Windows Movie Maker is a very common problem, we guess many people are finding themselves under the same circumstances which we found earlier. To help the related community, Today we are here to discuss all aspects and solutions for this Black Screen Problem in Windows Movie Maker. First of all, let’s discuss the root of the problem if movie maker doesn’t show video.
Where, Why & What is this Black Screen Problem in Windows Movie Maker ?
Earlier, when we faced this black screen problem, We just created a new project by adding three different videos from our local hard drive. After adding the videos to the new project, we had merged all of them to one, applied some captions, video credits at the end and simple background music to the whole merged video. The end result (video & audio) was showing perfectly in the preview windows of the Windows Movie Maker. Only when we tried to save the end product, this black screen problem came into existence. We found, a complete black screen instead of the visuals, audio was perfect with no video thumbnail. We tried to save the end product in various video formats and tried all the known video players but nothing worked for us. This actually has indicated us that there is some problem with the created video itself. The only thing confusing us was, why the edited video working fine in the preview windows of the Windows Movie Maker.
Black Screen Problem in Windows Movie Maker can be further divided into two parts.
- If the edited video is working fine in the preview window of the Windows Movie Maker, showing the black screen after saving it.
- If the edited video isn’t working in the preview window of the Windows Movie Maker as well as after saving it to any desired format.
Don’t worry if you are facing any of the above Window Movie Maker problem, below is the complete solution for the same and will work in both the cases.
How to Fix Windows Movie Maker black screen problem by updating the graphics drivers?
In the process of finding the solution for this black screen problem, one of our team member has diverted our attention to the validity of our graphic drivers (also know as video card drivers) in the system. We has taken that seriously, updated our graphic drivers and the problem has gone completely. Actually, average drivers can work for majority of the visual activities, up to date graphic drivers is a must to run or edit video using the Windows Movie Maker. If you are an advanced system user, you can install them manually. If not, you can download them from the system manufacturer’s website and follow the simple installation instructions to update them. Below are the complete steps about installing graphic driver on a Win 7 computer system.
Complete Steps to update video / graphic drivers in computer system.
1)- Begin with the start menu and get inside the control panel.
2)- In the control panel window, at upper right – select “large icons” from view by section.
3)- Now, look for the Device Manager, click to open it.
4)- In the device manager window, expand the “Display Adapters” menu by clicking the arrow sign in the left.
5)- Now select the display adapter, right click to it and select & click “Update Driver Software”.
6)- Now, click the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option. Advance system users can also perform this task by clicking the second option – “Browse my computer for driver software”.
Now the windows will search your local drive and the internet for the best / latest driver software for the video / display adaptor. If the windows process find any better display driver it will update it automatically. Please do have some patience, this process can consume few minutes. Once the Windows complete this driver update process, it will ask you to restart the computer system.
Congo !, You have successfully solved the Black Screen Problem in Windows Movie Maker. You can now start editing any of your desired video and implement any modifications using the Windows Movie Maker.
Important:
If any user is unable to update the display adaptor driver using the above explained method or while updating the driver getting the message:
The best driver software for your device is already installed.
Don’t panic, check your internet connection once again, please do check if data is successfully transmitting on your internet network by surfing any of the website in your internet browser.
If still you are unable to complete the update process, you can hire any technician or ask any friend to manually install the latest display adapter driver by downloading it from the manufacturer website. To find the current display adapter information, you can anytime use the inbuilt Windows DxDiag Tool.
More / Alternate solutions for the Black Screen Problem in Windows Movie Maker.
If nothing is working for you to resolve the black screen problem in Windows Movie maker, You can try these alternative solutions. We are sure, one of them should definitely work in your case.
- Make it damn sure that your system is running the latest version of the Windows Movie Maker, if not please update your copy of the movie maker from the official Microsoft Website from here.
- Make this a note that Windows Movie maker doesn’t support all video format. Some basic supported formats by movie maker are .wmv, .avi, .mp4, .mpeg etc. If by chance you are trying to edit any unsupported video format, you may end with getting this black screen error. Prior to editing any of the video, please do check the supported video formats of Windows Movie Maker here. If you don’t find the format you are trying to convert in the list, covert the video first to any supported video format. There are many third party free video converters available over the internet, just perform a basic google search to find one for your needs.
- Have you tried setting the sound levels ?, If not just have a try to adjust them. Many users from the community has reported that setting the sound level for all the video clips in the project to zero has solved their black screen problem.
- You can shut the unnecessary instances of the movie maker running without any reason. You can also try shutting the idle tasks running on the computer system, many application have this conflict behaviour which maybe be one reason for this black screen error in Windows Movie Maker.
- Restarting the Windows Movie Maker & your computer system has also solved this black screen error for many users. Why to left out this option when we seriously want to get rid of this black screen error of the Windows Live movie maker.
- If you are continuously getting the black screen error, try to edit any short simple video first. Believe or not, simple things can settle many big problems in most of the occasions.
- Last but not the least, you can go for help to the Microsoft Community by creating a specific thread related to your specific black screen problem. There are strong chances that any user at the Microsoft Community with the same specific problem, will share his suggestions and solutions to your specific Windows Live Movie Maker black screen problem.
Final Notes.
We hope the solutions provided in this blog post will work for most of the people, to solve their Windows Movie Maker black screen problem. That’s all we have in our basket related to this particular black screen problem. If you find this piece of information helpful, don’t hesitate to share your experiences with other internet community users. Thanks for your valuable time, keep visiting this blog. We will be back with more useful information shortly, meanwhile you can subscribe to this blog, to get latest updates direct to your mailbox.
Are you often encountering Windows Movie Maker black screen? Wondering what is the cause and how to resolve it? It is time to end your worries as you have just dropped on the right page. In this article, we are going to discuss all the possible solutions and causes of this error.
At times, while watching videos on Windows Movie Maker, you will notice that this error appears with only audio output during the playback. There are a number of reasons for this error to occur. You have to identify the exact cause of it at first and then eliminate it with the best possible solutions.
The primary reason for this error is incompatibility. Often, installing codecs and software that are not compatible results in this error. At times, if you mute the sound, then it might cause the black screen error as well. In case your computer screen has some faults, then it might end up with a black screen error. However, there is no rocket science in resolving this error. You can rectify it with just a couple of manual tweaks.
Effective Methods To Fix Windows Movie Maker Not Showing Video
After you identify what exactly is causing the error, try to resolve it with appropriate solutions. If you are unaware of how to resolve Windows Movie Maker black screen, do not worry. Try the simple methods and hacks that are stated below:
Method 1: Set Up The Sound Level Correctly
We have already discussed that often, muting the sound leads to black screen error. Therefore, to get rid of this problem, you have to disable the mute settings. So, at first, select the “Timeline” and then expand to both audio and video. Now, right-click on the “Mute” option which will eventually resolve the Windows Movie Maker black screen. Alternatively, by setting the sound level, you can resolve this error. It is one of the most useful methods to eliminate the error.
Method 2: Shutdown The Unnecessary Tasks
In case the sound is not muted but the black screen error still appears in the Windows Movie Maker, then shutting the unnecessary tasks is the best option. If there are several tasks running on your computer, then it can often lead to a black screen in Windows Movie Maker. Therefore, just shut down those unnecessary tasks and create more space to play a video without any interruptions or errors.
Method 3: Restart The Program
Restarting the Windows Movie Maker software is the best option to resolve this issue. Therefore, shut it down first and then restart it after a few minutes. This will help you to know whether there is any virus present that is causing this black screen error. If you detect the presence of viruses, then remove them with an effective spyware removal tool.
Method 4: Update Drivers
Updated drivers are required to make the Windows Movie Maker function properly. Therefore, updating the video cards is one of the most effective solutions. Do the following to update the drivers:
- Open Control Panel from the Start menu
- Select the Device Manager and open it
- Find the ‘Display adapters’ option and expand it
- Right-click on the driver name
- Choose the Update Driver Software option
- Then, for updating the driver software, search for the ‘automatically’ option
- Now, Windows will look for the latest driver software. And if any new updates are found, it will download and install them automatically
- Lastly, restart the computer and check whether the issue is resolved or not.
The above solutions will certainly help you to remove the error effectively. In case you are facing any issues or trouble while implementing the steps, please do post comments below.