Windows Movie Maker Wont Create Video/Media Player Doesn't Display

Have you found that Windows Movie Maker Wont Create Video or Windows Media Player Doesn't Display video? I had this problem with my son's Dell Inspiron 531 with nVidia 6150 GeForce nforce 430 video card.

Movie Maker would allow you to edit the project and save it but not publish it. When publishing the message was that there was insufficient space, missing files etc. None of these were correct. I checked the recommended requirements and the PC met all the list.

When trying to play a video the helpful message given by Windows was "Windows Media Player cannot play the video because there is a problem with your video card" yet the video card had no errors showing and I had updated it to the latest nVidia drivers from their website. I tried several things including loading latest DirectX 11 software and loading the new version of Movie Maker Live to see if that would affect it.

None of these changes made any difference. In fact Movie Maker Live wouldn't even open as it said the PC didn't meet requirements. I tried doing a search and various suggestions came up including reloading the nVidia 6150 GeForce nforce 430 drivers which I had already done. One page mentioned the video memory being set on the card. The nVidia 6150 GeForce nforce 430 is built into the motherboard and shares the main system memory. Originally I had a separate graphics card but moved this into my new PC before passing the Dell to my son.

Having checked in the BIOS on bootup (F2) the video memory was only set to 16Mb. I increased this to 64Mb and restarted the PC. Amazingly this fixed the problem and Movie Maker was now able to publish files, Windows Media player could play video and Windows Movie Maker Live would actually start up.

So if you have a problem with Movie Maker Live or Windows Media Player with nVidia 6150 GeForce nforce 430 video card then check your video memory settings to see if that will cure it.

Password Security - PC Password Management software tool

I've recently investigated tools for Password Security and PC Password Management so that I can make my passwords more secure and save the huge numbers of passwords that I have for different websites and applications. The tool I have installed is Password Safe which allows you to store and create passwords to various security levels. By securely storing your passwords it allows you to use more complex passwords to reduce the risk of passwords being guessed. Password Safe allows you to specify the complexity and length to auto generate passwords which will ensure common mistakes such as using children's names or birthdays are avoided.

http://passwordsafe.sourceforge.net/

First released picture of Osama Bin Laden Dead!

A common links scam is doing the rounds on Facebook and probably other social networking sites as well as email claiming that the "First released picture of bin laden dead!" is available if you click the link.

This appears to be a virus/trojan that then reposts itself to all your friends Facebook pages. To avoid getting spammed don't click on links claiming to be some major current news posted on yours or friends Facebook profiles. Others doing the rounds are alleging a theme park accident at Alton Towers and whale dead on a beach.

The photo of Osama Bin Laden dead is actually a fake that is based on a 1998 photo of Bin Laden and has been shown to be fake several years ago prior to his death by comparison and overlaying of the images.

Facebook Photo Tag Virus Scam

There currently appears to be a Facebook Photo Tag Virus Scam where you are tagged in a random friend's photo - except it isn't a photo of them or you./ The most recent ones I've seen are World Trade centre photos and Tsunami videos or Alton Towers theme park disaster story. If you click the link attached the chances are that you will be downloading a trojan virus onto your PC.

It won't wipe your hard drive, make you bald or destroy the world as some email hoaxes suggest but it will almost certainly have infected your PC, will spam your friends via Facebook and could gather internet banking or email passwords.

So if you are sent any Facebook messages be very careful of clicking any links in them. And make sure that your PC is fully up to date with both the latest Microsoft updates and also a current AntiVirus solution.

Alternatively use Linux and most of these problems go away!

Volkswagen Passat PD TDI 140 Remap by Angel Tuning

I recently had my Volkswagen Passat PD TDI 140 Sport remapped by Angel Tuning. The difference in the car is amazing, the car is so much more responsive and smooth when driving. The economy is also improved by around 10%. The remap by Angel Tuning is not as aggressive as some remaps as the power output is not as massively increased improving from 140bhp to around 165bhp. In comparison the VW Golf Mark 4 TDI130 remap increases the output from 130bhp up to 175bhp and seriously increases the performance of the car.

Dropbox for iPhone and Blackberry

As an update to my recent post about Dropbox I have now found that there is a Dropbox app available for both the iPhone and Blackberry.

It means that I can have documents and photos from my desktop immediately available on my phone where I have 3G/Wifi internet available. There is also an option to save files locally on the iPhone.

Online Backup and Storage

I've recently found a fantastic online site that allows you to backup & sync files from multiple computers. It is called Dropbox and by installing a small app on your PC you can backup files to the cloud and other PCs. It is the perfect way to have files available wherever you are without carrying a USB stick around.

You can check out the Dropbox website here