Can't add files to Live MovieMaker from networked computer

If you use Live MovieMaker in Windows 7 and want to add a network file by clicking on "click to browse" to add a video file, you can browse to other computers on your network and open the folder, but when you choose the file, you get a message that says "Files can't be added directly from a network folder." It tells you to copy the files to your computer and try again - but maybe you don't want to fill up your local hard drive by doing that.

There is a registry edit that will fix this annoying problem. This works in both Windows 7 and Vista. As always when editing the registry, be careful and back it up first. Here's what you do:

1. Open your registry editor and navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows Live \ Movie Maker
2. Right click an empty space in the right pane and select New | DWORD (32 bit) value
3. Name the new value AllowNetworkFiles
4. Double click it and in the Value Data box, type 1
5. Click OK.
6. Close the registry editor.

Now you should be able to browse to a network location and open those files directly in MovieMaker. Note that this change applies only to the logged on user, so if you use a different account, you'll get that same error message again unless you repeat this process

How to gain more taskbar space by hiding the notification area (Windows 7)

The notification area on the Windows 7 taskbar (formerly known as the system tray) contains icons that can provide you with useful information. But some people never really use it, and would like to hide it in order to gain more useful space on the taskbar. Well, you can do that by editing the registry. As always, back it up first and be careful. Here are the steps:

1. Open the registry editor and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer
2. In the right pane, right click an empty space and select New | DWORD value
3. Name the new value NoTrayItemsDisplay
4. Double click it and type in the value data as 1.
5. Right click on the taskbar and click Task Manager.
6. On the Processes tab, kill the Explorer.exe process.
7. On the Applications tab, click the New Task button.
8. Type explorer.exe and click the OK button.

The notification area should now be hidden. If you want to unhide it, repeat the steps and in step 4, assign a value of 0.

Executable file on Windows 7 or Vista computer starts the wrong program

If you run an .exe file on your Windows 7 or Vista computer and it opens a program other than the one you expected, even though the file's program icon displays the right program, you may need to modify the registry to get the file association of the .exe file back to the right setting. For instructions on how to do this manually, and a link to a Microsoft "Fix It" wizard that can fix the problem, see KB article 950505 at: Click Here