probs with movie maker on vista

hi,
i started using windows movie maker on xp, and that was fine... now ive a new laptop and im trying to use it on vista, and having trouble!
the first film i made, when i saved it, it saved as a narrow frame with the bottom half of the frame all green. is this normal? i checked the aspect ratio,its on 4:3 which is what i think i want for normal screen size.
anyway, after tearing my hair out, i went back into movie maker to try again, and now i cant import my video clips into the video timeline - for some reason it will only let me pu them in the audio timeline. given that theres no soundtrack to speak of its driving me effing crazy.
what can i do- apart from run out and install xp? (i cant afford a mac, before anyone suggests it!)~
thanks

are you trying to import an .avi?

try converting it to something supported by Vista (i.e., .wmv)

Google and download Format factory

hi,
thanks for your help! i did download format factory, and it works, except that it wont index files under 2mb, which means movie maker wont recognise or import them. ive been doing stop motion ona cheap camera which saves each 2 sec clip as a separate file.
anyway, it seems to work on anything over 10sec! so i think i will just shoot continuosly, and edit my hand out later

so thanks again, i'll work something out now i can convert my files!

actually, although i can now import and edit my files in movie maker, when i go to publish them, it still comes up as a split screen, with the moves squashed in the top half, and the bottom half of the screen green....

can anyone advise on this? as i said, i checked the screen size is set at 3:4

thanks