^{System requirements}

Windows Movie Maker requires the following minimum system configuration:

• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition or Windows XP Professional
• A 600 megahertz (MHz) processor, such as an Intel Pentium III, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon, or equivalent processor
• 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM
• 2 gigabytes (GB) of free hard disk space
• An audio capture device (to capture audio from external sources)
• A DV or analog video capture device (to capture video from external sources)
• An Internet connection (to save and send a movie to the Web or to send a movie as an attachment in an e-mail message)

To optimize the performance of Windows Movie Maker, the following system requirements are recommended:

• A 1.5 gigahertz (GHz) processor, such as an Intel Pentium 4, an AMD Athlon XP 1500+, or equivalent processor
• 256 megabytes (MB) of RAM

The following software is required to play back a movie:

• Microsoft Windows 98 or later or Windows NT® 4.0 or later
• Software that can play Windows Media Video (WMV) files, such as Microsoft Windows Media Player 7.0 or later (Windows Media Player 9 Series is recommended to optimize movie playback)

Related topics

• Understanding capture devices
• Getting started