clips not showing on WMM

[Guest]

I bought a new laptop recently that has Vista. It came with a version of
Windows Movie Maker, and I began using it to make AMVs (anime music videos).
It works fine at first, but then it gets to a point where it won't show some
of the clips (it'll show a black screen) but the music will continue. It does
this on the preview and after I publish it.
I though it was a problem with the file types, but I checked and the formats
I use should all be compatible.
I got the clips from DVDs using Fraps, and they're in the .avi format. I
ripped the music from a CD and they're in the .wma format.

Is there a way to fix this problem? Would using a different format help?

 

[PapaJohn]

The key question is what compression codec was used to create the AVI
file... some work well with Movie Maker and others don't.

See my website's Import Movie Source Files > Video > Video Codecs and AVI
pages.