Windows 7: nutty-contradictory SkyDrive album behavior

Hi W7F-ers,

Note: I have already posted this question on the Windows Live SkyDrive forum, but I think it has stumped them because I'm getting no response... I thought I'd give the real brains around here a try at this puzzler.

I made a video in WL Movie Maker 2011 and uploaded it to my SkyDrive... that works well.

When I get the link for that video when it is displayed on my SkyDrive interface (a link with permissions for "Everyone (public)", "all who have a link", as well as a list of addresses that I sent the link to) and put the link in an email to myself, or just use that URL to paste in to my browser, it works properly when I click on it on my desktop... that is, it brings up the SkyDrive album window that previews photos and videos and it buffers for a minute or so and then starts playing the video automatically, as it should.

This is the black SkyDrive album window with the Windows Live logo, that flashes the message "Loading album via SkyDrive" in the middle when it first opens, has "View on SkyDrive People tag Thumbnail view Download" links on the top-left, with the film icon with the black and white balloons image in the middle with the green dotted circle that spins while it says, "Buffering video..." ...the same basic SkyDrive window for photos and videos... this is not a browser window at all.

I have the current "Silverlight" installed.

But when I test this link in an email to any other email address, including a secondary email address on my own desktop through WLMail 2011, or any other desktop, that SkyDrive preview window does not come up... instead, the link takes one to my SkyDrive interface page for the video file without logging in to my SkyDrive account... and if one clicks on the link at the top for Hotmail it automatically logs them in to my SkyDrive account and email box without entering the password.

This seems to have to do with which email address the link is being sent to, but this URL/link is generated by the SkyDrive interface for "Everyone (public)", "all who have a link", as well as a list of addresses that I sent the link to... but the URL also works the way it should on my desktop whether it is in an email to myself in my Live.com email box, or if I just paste the URL in to my browser... yet this URL/link does not work on my desktop if I send the URL/link to myself to my secondary email address.

This just seems crazy and contradictory... it is really the opposite of what should be happening.

What should happen with this link if I send it to others is what happens with this URL on my desktop with my own Live.com email address, which is my SkyDrive user name... with the SkyDrive album preview window that automatically appears and loads the video to play, or the photo previews to click to view.

I have the same problem if I try to send someone a link to automatically download a zipped folder of files or to simply preview photos... it takes them to my SkyDrive interface page instead of the SkyDrive album window.

So my desktop is the only place that the SkyDrive album window appears for, and even that isn't true on my desktop if the link is in an email to a secondary email account on the same desktop.

Does anyone know what the problem here is?

Thanks,

digiday