Damaged iMovie

Question

While I was using iMovie I deleted a movie clip. Upon trying to put another clip on the play head it said there was an error. I closed iMovie and when I tried to reopen it iMovie read "You cannot open the application "iMovie" because it may be damaged or incomplete." Any help to fix this would be appreciated.
-Jesse

Answer 1

Hi Jesse:
Perhaps this, from Karl Petersen (#1 Guru in imovie) may help:
--quote--
All may not be lost. A couple of things to keep in mind:
A. Don't forget that iMovie uses non-destructive editing, so the source file of a clip is never shortened. (The source file for each clip is stored in the Media folder of the project. Each scene imported from the camera arrives with its own Media file. Source files can support one clip or many.)
If you split Clip A into two clips, then discard one of the clips and empty the trash, the original Media file is NOT discarded. The Media file itself is discarded ONLY if you discard the last clip that uses that source file. (In the past, iMovie would remove a portion of the Media file, shortening the file. iMovie HD NEVER shortens a Media file.)
So the lost video may still be there, just not be represented by a clip. To retrieve the video of a split clip, select the clip and choose Advanced > Restore Clip to Original. That returns it to its original length. (Or better still, Option-drag the clip to some other place on the timeline to make a copy of it, then Restore the copy.)
Emptying the trash does two things: 1) discards the CLIPS we've trashed -- clips perhaps created by splitting Clip A, and 2) sometimes it discards the source files for those clips. But #2 occurs only when no other project clip references that Media file. So long as any clip in the project relies on a Media file the file is not discarded. That means any clip that uses that source file can be restored to the file's original length and content.
So the stuff you lost may be gone. Or not.
B. A backup copy of the project file exists inside the project package. It is a copy of the project file as it was BEFORE you last saved. If you've saved the project just once, it may help.
I suggest making a copy of the project and working on the copy. To make a copy, select the project in the Finder and choose Edit > Copy "your file name goes here".
To look inside the package, Control-click on the project icon and choose "Show Package Contents" from the popUp menu. You'll see several project files inside the package, one with a tilde (~) in its name. That's the backup. Double-click on it to open the project. The discarded clips may appear, or they may be gone. (This will NOT recover any Media files that have been discarded.)
If the backup project looks usable, quit iMovie without saving, move the current project file outside the package, change the name of the backup project file to match the current project file, open the project and save.
Karl
--end quote--
Sue