IMovie 09 problems PLEASE help!!! so frustrating!!

Question

iMovie was working fine before, until I started a new project and when I tried to playback, it only plays the audio in the viewer... I tried viewing in fullscreen, but it was just a black screen, with audio playback only and to make matters worse, it would not exit fullscreen playback mode. I literally had to unplug my iMac to shut it down, and it DID NOT AUTOSAVE ANYTHING! I also notice most of the menu items are greyed out. I can't add themes, transitions... nothing... I can't even select project properties.. and the project is there, at least the first few clips are there... but the hours of work after is lost. I tried editing AGAIN, and it is not saving any of the new changes I made, even if I shut it down properly. I KNOW how to use iMovie, I've read endless forums, no proposed solutions are working for me.. I am NOT upgrading to '11 PLEASE HELP! This is very frustrating!! - thanks

Answer 1

Hi
Un-plugging the Mac is a dangerous action and nearly always adds small errors on the hard disk - With luck it starts again - if unlucky it doesn't and eventually need repair by pro - to be back in action.
Just to mention it.
If this happens to me I do
• Run Disk Util tool and Repair Permissions
• Start Mac from DVD that came with it and now orient to Disk Util tool on this and - Repair Hard Disk
(This must be done when Mac runs on DVD or external Hard Disk - Can not do Brain Surgery on one self.)
• Then I would re-start from Main Mac OS Hard Disk - usually named Macintosh HD - then trash the pref file/s associated to Application that behaves Badly (usually in the User Account Library / Preferences
Else see my long list of what to do
When in Trouble
When iMovie doesn't work as intended this can be due to a lot of reasons
• iMovie Pref files got corrupted - trash it/they and iMovie makes new and error free one's
• Creating a new User-Account and log into this - forces iMovie to create all pref. files new and error free
• Event or Project got corrupted - try to make a copy and repair
• a codec is used that doesn't work
• problem in iMovie Cache folder - trash Cache.mov and Cache.plist
• version miss match of QuickTime Player / iMovie / iDVD
• preferences are wrong - Repair Preferences
• other hard disk problem - Repair Hard Disk (Disk Util tool - but start Mac from ext HD or DVD)
• External hard disks - MUST BE - Mac OS Extended (hfs) formatted to work with Video
( UNIX/DOS/FAT32/Mac OS Exchange - works for most other things - but not for Video )
• USB-flash-memories do not work
• Net-work connected hard disks - do not work
• iPhoto Library got problems - let iPhoto select another one or repair it. Re-build this first then try to re-start iMovie.
This You do by
_ close iPhoto
_ on start up of iPhoto - Keep {cmd and alt-keys down}
_ now select all five options presented
_ WAIT a long long time
• free space on Start-Up (Mac OS) hard disk to low (<1Gb) - I never go under 25Gb free space for SD-Video (4-5 times more for HD)
• external devices interferes - turn off Mac - disconnect all of them and - Start up again and re-try
• GarageBand fix - start GB - play a few notes - Close it again and now try iMovie
• Screen must be set to million-colors
• Third-party plug-ins doesn't work OK
• Run "Cache Out X", clear out all caches and restarts the Mac
• Let Your Mac be turned on during one night. At about midnight there is a set of maintenance programs that runs and tidying up. This might help
• Turn off Your Mac - and disconnect Mains - for about 20-30 minutes - at least this resets the FireWire port.
• In QuickTime - DivX, 3ivx codec, Flip4Mac, Perian etc - might be problematic - temporarily move them out and re-try
(I deleted the file "3ivxVideoCodec.component" located in Mac HD/Library/Quicktime and this resolved my issue.)
buenrodri wrote
I solved the problem by removing the file: 3ivxVideoCodec.component. after that, up-dated iMovie runs ok.
Last resort: Trash all of iMovie and re-install it
Yours Bengt W