Where do project files live on hard drive?

I need to take one of my projects from my home computer, and copy it to iDisk so I can load it up on iMovie at work, to make edits. I've found the project file under Movies/iMovie Projects. The file itself is only about 6mbs which seems quite small. Anyway, is this all I need to transfer over and it should all be editable on my iMovie program at work? Or do I need to transfer over some of the iMovie Events/files too?

The project file is basically a text file that refers to the Event file, with the path, the in and out points, the adjustments, the titles, etc. You cannot edit without the event. It is therefore very important to move this stuff in such a way that the links are updated.
I am not sure an iDisk will work, but you can try it. One issue is that the iDisk does not show up as a valid drive in iMovie.
The way that works for sure:
Get an external drive formatted as Mac OS Extended (journaled).
Open iMovie.
Click View/Events By Disk
Command-Drag your Event to the icon in the Event list for the external drive.
Command-Drag your Project to the external drive by Command-Dragging the project to the external drive icon in the Project list.
When you get to your computer at work, you can plug in your external drive and edit the Project from there. Or you can reverse the procedure and command drag the Project and the Event to a drive on your work computer.

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Using iMovie to save project files to external hard drive?

I have a MacBook Pro with very limited space on the internal hard disk drive. I also have a few FireWire external hard drives.
A friend recently gave me his Hitachi DZ-HS300A mini-DVD camcorder so I could copy footage off of it, load it into my machine, edit it and upload it (several minutes) to YouTube. He can't do this because he lives in a remote area where there is no broadband yet.
I almost never use iMovie. I was wondering if there is a way to save the project file to an external FireWire drive so that there will be no large video files clogging up my laptop's internal hard drive. Can this be done? Is there an iMove preference I have to change?

You should generally leave the iMovie Project file on the boot drive. The Project File is mainly a small text file with in and out points.
The iMovie Event file is where the video assets are stored. You can store events to an external hard drive in two ways:
1) As you import from the camera, you will see an import screen. You can select the external drive on the import screen
2) If the event is already on your internal drive, you can click View/Events By Volume. Now you can drag and drop the event to the external drive in the Events SOurce List in iMovie.
For your external drive to be visible to iMovie, it must be formatted HFS+ or HFS+ (journalled).

"unable to open project file" on external hard drive

I see other users had this same issue, but I read all the relevant posts and they haven't helped me. basically, I created and saved a project (along with all scratch disks) on an external hard drive. then, when I closed the project and re-opened it, it was "unable to open project file." however, it looks like all the project files are still on the hard drive (capture scratch, autosave vault, etc.) so seems like this should be redeemable. what can I do?
thank you in advance, you are angellic!

What is the exact message? Try copying it to your computers system drive and opening it? What about in the Autosave vault? Look in there for the last backup, try opening that.
Shane

LOST Project File when external hard drive accidentally unplugged!

My external hard drive got knocked out and the project file is now nowhere to be found anywhere. Anybody experience this and/or have ANY advice?

Thats bad news ... how long had you been working on the project? Regardless, it looks like its time to start over. Looking on the bright side tho, its a valuable lesson well learnt and a good reminder to everyone else. Never keep all your eggs in one basket ie keep you main project file and autosave files separate. Personally, I keep the your Autosave Vault on an external drive but work with the main project file on the internal (startup) drive, then copy that saved main project file across to the external as a backup at the end of each day. And re the autosave settings, make sure they are suitable ... I see lots of folks leave their autosave at the default save every 30 minute setting ... don't know about you but my fingers work fast enough that 30 minutes work would be way more than I'm willing to use.
Good luck with the rebuild
Andy

Where are .exs files on my hard drive?

And why does Spotlight not find them?

I found them. It's Library/Application Support/Logic/Sampler Instruments/
But again, why oh why didn't Spotlight find them, and I had to spend 2 hours online looking at forums and browsing folders?

Where do the MEDIA FILES live after I import them from camera to iMovie (Mac Mini OS X 10.9.2)? I need to MOVE MEDIA FILES to external hard drive.

Where do the MEDIA FILES live after I import them from camera to iMovie (Mac Mini OS X 10.9.2)? I need to MOVE MEDIA FILES to external hard drive.

Hello bbryson68,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
From your post I understand you're wanting to move iMovie project and event data to another drive. I found the following information in the iMovie help that answers your question.
Copy or move projects, events, or clips between libraries or storage devices
Connect a storage device that contains the target library to your Mac, or copy the target library to your Mac.
Choose File > Open Library, and choose an option from the submenu.You can choose from recently opened libraries, locate an existing library on your Mac, or create a new library.The selected library is opened in the Libraries list, with the first event selected and its contents displayed in the browser.
In the Libraries list, select the event that contains the item you want to move or copy.
In the browser, select the item you want to move or copy.Tip: To select multiple clips or projects in the same library, hold down the Command key as you click the items you want to select, or drag a selection rectangle around the items.
Do one of the following:
To move items between events or libraries: Drag the clip or project to another event or library.
To copy items between events or libraries: Option-drag the clip or project to another event or library by first starting to drag and then holding down the Option key as you drag.
Work with multiple libraries
http://help.apple.com/imovie/mac/10.0/#mov3fa25bae7
Take care,
Alex H.

I have problem with Itunes losing where podcasts and some purchased music is located. Don't know how Itunes losing the locations of the files and I can't find the files on my hard drive. What can I do to stop Itunes losing location and restore my files?

I have problem with Itunes losing where podcasts and some purchased music is located. Don't know how Itunes losing the locations of the files and I can't find the files on my hard drive. What can I do to stop Itunes losing location and restore my files?

Try assigning Queen as the Album Artist on the compilations in iTunes on your computer.

IMovie projects have broken link after I moved file on external hard drive

I have all my iMovie projects on an external hard drive, and it was working fine...until I accidentally broke the links by going into my external hard drive, creating a folder I named "Videos," and dumping the "iMovie Project" folder and the "iMovie Events" folder (which iMovie automatically created for me) into my new folder. I was just trying to consolidate everything into one folder, but that messed everything up. Once I realized what I had done, it would not let me press undo. Then I dragged the iMovie Project folder and the iMovie Events folder back onto the main part where they originally were, and that did not fix it.
Does anyone have any tips on getting my links back? I'd be so appreciative!! I have almost 200 projects of my kids that I can't access now. I have iMovie '11. Thanks so much.

The iMovie projects and iMovie Events folders have to be at the root (top) level of the drive they are on (or at the top level of the User/Movies folder), otherwise iMovie 9 won't see them.
As long as you have not changed the contents of these folders, if you put them back at a root location they should automatically appear in iMovie.
Geoff.

Saving iMovie 4 projects on an external hard drive

I'm starting the ambitious project of copying our family videos from 8mm tapes to iMovie to eventually making DVDs. since I don't have much disk space on my iBook, my plan is to put the iMovie files on an external hard drive & work from there. Here are the system specs:
Camera: Sony DCR-TRV520 (Digital 8)
Computer: iBook 800 MHz PowerPC G3, 28GB hard drive, 5GB available
OS 10.3.9
iMovie 4
Hard Drive: LaCie Eternet Disk mini 300GB (150GB available) format: Mac OS Extended
Problem: Open a new iMovie project on the external hard drive. Start to import the footage. After one or 2 seconds, the image freezes and import aborts.
Solution: Open a new project on the computer. Footage imports fine.
Problem: Can only import 1/2 hour or so of video before I'm in trouble. Files WAY too big for my itty bitty iBook!
Solution: Make a new iMovie file on the external hard drive & copy the clips from the computer to the hard drive. (this takes TONS of time!)
Problem: Open movie file on the LaCie. Import the clips. Clips show up but won't play!
Question: Is there any better way to do this? Why won't the project work on the external hard drive?
I teach video production at a high school and have done this many times on newer iMacs (iLife 6). We can't save every project on the computers, so certain projects I'll copy to an external hard drive. I've never had a problem working on an iMovie project from the hard drive. I considered uploading my movies on the computers at school, however then I'm stuck with iMovie 6 files on the hard drive and iMovie 4 at home.
Any suggestions -- other than get a newer computer?

Importing new footage from a video camera and working with iMovie with footage already on the computer are two completely different things.
At school, do you actually IMPORT video from digital camcorders directly to the USB drive as you said you were doing at home?
Because while you can indeed work on iMovie projects off a USB drive if you are not actually importing video, the whole importing process from a Firewire camcorder is sort of a streaming video type transfer and Firewire is used because it has a mode for this type of transfer. USB, on the other hand, can not import video from a camcorder straight to a USB drive reliably because there is way too much CPU overhead associated with USB transfers and it therefore can not keep up with the "streaming" video coming out of the camcorder.
If you want to find out more details, do a search for "isochronous" with Firewire. Firewire uses type types of transfers. Asynchronous transfer which is like USB uses where you transfer data, wait for the CPU to respond, then transfer the next chunk of data. Video transfer uses and isochronous process where, to put it very simply, the camcorder starts spitting out chunks of footage with a checksum and the receiving end receives it, calculates a checksum and if the checksums match, stores the chunk of data. If they don't match, the data is discarded and it starts to receive the next chunk of data. There is no ability to resend failed data so you get dropped frames in your footage.
If you import via Firewire from Camcorder to Mac then directly to an external USB drive, the transfer from Mac to USB drive will be too slow as the CPU and drive have to start doing their "did you get it?", "Ya I got it, send another/No, send again please", "OK here it comes" routine while in the meantime the camcorder to Mac Firewire transfer is just pumping out data at a fixed rate. Once the USB connection falls behind the process aborts.
Patrick

Premiere projects stored on external hard drive & re-editing

Hi guys, I seem to be one of the few Mac users editing on Premiere Pro 5.5 with AVCHD (from Panasonic HDC-SD700) files. Luckily I can use even the 1080p/50 files, but I have this problem: After I move the project folder (all Premiere files inc. the footage which I store copying everything from SD-cards and not changing the file names) to an external hard drive and later copy it back onto the computer for further editing, it asks where the files are. This should be fine if I know where the original file is but the problem arises as I am not renaming the footage - I understand this could be a problem with AVCHD files - and it is impossible for me to know which one of the 00000.MTS or 00004.MTS files is the correct one. (This obviously only applies to projects where I have recorded footage on more than one SD-card. In my case all the projects seem to be that big - I am an artist rather than a computer person. Apologies if the lingo is not quite right!) I tend to edit hours of footage together by speeding it up and using split-screen. Is there an easy way around this problem when saving the projects on an external hard drive or should I just start changing the file names to something like SD1clip1 without a worry? Or do I just randomly choose one of the similarly numbered clips and check if it happened to be the correct one and everything in the project falls in place? This seems silly and time-consuming too. Many thanks for your suggestions. Elisa

according to other opinions in different threads NOT to put all media in one folder, i wouldn't necessarily go with this approach. sometimes it's the best you can do. and you can always manage your footage with the editing programm, creating folders and alike.
in some cases you're left with no choice - in AVID e.g. unless you use its AMA (avid media acess) interfaceand sort of soft-link to your media AVID will first transcode and then story everything in one folder by default. it then creates a little index file that tells you right away if something is missing.
personally, if i knew i have multiple folders with the same structure and file names i cannot change (cause it'd disrupt the file structure), i'd definitely put in the initial time to transcode to not to run into obstacles later on.
advantages: better codec, less choppy playback, less rendering, no relink issues
disadvantages: transcoding time, less disk space, probably larger files
sure, nowadays software is designed to avoid just that and all my conversations with PP pros showed me that the basic thought behind PP is to "just slam your footage in and start editing" - but this isn't always the wisest choice. not because the software is not able to handle the codecs - but because you'll run into problems with data structures.
plan your postproduction like you would plan a nice dinner.
chop the onions before the pan is hot.

Can I move idvd projects to an external hard drive?

I need to make space on my hard drive and would like to move all the dvd projects to an external hard drive. Can I do this without causing any problems with accessing them again?

Yes and No
The Yes part:
It is possible to run an iPhoto Library with the Originals stored outside the Library folder, but I strongly caution against it - especially if the Library and the files are on different volumes, as you propose. Why? the short answer: if the files become detached from the database then you will end up reconnecting every single one, one by one. For more see this:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3062728?tstart=0
Further, if the external is not plugged in when you launch iphoto it will ask you where each file is. All of them. One by one.
So that's really a 'Yes... but...' I suppose.
The No part:
You have currently got a Managed Library. There's no way to convert to a Referenced one.
Then there's the... 'how much money do you want to throw at this' bit?
If you purchase Aperture this is a cinch. It can relocate masters, reconnect them if they get seperated and so on. Pay more, get more options. And Aperture can use the same Library as iPhoto, but there is a bigger learngn curve.

Can I open an imovie project from an external hard drive on a different computer than my own? If so how?

Can I open an imovie project from an external hard drive on a different computer other than my own? If so how?

If you used the Finder to move the files, iMovie will have lost track of them. iMovie holds the locations of the Event files, and Project files contain references to those locations. If you move the files, iMovie has no way of knowing where they are.
If you can, first move all the files back to their original locations. Plug in the external drive. Open iMovie and move the files in iMovie's interface (help explains how, but basically, just drag and drop in the event pane).
Then you can connect the drive to the new computer, and iMovie will see them.

Jumbled Logic Files on External Hard Drive

Hi all,
I have been very nervous to record to my external hard drive lately, because I will do a project, save all the tracks and the project file to my external drive, and occasionally when I go back to re-open the project, there is a different sound clip where another clip was supposed to be.
Even stranger, when I go to my external drive and browse the files, I can pinpoint the file that has changed, and when I single-click on the file, the name suddenly changes to a different file when it becomes highlighted! If I start clicking around on the files in the finder they just get all jumbled up.
I know that all the files are still there, but it seems to be confusing what or where they are.
Even stranger yet, this happened to me on both a PowerMac G4 and a new MacBook AND it happened on TWO different external drives!
The drives were a Maxtor 7200rpm 80gig drive and a newer Western Digital MyBook 250 Gig drive. I thought the new HD would surely solve the problem, but it still happens with some projects!
Has anyone ever heard of this or anything like it? I have been recording to the internal drive lately out of fear of mixing up files!
- Nate
Power Mac G4 Quicksilver and Intel MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Did you check the drives with Disk Utility and make sure they are formatted as Mac OS (extended)? Do you receive any odd messages when you run the utility?
Also, if you have Disk Warrior, run it. There may be some VIB/directory issues, although it seems unlikely that that it would happen on two different drives.
Have you added any 3rd. party utilities, hacks, or other gadgets around the time the problems started?

Paging file on External Hard Drive?

Sorry guys,
I seem to have read something on this, but can't relocate the post I thought I saw it on. Most posts talk about the Paging File and External Hard Drives as two different instances. I am always learning something new so am asking if you guys are doing this, or did I misread something.
Is is possible to have a Paging (Virtual Memory?) file on the same External hard drive as where Scratch Discs are saved? (Or could be a separate Internal drive where Scratch Discs are located). PrE PDF user guide talks about even several different drives, where different parts of each project are stored, way too complex for the basic user like me. A separate Paging file for each hard drive? Just asking.
If you guys are doing this what are the benefits, and is there a procedure for doing it? I am not talking about the OS Paging File because I think I already understand that. But extra, additional paging files depending on how many hard drives a person would have or wants to use. Sounds wacky.
I don't think I am asking this very well, but hope you catch my drift.

Bill and Steve,
Bill, if I am understanding correctly you are talking about having only One paging file spanning drives. I was asking about leaving the Windows Managed Paging (Virtual Memory?) File on C Drive and an additional Paging File on an extra drive. Again maybe I read wrong in the various forums.
I do have 3 eSATA external drives which I use for storing various family movies. I may buy a 2 TB internal later, but this is what I have now. My desktop is an i7 2.8ghz wiith 12 GB RAM, 64 bit Windows 7, 1 TB Hard Drives RAID 1? (MIrror Image). I have a huge paging file. I haven't been using an external drive for my Scratch Discs, but was going to set one up to do that, so thus my reasoning for asking about a separate paging file.
The eSATA connection is really quick, so it seems I will have no problem there. But the problem as I understand it, is all Premiere Elements versions (I have PrE7 & PrE9) up to PrE10 are 32 bit and are going to only use a few GB of System Ram before (or along with) using the Paging File. So if there were additional Paging Files, maybe it would be less CPU intensive. I don't know if Bill measured CPU usage in his tests, with and without the extra paging file. Not talking about speed necessrily but CPU usage.
I do Defragment quite a bit even though it says 0% defragmented, and expecially after I have moved a bunch of files around. For each Project I keep everything in one folder, even exports, so that if I want to delete a project but keep the AVI, I don't have to look all over the computer to delete various parts of the project. I may change some of that procedure later, but works for now. My Scratch Discs are Same as Project, thanks.
Thanks for one TIP I believe Bill gave in another Post was to not store Projects? or video? on the Desktop, because it may have different characteristics (video editing problems?) than other storage folders. I thought that was interesting because I think people get used to putting stuff on the Desktop because it's easier than going to other folders. So now I just have Desktop Shortcuts to the folders I use all the time.
Don't know what Statically Managed means.

[SOLVED] How to Restore Folders/Files from a Hard Drive

I broke my system today; it won't boot into any run level. Rather than try to fix it, I'd like to just pull off the 4 or 5 MB of files that are on the hard drive. The partition they are in was formatted XFS. I have the 2008.06 ArchLive CD - is it possible to access files from the hard drive after booting with an ArchLive CD? If so, I could just scp them to an external server. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Last edited by tony5429 (2008-09-28 04:52:39)

You should be able to mount the partition once you've loaded up the live CD. Just figure out which one it is by using
fdisk -l
then mount it to /mnt or wherever you want it.
As for moving/saving them, I'm not entirely sure how to get them onto an external server. You might have to mount another partition in order to install any apps that you need to connect to an external server, but wait for someone who really knows to answer before you try it. If you're only talking about 4 or 5 MB, I would just mount a USB stick and dump them on there.
Last edited by Xyne (2008-09-28 03:38:02)

Where do project files live on hard drive?

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