NewMacUserinDE

Q: Trying to move iMovie '09 library to AirPort Time Capsule

In order to free up storage on my iMac, I am trying to move the iMovie '09 (version 8.0.6) library to external storage (AirPort Time Capsule).  I have been successful in moving the Photos and iTunes libraries, but iMovie doesn't recognize this external storage.  It just shows a small error triangle on the external library. What am I doing wrong?  How do I move this library off the iMac?

iMac (27-inch Late 2009), OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Aug 29, 2015 7:30 PM

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Q: Trying to move iMovie '09 library to AirPort Time Capsule

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  • by joe_7399,

    joe_7399 joe_7399 Aug 31, 2015 8:10 AM in response to NewMacUserinDE
    Community Specialists
    Aug 31, 2015 8:10 AM in response to NewMacUserinDE

    Hello NewMacUserinDE,

    I understand you are wanting to move your iMovie '09 projects and events to an external AirPort Time Capsule drive.  It sounds like you used the Finder application to drag your photo libraries and iTunes libraries to the external drive.  Is this what you attempted to do with your iMovie files as well?

    I think your issue is that you cannot use the Finder application to move the iMovie projects and events files.  You will want to do this within the iMovie application itself.  In the iMovie application, choose View > Group Events by Disk in the menu bar.  Do you see the Airport Time Capsule listed in this view?  If not, you may need to use a different "local" external drive for these files versus the networked Time Capsule.  

    If you can see the external drive from within the iMovie application, you can drag a project from the Macintosh HD volume to the external drive. You'll see a pop-up option to copy just the small project file or "Copy Project and Events" which includes all of the files.  Confirm that you can open these files from the external drive before deleting them from the Macintosh HD.

    For more information, search for "Copying or moving a project to an external hard disk" in the iMovie '09 help menu.

    Regards,

  • by NewMacUserinDE,

    NewMacUserinDE NewMacUserinDE Sep 1, 2015 6:56 PM in response to joe_7399
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apple Watch
    Sep 1, 2015 6:56 PM in response to joe_7399

    Yes, I have used the Finder application for the Photo library and the iTunes library.  I tried to do the same for iMovie and it hasn't worked.

     

    Within the iMovie application the AirPort Time Capsule is not available to select.  It sees it, but has a little error on it.  This leads me to believe that I cannot use a networked attached storage.  Which is such a bummer, because these are exactly the big files that I need removed off of the iMac to free up some space. 

     

    I will try your suggestion in the iMovie '09 help menu and see if I can find some other options. 

     

    Thank you for taking the time to respond!  I really appreciate it.

  • by judysings,

    judysings judysings Sep 2, 2015 10:53 AM in response to NewMacUserinDE
    Community Specialists
    Sep 2, 2015 10:53 AM in response to NewMacUserinDE

    Hi NewMacUserinDE,

    I would suggest you try the steps above with an external drive that is formatted for Mac OS Extended Journaled.  Everybody has their own personal workflow, but I tend do use a dedicated local 3-4 TB external drive to collect and organize all of my unedited video clips, events and projects.  When I've completed a project, I export the final movie to the external drive and put a copy of it on my internal drive.  My Macintosh HD is then backed up a second time with the Time Machine application.

    Here's how to format a new external drive:

     

     

     

    1. Be sure your drive is attached and mounted.
    2. If you have already written any data to the drive, back it up before proceeding to the next step.
    3. In the Finder, choose Go > Utilities. The /Applications/Utilities folder will open.
    4. Launch Disk Utility.
    5. Click the icon for your external hard drive in the sidebar on the left.

    6. Click the Erase tab along the top of the window.

    7. From the Volume Format menu, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

    8. Enter a name for the external hard drive in the Name field.
    9. Click the Erase button.

     

     

    Format external drives to Mac OS Extended before using with Aperture - Apple Support

     

    If you plan on purchasing an external hard drive, I suggest comparing the options we offer from Apple using the following link.

     

    Storage - Mac Accessories - Apple

     

    Regards,

  • by GeeD,

    GeeD GeeD Sep 2, 2015 12:53 PM in response to NewMacUserinDE
    Level 5 (7,723 points)
    Video
    Sep 2, 2015 12:53 PM in response to NewMacUserinDE

    "This leads me to believe that I cannot use a networked attached storage."

    I think your conclusion is correct but for what it's worth this tip has been claimed to work with imovie 9https://www.chrissearle.org/2011/05/27/Store_iMovie_events_on_a_network_drive_NA S/

    With iMovie 10, using a sparse image on a NAS drive has been shown to work - don't know if this also works with earlier versions:

    iMovie 10.0 and Network Drives

     

    Geoff.