" this project is unreadable or too new for this version of final cut"

If you've opened and saved your project in FCP, you've probably lost the ability to open in in FCE. You might try a previous version in your Autosave Vault.

There have been reports of project files getting goobered up in FCE4, but an update (4.0.1, I think) helped in many instances. Have you tried Software Update? (I use FCE3.5, so I have no direct knowledge of this.)

You might also try the old standards:
Trash FCE Preferences ( http://www.fcpbook.com/misc1.html).
Use Disk Utility to repair permissions.

I had the exact same thing happen to me MANY time now and I see no specific answers on why this is happening or how to repair it. Yes, I've been able to go back to the Autosave vault to grab an earlier copy, but it is still missing the final edits, etc and ends up creating a lot more work.

Why IS this happening? This is a consistent thing and is very, very time consuming when one has deadlines and then has to recreate the last hours worth of work!

I've repaired permissions. I've trashed preferences. Nothing fixes this problem.

I'm new to FCE, but very quickly I'm about to abandon it and go to another software program as this is unacceptable. It's also a little odd that nobody, especially Apple can comment on this.

First, there is no one from Apple on this forum.

Second, what version of FCE originally created this project? What version of FCE are you using now?

I'm using the latest version of FCE and the project was created yesterday with the same version.

The only CONSISTENT thing I can think of is that I am importing a layered Photoshop file into the video. That seems to be what messes it up. Everything works fine however UNTIL I save and quit... then I can't reopen it ever again.

You mean version 4.0.1. Is that correct?

Can you send me the layered PSD file?

Version 4.0.1

Sure, I can send it to you if you want.

Tom: Sent via YouSendIt.com

Thanks!

One problem, which should not cause this, but may do as I don't think anyone knows why it happens, is that the file is in the wrong format. It should not be 720x486, but 720x480. You should adjust the canvas size in Photoshop to fix this. You have also generated this file using rectangular pixels in Photoshop. Again this should not cause this problem, but it is not the way to work with Final Cut. Adobe and Apple calculate pixel aspect differently. See if this helps you.

http://www.fcpbook.com/Photoshop1.html

Also the text layers should be rasterized before being brought in FCE. What font is Amy Daly BTW?

There is a logo or something next to the words Home Center which doesn't look as if it's coming out right.

THANK YOU for mentioning the Photoshop problem here. I just got the dreaded "unreadable" error for the first time ever. I've been using Final Cut Express (FCE) for the past 2 years on this machine (and Final Cut Pro for 2 years on another machine before then) and never encountered something like this. Turns out, yesterday I imported a layered Photoshop file into my project for the first time, and it was working fine all afternoon, behaving well as a nested sequence, until I tried to re-open the project this morning after shutting down for the night. Thank goodness for the autosave vault, which had autosaved a version just prior to my adding the Photoshop stuff.

This is a shameful bug -- allowing you to work with imported files just fine until you restart, then boom, no access to your project? Puleese, Apple! My heart bleeds for all the poor souls who have missed deadlines and wasted weeks of work because of this. I feel like I've dodged a bullet. Guess the lesson is to save a differently-named version of your project before you do something "new". (And no, I didn't rasterize or correctly size the images before importing into FCE because I didn't think it mattered -- and it "worked" at the time.)

So is there any way to get around this without having to re-create hours of work? Would deleting the original Photoshop file help?

I am skeptical as to Photoshop's being the culprit, as I added a sequence last night, and re-booting the computer this morning didn't seem to affect FCE. Regardless of the problem's cause, this is very aggravating, and it would be very beneficial NOT to be set hours behind on my project. Que sera, sera, I suppose.