User profile for user: ihateapple2
ihateapple2 Author
User level: Level 1
25 points

imovie jumps/halts/freezes

Okay, I've read everything posted about iMovie jumping/skipping and tried all the fixes. but none work. I've lost a 45 minute video that took me a week to create. Took my trusty iMac GF with 250 gig hard drive and 1 g RAM down to the Apple store as the same problems happened on my second video of similar length. They claimed I had a corrupted file and the only fix was to either find the file (yeah, right, with clips, photos, music beds, titles, dissolves, etc etc) so deleted the darn thing and had another go. Still the same problem. The playhead will not play smoothly - it skips several seconds, puts the whole video in absolute limbo while I am sitting here staring blankly at a frozen screen - and then seconds later after the rainbow whirly-gig stops spinning it starts playing and skipping again. I've had to force quit several times just like before. And am now looking at losing yet another 45 minute video that has taken me 2 weeks to build.

Anybody able to help me? I don't have Quicktime, only quicktime player. tied the Quicktime fix suggested but it cannont be installed on my computer - too new, I suppose. But it is getting old fast. Gee, wonder why Apple can't just make something that WORKS!! Sorry, lost control there for a minute. But boy, I am beginning to wonder why I bought this machine and why I am wasting so much time with a program that obviously has glitches and problems.

Anybody out there ever really fix a problem like this? Apple ought to create a program that tracks down rogue files that are "corrupted" through no fault of the user.

I got the first video to the point where I tried to burn a DVD in iDVD and after 3 days of attempting that and endless freezing up and rejection from iDVD deleted the video and all that work. Started over and now here I am once again facing the same problems. New machine right out of the box less than a month old. What the hey.

Can anybody suggest anything other than deleting it all once again and starting over?

Much thanks in advance!!

Posted on Aug 18, 2005 2:09 PM

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10 replies
User profile for user: Terry Drew
Terry Drew
User level: Level 1
10 points

Aug 18, 2005 2:58 PM in response to ihateapple2

I am by no means a expert. all i can tell you is what worked for me. i had been using os x 10.3.9 and all was great until I updated my QT to 7. then slowly things ground to a halt. basically imovie was unusably slow. I downloaded the QT 6.5.2 re install and all has been great since. I am sure you have qt on your system, do the get info for it and see what version you have. get the 6.5.2 and you may need to update your os x to 10.3.9. hope it works, I know the frustration!!!
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User profile for user: Jack Kelley1
Jack Kelley1
User level: Level 1
125 points

Aug 18, 2005 5:47 PM in response to ihateapple2

Rob, hi --

A couple of thoughts:

First, you can go into "Preferences" (not System but Discussions) under your Login icon to update your OS details.

Second, I'm no expert but at the risk of repeating what you've already read, can tell you what worked for me. I ran all the maintenance checks -- Repair Permissions, Verify SMART Status, etc -- to no apparent avail. (Although it's possible these steps ultimately helped.) What turned the corner was clearing extracted audio. Once I deleted all extracted audio -- including from transitions -- the sound stopped dragging and the project played more smoothly, but still stuttered a little in the video.

Then I cleared 85 Sound Effects locked to stills, and that ended the video stuttering.

Any chance you've got some extractions still sitting there zeroed out? Or any imported audio that might be defective?

My inexpert hunch from reading many posts on similar problems is that these corruptions are often audio linked. If it's not in your extractions, it may be in imported audio from iTunes or elsewhere. Might be worth blowing away any suspect audio clips to see if you can restore functionality before trashing the whole project.

One poster cautioned that activating File Vault causes stuttering. I haven't tested that.

Maybe more experienced users will weigh in here. If there has been a definitive fix posted, I've missed it. And I've seen posts from longtime users who believe this rampant stuttering is bug based and only Apple can find and repair it. It's possible I just got lucky.

Hope you do, too.

Jack
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User profile for user: ihateapple2
ihateapple2 Author
User level: Level 1
25 points

Aug 18, 2005 6:32 PM in response to ihateapple2

Jack - thanks for your calm and reasoned post. I, too, have tried every trick I've read about as per your experience. Just rechecked the Vault setting and it is still off.

Will now try your suggestion - although it pains me to delete so much work. I use dissolves to photos a lot during these videos (they are Life Story videos so extensive use of photos helps a lot). If this works, then I am essentially screwed as I won't know WHICH extraced audio is messing things up. I do have some sound effects saved in my iTunes which I used in the earlier video...wonder if that is what screwed up that piece of art. It was a thing of beauty. But, I suppose, can be recreated.

I'll try the audio delete thing and report back. Thanks for the suggestion.

Rob

P.S. Thanks for the tip on resetting my profile, too.
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User profile for user: Silly rabbit
Silly rabbit
User level: Level 4
2,985 points

Aug 18, 2005 6:35 PM in response to ihateapple2

Hi Rob,
I am guessing your movie is playing badly in Quicktime 7. It has been a large issue for many users with few real fixes. If your movie is playing terrible in iMovie you may want to shutdown all other apps while you are using iMovie. This being said, I have found that, even though the there is no way to get a good smooth preview of your iMovie mine will still burn to DVD perfectly, although, this is not the case for you.

Are you exporting to your movies to Quicktime before using iDVD or just using the iMovie project Quicktime files? Try exporting them to Quicktime and using this file for your iDVD projects.

As an attempted fix you could try removing all the .plist (preference) files for iMovie and iDVD. This may help. Just type iMovie or iDVD into a search box in the finder window and delete the .plist files.

You could also try a program called 'Coktail' (with a 'ck' - I can't type such a word) - from Versiontracker.com and empty your RAM cache. This may also help.

Keep trying Rob. There is a fix. You just have to find it.
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User profile for user: ihateapple2
ihateapple2 Author
User level: Level 1
25 points

Aug 18, 2005 6:59 PM in response to Silly rabbit

Well, I found a hanging piece of audio extracted that was just floating around - 2 of them, actually - eensie teensie ones. Deleted those and now I am at least getting decent playback once again. Still stutters when I first hit playback, but then it smooths out quickly. No freezing and no rainbow whirly-gig.

I checked my .plist files for immove and idvd and cannot delete them from within the imove and idvd folders. Am assuming this means there is nothing in there or they are protected somehow.

And I always make sure that I am only running imovie HD app when working on my videos.

I'll work with this awhile and see what happens. I don't really care if I get choppy playback if it will burn in iDVD. But when it is jumping and stuttering and freezing and unfreezing as it has been doing it is impossible to know if all of the editing stuff is right. Sigh.

The guys at Apple should be drawn and quartered over this since it is such a common problem.

If this fails, I have my Final Cut Pro disks ready to load and I will kiss the evil iMovie HD good-by forever.

Thanks for the help and encouragement.
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imovie jumps/halts/freezes

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