Hi,
You didn't give the full name of the video camera, but there is no HF M41 listed on Apple's website of iMovie supported
cameras. That might be the issue, although being unlisted doesn't necessarily mean that the camera won't work with iMovie. However, as the operating systems keep upgrading, sometimes cameras that previously were supported become unsupported for various reasons. Here's the link to the supported cameras website so you can check it out for yourself in case I missed spotting your camera:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204202
When you said you are running iMovie 10.1.1 I assume that you meant 10.1.11, the current version. If not, update to the current version.
If it were just a typo in describing your iMovie version, then try opening iMovie while holding down the Option and Command keys and selecting to delete preferences in the box that appears. iMovie will open in a new library. Reopen your old library to get back to your projects. Now see if you can import.
In case it is a library issue, you can try opening iMovie in a new library. You can do that by holding down the Option key as you open iMovie, and selecting a different or new library in the box that appears. See if the import will complete properly in the new library.
If still no luck, try using the Image Capture app on your Mac to import to your desktop rather than directly into iMovie. From your desktop you can drag the movies into iMovie. Another way is to import into the Photos app (actually, that is the recommended way), and from there you can access your clips from the Photos item in the side bar of an open iMovie project.
Although you replaced your wire, it might be that your USB socket is defective. Try using a different socket on your Mac and see if it makes a difference. You definitely do not want to use a hub. Also, you can try importing from the SD card instead of the camera itself.
You said that the problem happens with many clips. Does that mean that some clips do import properly? While it is not likely that many clips would have corruption, while some do not, it is possible. Corruption can be a cause of import failures. In what format are the failing clips being shot, and is the format different from the ones that are failing? Is it possible that your camera is malfunctioning in some way, causing corruption in a clip?
Also, check to see that you have sufficient space on your hard drive to allow completion of the import. It takes about 4 GB for iMovie to operate reliably, plus you need about 20GB or so to receive your video, depending on its file size.
-- Rich
