I'm unable to update old .rcproject files, iMovie 10.1.11

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Level 1

8 points

I'm unable to update old .rcproject files, iMovie 10.1.11

Hello,

I was advised to archive some old iMovie projects to free up hard drive space before changing to a new Mac at work last year. I copied the .rcproject file/package as well as the project folder containing the CurrentVersion.imovieevent file and all the Original Media etc., to a server before deleting those files from my hard drive.

From past threads I see the advice for opening old .rcproject files was to be to copy the .rcproject file to the iMovie Projects folder (in the users Home/Movies area of the hard drive) and reopen iMovie. That has not worked for me in iMovie 10.1.11.

When choosing Update Projects and Events, iMovie says it could not find any projects or events to update. Do you know of a different way to get older (2013) .rcproject files to update? Or will I need to rebuild these movie projects?

Thank you.

Mac Pro

Posted on Sep 18, 2019 6:36 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Rick H. Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 18, 2019 2:29 PM in response to Rick H.

A big shout-out goes out to Shawn from iMovie support--he was able to help a lot!! The biggest help was that he had me update to 10.1.12, mentioning .12 is able to open a larger number of older movie formats compared to .11. Once that completed imovie no longer showed the clips as missing. The only thing I need to re-add is is the background music file from the jingles library.

He also gave a great tip: Because this project is a larger one I'd like to store off my Mac since it only needs revision changes once in a while, he recommended creating a new library just to house this project (both the event and the project). That way I can revise the movie, share it, close that library, then copy that single library to the server and delete it off my Mac. The only catch was that I'd need to copy it back in before trying to open/revise it in the future since it is not a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) drive.

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Answer 2

Rick H. Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 18, 2019 8:26 AM in response to Rich839

Thanks Rich, we're making progress. I deleted the "UpdatedToiMovie10" files out of both the events and projects folders. That allowed iMovie to see that new project data was available when updating. The project I previously couldn't view was now listed in the Projects list and the event by that name was also listed on the left side of the screen in the new Library.

When I opened the project, all the video clips are labeled as missing. And the event on the left of the screen doesn't show any of the clips. It's interesting that the still photos in the project are not missing.

Questions:

Since it made a new library (Library 4) during the update, can I delete the previous library (Library 4)? One weird thing is #5 is 5 GB smaller than #4.
What is the best way to re-import the video data so the edited clips no longer show as missing?

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Answer 3

Rich839

Level 8

47,670 points

Sep 18, 2019 9:14 AM in response to Rick H.

Re question no. 1: I would not delete the libraries until you have your issue worked out. I assume that when you said you made a new library #4 that you meant to say new library #5?

Re question no. 2: I am not sure of the best way to re-import the video data. I have never had this situation myself. The Projects folder points to the Events folder, so if the latter is empty that would explain why the Projects folder shows missing clips. Did the video data exist in the iMovie 9 Events folder in the first place? If it does, you could try copying the video data (copying, not deleting or moving) and then dragging it into the new Event folder in the iMovie sidebar. See if the Projects folder will recognize it. If things mess up you might need to delete the "UpdatedToiMovie10" marker again and start over.

Be sure not to make any changes or deletions or move things in the Projects folder or Events folder or you might corrupt them and then you won't get your updates. So leave them intact, but you can copy things and you can delete the "UpdatedToiMovie10" marker.

If you need to free up space you can always move the Projects and Events folders to the root level (i.e, not in any folder or subfolder) of an external drive that is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled). If you reformat be aware that reformatting erases all data on the drive, so back up first.

Also, if your earlier version of iMovie still works, you can share out the projects as final movies and thus preserve them that way.

-- Rich

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Answer 4

Rick H. Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 18, 2019 11:11 AM in response to Rich839

Yes, I meant to say Library 5 had been built. I tried re-importing the movie files but have not been able to get the edited clips to re-link to them.

Steps I did: I copied all the movie files from the server to my desktop, then choose import to add them to the event. The clips still did not re-link after a restart, and the update projects and events didn't see anything to update. So I again deleted the "UpdatedToiMovie10" files and did another update hoping the movie files I re-imported would be updated, but the event in the now Library 6, was empty. The movies for that event in Library 5 are still there after the Library 6 update.

There's got to be a way to re-link the edited clips to the updated movies from the event in Library 5... Does it matter that all the movie files in the "Original Media" were saved as .mov files (back in 2013)?

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Answer 5

Rich839

Level 8

47,670 points

Sep 18, 2019 11:20 AM in response to Rick H.

Hmmmm. Without being able to experiment on your computer I am finding that I can't adequately answer your questions. I suggest that you click on the ""Contact Support" button at the top right hand corner of this forum's screen. Navigate to iMovie in the support screen. There will be a telephone number there that you can call to talk to a support person. They are pretty good there. I think that a voice conversation would be of benefit.

Hopefully the support people will be able to advise how to re-connect the links.

-- Rich

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Answer 6

Rich839

Level 8

47,670 points

Sep 18, 2019 12:39 PM in response to Rick H.

To use an external hard disk with iMovie it must be formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled). (Or APFS, though that format is not as compatible.) Windows ExFat drives will be compatible with Mac for most things, but not libraries. Also, iMovie doesn't support network -attached storage.

The windows format or your external server could be causing the problem. Try doing your update to an external drive that is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

-- Rich

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Answer 7

Rich839

Level 8

47,670 points

Sep 18, 2019 7:03 AM in response to Rick H.

Open your Projects folder and Events folder and see if there is a marker there that says "UpdatedToiMovie10". If the marker is there, delete it and try to update again.

-- Rich

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