Why Can't I Open An .mp4 File That Previously Opened? (QuickTime & FinalCutPro)

Question

Why Can't I Open An .mp4 File That Previously Opened? (QuickTime & FinalCutPro)

I shot several videos with a GoPro camera. I transferred the video files to my MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013) with operating system Mac Os Catalina 10.15. All of the files played when I "clicked" on them.

Now one of the files will not open. My default media player is QuickTime. When I click on this file, I get a window explaining that the file is not compatible with QuickTime player. I had previously imported the file into FinalCutPro, which is where I first saw that it was registering an error, not playing in the video project. I tried to copy the file by moving it to another folder, and by pressing Command+D, but the file would beginning copying only to produce an error message about "Error 36" or something. The file may be corrupt in some way. I may have updated my laptop's OS or other software, thereby causing this situation.

My goal is to have a video file for my FinalCut Pro project. I can't get the file anywhere else; there's no copy anywhere. I must try to restore the functionality of this file.

MacBook Pro 15", macOS 10.15

Posted on Nov 19, 2019 4:07 PM

Reply

Answer 1

MoonJ.

Community Specialist

Nov 22, 2019 3:02 PM in response to stephenjameswhataheadache

Hello stephenjameswhataheadache,

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities. I understand there are issues opening a specific video file with either QuickTime or Final Cut Pro. I'll help in any way I can.

Since it's only this specific file, it would require restoring it in some way as the current version of the video file is corrupted. If you have a Time Machine backup, you can see about restoring it: Restore your Mac from a backup

Have a great day.

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Answer 2

brenden dv

Community Specialist

Nov 27, 2019 9:33 AM in response to stephenjameswhataheadache

stephenjameswhataheadache,

Thanks for the additional information.

It is indeed possible it might be related to the external hard drive. Check the permissions to the hard drive: Change permissions for files, folders, or disks on Mac

Take care.

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Answer 3

Nov 25, 2019 3:49 PM in response to MoonJ.

Moonj.

Thank you for the response. The file is on an external hard drive, not on my Macbook. Also, the problem has now extended to many files on the external hard drive. I cannot point to any action I took to cause this. Files that played one day, or were part of my Final Cut Pro session and played, now will not open and are described in Final Cut as "missing". Perhaps something went wrong with the external hard drive?

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Why Can't I Open An .mp4 File That Previously Opened? (QuickTime & FinalCutPro)

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