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Final Cut Pro hangs while validating audio units

When starting Final Cut Pro, it hangs while validating audio units. Logic Pro validates them OK. Reinstalled FCP and MacOS. What next ?

MacBook Pro (2017 – 2020)

Posted on Apr 3, 2023 11:18 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 27, 2024 11:35 AM

I totally agree. I rarely use FCP because of this issue. Any time I think, oh let's edit some video, I remember how FCP will not open without me digging into my plugins and deleting all the hangs ups from the validation process. It could take an hour to get it to open. Then I just give up and try and use some other tool.


This has been a problem since time began. I have 800 or so audio plugs and I NEVER EVER use them in FCP. I always bring in final audio to FCP, so I do not need these audio plugins. It is beyond frustrating that Apple does not care about this issue.


Let us bypass this process that hobbles FCP.

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59 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 27, 2024 11:35 AM in response to David Bruce Hughes

I totally agree. I rarely use FCP because of this issue. Any time I think, oh let's edit some video, I remember how FCP will not open without me digging into my plugins and deleting all the hangs ups from the validation process. It could take an hour to get it to open. Then I just give up and try and use some other tool.


This has been a problem since time began. I have 800 or so audio plugs and I NEVER EVER use them in FCP. I always bring in final audio to FCP, so I do not need these audio plugins. It is beyond frustrating that Apple does not care about this issue.


Let us bypass this process that hobbles FCP.

May 7, 2023 12:38 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

I don't understand how anyone could think Disabling all of your AUs in a Video Editor is a workaround. That seems a bit uber-casual and out of touch. I am not trying to take out the frustration I have with apple on the forum, but I don't even understand how someone could think that is a reliable workaround... except to people who do nothing but chop out clips for TikTok or their Facebook Timeline.


Without those plug-ins, the software itself is of no use. It's the reason why I have the plug-ins. If they weren't useful, I'd have deleted them all and moved on - why even waste GBs of storage on my machine for them, if I don't *actually* need them. I don't even really use Logic Pro on that machine... ever. It was purchased for Final Cut Pro.


Video is an Audio-Visual medium. We can't just be expected to disable all of our plug-ins, plug-ins that were purchased and/or installed specifically for use in the software. Until Final Cut Pro offers the equivalent of - at least - RX Standard, then that is 100% a no-go. Not for the type of footage I have to work with (due to the facilities/environments in which it is recorded, not because it was "badly recorded").


If Video Plug-ins couldn't be scanned and were freezing FCP the way AUs are, I wonder how people would react to others telling them to just disable all of them and wait for Apple to remember that they completely broke their own software. It's been at least a full month since they broke this, and they haven't even attempted to fix it.


All of this for... correct Skin Tones on Pushing Hands emoji?

Apr 11, 2023 6:22 AM in response to eliassinclair

eliassinclair wrote:

Yes, it's boring since a lot of years that it's not able to disable AU scan in Final Cut. I personally don't need any audio plugins in FCP.
At now it hangs here :

//:0
https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/e651304e-8960-4d38-9165-f82b9180ae98

Please fixit very soon! I can't use FC at the moment.


We are users like you. We can't fix FCP, but the workaround that I mentioned works.

You can even see two small Automator workflows that can move the files back and forth.


Also: FCP does NOT have to check audio units every time! In my Mac, it only validates when I say so, by clicking the "Validate on Next Launch" button, otherwise it just starts without validating.




Apr 4, 2023 1:51 AM in response to David Bruce Hughes

There have been some similar reports recently. Apparently some audio units cause trouble with FCP.

At the moment, the only way I know to go through this is to divide and conquer, to find which audio units are problematic, and keeping them out of the folder location when launching FCP.


You may be interested to read these other threads:


Final Cut Pro hangs on Audio Unit validat… - Apple Community


Re: Izotope plug ins stopping FCPX from working

Apr 15, 2023 2:48 AM in response to David Bruce Hughes

Before following the below steps recommended by a Reddit user (credits to AyenneTeajay), I too had same problem on my MBP M2 Max. Even deletion of FCP preferences & re-installation of FCP didn't help. Later after moving all the Audio Components as specified in below steps, finally could launch the FCP. Later I have copied back all Components except the two that were reported as incompatible. In my case, the two plugin/components culprits were MConvulution EZ & MRecorder.


  1. Go to your plug-ins folder (Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components
  2. Copy all of the files and paste them somewhere else (you'll need to copy them back later)
  3. Delete them from the plug-ins folder (the one from step 1)
  4. Start Final Cut
  5. If it opens, close it and start copying back the plug-ins in small bunches at once - say 10 at a time (or whatever comforting division you like), as after each paste, start Final Cut again to see if it works.
  6. If Final Cut gets stuck again after some portion of the plug-ins is pasted, remove this portion and add the components one by one, as you start Final Cut after each paste so you can see which component causes the problem.
  7. After isolating the wrong component, keep adding the rest of the plug-ins in bunches by 10 (or another comforting division) and keep checking them by opening Final Cut. Ideally, in the end, you will have it working with all the plug-ins pasted back into the original plug-ins folder (the one from step 1.)


May 9, 2023 6:26 AM in response to Dr Lamingtone

Have you seen my solution just above your post?


Create a new volume on your boot drive with Disk Utility, install an earlier version of macOS on that and use it for FCP.


Once you have the installer the whole process takes less than half an hour and you will be able to use FCP and all your plugins exactly as before.


How to download macOS - Apple Support


Apr 6, 2023 12:16 PM in response to David Bruce Hughes

Yes,I have same issue.


I've taken the plunge to update to Ventura (13.3) today, only to be disappointed with FCP X (10.6.5) problem hanging with validating audio units. I have over 1100 3rd party audio plugins, so it took a long time to separate invalid ones in order to get FCP X to even run without hanging. Best way is grouping alphabetically, and placing into a folder within the components folder in the Library.


Main issue now is that I have to manually keep moving plugins every time i switch between Logic Pro (10.7.7) and FCP X (10.6.5), as those plugins who do hang FCP X do not hang and validate perfectly in Logic Audio 10.7.7).


Currently FCP X does not seem to allow invalid plugins to be ignored or removed, as always there is no direct support to manage plugins as you can in Logic Pro.


I wish Apple would make FCP much more audio and audio mixing friendly. It leaves a lot to be desired.

Apr 11, 2023 7:33 AM in response to David Bruce Hughes

I've read that force quitting FCPX and re-opening it several times will eventually make FCPX realize that there's a problematic plugin and disable it. I've tried it and it worked for me; I had two plugins that were incompatible and I eventually received the popup window that those two plugins were disabled. I did open the program with Option+Command too; not sure if it had an impact. Maybe try that a few times before diving into the plugins folder, which contains several hundreds in my case.

Apr 11, 2023 12:04 PM in response to terryb

It was in no noteworthy order. I tried to open FCP a couple of times regularly and had to force-quit it, then I read about clicking on it with Command+Option, had to force-quit it again, then tried to open it a couple of times regularly, then maybe once again with Command+Option, force -quit it again, and at some point it opened and gave me the popup window with the incompatible plugins. Sorry I can't be more specific, and now FCP is running so I cannot reproduce the error. I wish you the best of luck!

Final Cut Pro hangs while validating audio units

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