Rescuing old iMovie files without file extensions
I have a number of old iMovie (maybe version 1 or 2??) files that I want to rescue. They are from 2002 and 2003. They do not have file extensions. Ideas on how to do this?
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With files that old, I wouldn’t add extensions or modify the originals yet. Make a copy first.
The missing extension by itself doesn’t necessarily mean the files are damaged. Older Mac files could rely on file metadata instead of a filename extension.
I’d first select one in Finder and choose File > Get Info. Check what it shows for Kind, Open with, and the file size. If Finder identifies it as an iMovie project, try opening a copy with iMovie.
Apple still provides an Update Projects and Events command for projects created in older versions of iMovie, but that migration path is for older supported iMovie project formats and may not reach all the way back to iMovie 1 or 2.
If you can post what Get Info > Kind says for one of those files, plus whether each item is a single file or appears as a folder/package, that would help narrow down what you actually have.