Grandpa Adams
Level 1 (20 points)

Q: How do you contact Apple support?

Sorry to bother you with such a stupid question but exactly how should one document the specifics of this extremely annoying FCPX crashing problem with Apple Support? I know I can call them but I want to send the details of what I was doing, length of project, preceeding step, etc. Am hopeful that if enough people formally complain and provide specifics they will acknowledge there is a major problem and get it fixed.

 

If Apple Support is monitoring these discussions - new iMac 27, 3.4 GHz i7, 16 Gb RAM, Radeon HD 2048 MB. OSX 10.7.2. FCPX 10.0.2. Beachball on 1.5 minute project. Optimized media. 720p-30. One transition, one connected clip (title). FCPX only app running. Cannot force quit FCPX. Let beachball run for about 10 minutes before power-off reset. Project plays okay after re-start. Doesn't appear that I lost any edits or content. Cannot replicate problem despite repeating steps used before on same project.

Posted on Jan 22, 2012 6:41 AM

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Grandpa Adams

Q: How do you contact Apple support?

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  • by andynick,

    andynick andynick Jan 22, 2012 7:39 AM in response to Grandpa Adams
    Level 5 (4,943 points)
    Video
    Jan 22, 2012 7:39 AM in response to Grandpa Adams

    Here's my pet answer for this (very common) question - don't lose heart! It's an awesome application - you just need to see why it's not working well on your system.

     

    FCP X runs very well (not perfectly, by any means) on my 2009 MacPro 2 x 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon with 16 GB RAM and ATI Radeon HD 5870 1024 MB

     

    First, check the spec of your iMac against the system requirements:

    http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/specs/

     

    Particularly your graphics card. If it's listed here, it's not suitable:

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4664

     

    If you are getting crashes, there is some conflict on the OS. Create a new (admin) user account on your system and use FCP X from there - if it runs a lot better, there's a conflict and a clean install would be recommended.

     

    Other ways to improve performance:

     

    Create optimised media.

     

    Hide Waveforms at all times when you don't need them (both in Browser and Storyline / Timeline). They take up a lot of processor power.

     

    Create folders in the Project library and put any projects you are not working on currently, in there. (Twirl it closed to hide them).

     

    Move your Projects and Events to an external HD (make sure it's formatted OS Extended - with journaled on or off) and run from there.

     

    The biggest single improvement I saw in performance was when I upgraded the RAM from 8 GB to 16.

     

    If you still feel the need to contact Apple Support, start here:

    http://www.apple.com/support/contact/

    Andy

  • by Grandpa Adams,

    Grandpa Adams Grandpa Adams Jan 22, 2012 1:21 PM in response to andynick
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Jan 22, 2012 1:21 PM in response to andynick

    Thanks AndyNick for taking time to reply. New iMac 27 inch exceeds minimum requirements for FCPX. Graphics card is not on list of cards that don't work. Latest versions of OSX Lion and FCPX. Only have one very short project with one event containing three clips. Problem is not poor performance speed. FCPX works great except for occasional lock-up that I have not been able to replicate. I'll sure try the things you mentioned but, based on past experiences with PCs and Macs, I think the conflict is inherent in either OSX Lion or FCPX or some combination of the two. Thanks again.