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iMovie 10.0 and Network Drives

Hi fellow iMovie users

Having just upgraded my install following the release of the new iLife apps this evening, I am running into some trouble

I had enabled access to network and external drives for iMovie 9 and would now like to do the same with iMovie 10

In iMovie 9 this Terminal command did the trick

defaults write -app iMovie allowNV -bool true

In the new iMovie 10 I am trying to access the iMovie library on my network drive. File > Open Library > Other... > and finally selecting the iMovie library on my network drive

Now I see a popup reading:

Libraries cannot be saved at this location

The format of the selected hard disk or network volume is not supported. Select a different location.

Curious to see if anyone has a workaround or pointers.


I am looking forward to getting this working..

Posted on Oct 22, 2013 7:44 PM

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Posted on Oct 27, 2013 4:40 PM

iMovie is asking for a disk that is correctly formated. You're not able to format your NAS in the correct way so you need to create a disk image that is in the correct format. That image can be created on the NAS


disk utility - new image


Save as: your-name

Where: Network share


Name: your-name

Size: Custom

Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)

Encryption: none

Partitions: Single partition - Apple partition map

Image Format: sparse disk image


(google can help)


Your disk image will mount as a fully functional disk which can be used for iMovie to store your library


(can someone explain the differance between sparse bundle disk image and sparse disk image?)

34 replies

Jan 11, 2014 11:31 AM in response to MacSjon1

I'm looking for a solution to this since months... I tried this smart solution, but in my case did not work.

I created a disk image on my LaCie NAS and a second disk image on a LaCie disk, formatted itself as Mac OS Extended Journaled and connected via esata to the NAS.

I still see on iMovie also the disk images with the yelow triangle.

Any new suggestion?

thanks in advance for any help

(Maveriks, iMovie'11 9.0.9)

Apr 3, 2014 7:28 AM in response to MacSjon1

Some excellent lateral thinking here.


I finally got it to work once I realised the NAS Drive appears as a drive "apparently" attached directly to the MAC - look at the top level drive listing for your Mac - rather than as a drive via the network! It then becomes easy to "transfer" (ie copy) iMovie files to the new location.


Next problem is can this new NAS Drive be shared with other Mac's on the network? I can see that 2 Mac's trying for access simultaneously might cause a problem but is it possible to "mount" the NAS Drive created on Mac A on Mac B once Mac A has finished with it?


Thanks for any help here.

Apr 9, 2014 6:46 PM in response to yetieater

MacSJon1 solution ALMOST worked for me. I don't know if things changed since when he posted to April14 when I did mine. So what worked for me is , like I said off his ideas


Open disk utility

File -> New -> Blank Image Disk


Save as: imovie-nas-disk

Where: DESKTOP **MacSJon1 had network share, that didn't work for me, said couldn't save it there.


Name: imovie-nas-disk

Size: Custom

Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)

Encryption: none

Partitions: Single partition - Apple partition map

Image Format: sparse disk image

Click OK

Once it is done, there will be a New disk on your finder name imovie-nas-disk.... Click on the eject button next to it

then go to your desktop there will be a file called imovie-nas-disk.sparse

copy that file to your NAS , then delete the file from desktop

once on your NAS double click on imovie-nas-disk.sparse (taht will mount the image on finder)

then open imovie

File -> Open Library -> New -> then create a new library on the disk that was just mounted


how to import from old library to new library, sorry that I dont know how to do. My guess is you can copy all the contents of the project and event folder to the new project and event folders, BUT at your risk. google how to migrate over

Jun 3, 2014 1:07 PM in response to wandm94

wandm94: I just located the default imovie library for my MBP and MP and copied them to the "mounted" sparse disk image - the mounted image appears under the list of "DEVICES" in Finder. I had to make sure I renamed each library so I could distinguish them when I went to iMovie / File / Open Library / Other. Once you've opened the library(ies) they appear as a list under File / Open Library /.


The remaining issues are "performance" - is the network mounted Library going to be fast enough (I don't know yet) and "updating" Libraries - if the network isn't fast enough and you decide to work on a "local" copy of your Library how do you keep this in sync with the NAS version(s) without having to recopy the entire

library after an update?


I'm still working out how to implement this idea...

Jun 8, 2014 12:56 PM in response to MacSjon1

Unbelievable MacSJon1!! I have wasted hours/days. Your solution is indeed brilliant. Worked for me with a Buffalo Link Station Pro Quad. Just yesterday Buffalo Tech support informed me that I can not change the format of my Buffalo NAS that is XFS formatted and that I would need to buy yet another $ item called a DAS where I can change the format to HFS+ which I understand to be the same as Mac OSX Extended Journaled. Your solution fixed my problem without buying anything else!


Why doesn't Time Capsule (an Apple Product) allow an iMovie Library to be created on their own product? I read in another post that iMovie will not create a library on a time capsule where Time Machine has been backed up. Apple needs a seamless solution for a user to import video files, store them on either a XFS formatted NAS (Network Access Storage) so I can allow other family members with Windows to use the same NAS. For those with only a Time Capsule, Apple should also allow iMovie to create a library on a Time capsule since few people will be able to store all of their videos and projects on their iMac hard drive forever.


Ironically, I had an old time capsule 1 TB that had been hit by lightning and wasn't working. I busted it apart and removed the Western Digital hard drive inside. So now I just have a plain old hard drive. I reformatted it to Mac OSX Extended Journaled and it works! It allows me to create an iMovie library on it. Rather strange since I could not do it when it was a Time Capsule.

Jul 12, 2014 7:35 PM in response to MacSjon1

Thanks for this brilliant solution...


I did exactly the same but with two exceptions - 1) I chose GUID partition, and 2) I chose to make a 'Sparsebundle' instead of a 'sparse disk image'.(Yes it works. absolutely)I did this since i knew the basic difference between the two and since you asked it, here is a short answer-


To a user there is no difference what so ever, they are one and the same but they just work differently underneath. Sparse disk image is a single file a-z where as a sparse bundle is divided into blocks, called bands. I read some where that sparse bundle was created for time machine so it can work more efficiently. Right now my Crash Plan is backing up the sparse bundle containing my iMovie library from my NAS and its backing up its individual bands- with different suffixes (db1,bd3,db6 etc).


So i think this means backing up a sparse bundle will take considerably less time as only individual bands are needed to be replaced?!? any way thank for letting everyone know this great solution and for others i just want to restate that the solution also works with a sparse bundle having a GUID partition and i think they should work better...

iMovie 10.0 and Network Drives

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