After 10.2 Update Final Cut Pro X and Motion Keeps Crashing

Prab_, Final Cut Pro X 10.2 as well as Motion 5.2 are super picky when it comes to installed fonts.

Most likely you have a font conflict.

There are several things you can do. I would do, in the following order:

1) Validate fonts. Go to the following support document, scroll down to Validate and check your fonts:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201749

If problems are found, delete the affected fonts

If validating doesn't help there can still be font issues.

2) Check if the problem is bound to the current user.

Create a new user in System Preferences, log in as the new user and start FCP. If it works, the problem is with fonts in your usual user's Library. If not, it's with system fonts.

If FCP starts for the new user, log in as your usual user, go to your user's Library (in Finder type: Command-Shift-G, then: ~/Library) and move the folder called Fonts to the Desktop. Log out and back in and see if you can start FCP.

3) If that doesn't help or if the problem was System related, open Font Book, go to File and "Restore Standard Fonts". Log out and back in and test FCP.

Alternatively to restoring the standard fonts, you can clean and rebuild the font cache (that's what helped me).

To do so, open Terminal and use the following commands:

atsutil databases -removeUser

This will remove the current user's font cache.

If you want to delete the font cache for all users, use this command followed by giving your admin password:

sudo atsutil databases -remove

The password won't show up but will be accepted.

Now stop the ATS server:

atsutil server -shutdown

Then restart it:

atsutil server -ping

Hope something will help.

Thanks for your tips. So far, I've been able to get Motion working (after deleting some fonts), but Final Cut is still crashing; I've just resolved duplicates, and I'm emptying the trash and repairing disk permissions. I hope FC starts up after I restart.

My happiness has indeed been short-lived. Having validated and removed bad fonts, I was able to get Motion going again, but Final Cut would still not open. Having resolved duplicates, repaired disk permissions and emptied the trash, FC is still not opening, and Motion is quitting (again) during start up.

Try cleaning the font cache.

Open Terminal and use the following commands:

atsutil databases -removeUser

This will remove the current user's font cache.

Now stop the ATS server:

atsutil server -shutdown

Then restart it:

atsutil server -ping

Reboot (or at least log out and back in) and try to start FCPX.

Following up on the advice to create a new user, it also could be something other than a font. In the new account, does Final Cut and/or Motion crash?

Russ

"Fonts shouldn't be an issue since every thing was working perfectly before this update."

Well, Final Cut 10.1.2 was running perfectly fine but 10.2 didn't run at all for me (i.e. crashed after a few seconds). In my case it was a corrupt/damaged font cache.

Many others had success after ealing with fonts. This may be due to the fact that 10.2 with its new 3D titles needs 100% working fonts and thus is so picky.

But of course the reason for 10.2 not working can be completely unrelated to fonts. So if you validated fonts, restored standard fonts and even dealt with the font cache, I would try other usual suspects like trashing preferences etc. On the system level of course, because a fresh user didn't help you.

And I would do that just for a few minutes and then call Apple support, especially as projects are delayed.

Or just stay on 10.1.2 and finish the projects first.

"Thanks for help. Can i revert back to old version?"

Yes. Trash 10.2 and get your previous version of FCPX from your latest backup. Should start and work just fine, unless you have converted your projects to 10.2 format already. In that case you have to revert those projects too (get previous version from your backup).

"… can't give a simple crash report …"

You don't get them?

If so, check in Console.app for crash reports.

In my case a line about fonts in the crash report got me on the right track.

😐

Hello bambule.

Thanks for all your help so far. I am able to open both FC and Motion as a guest user on my machine, but in spite of following all the recommended steps on "my side" of the machine, both applications are still quitting during launch.

One thing that does puzzle me though is that right after the upgrades, both applications were able to open at least once, and I was able to do a little work (on the day after upgrading); come forward a couple of days, and the horror story began.

Reading over this thread I'm not clear about what you've tried…for example, whether you restored Final Cut from an earlier version,

But just to add that any time an application crashes, it's a good practice to clear the (Final Cut's) preference files before re-launching.

The fact that you could open and run final Cut and Motion from a guest account is interesting, So there is something amiss in your main user account…which could be a lot of things. Some alternatives to consider: try to diagnose and rebuild it (tedious); use a new user account (but not a guest account) to run solely the pro apps; make the new user your main account and save (or delete) the old; do a clean install (after a fresh backup of course).

Good luck.

Russ

Thanks to everyone for their input, but I'm at my wits' end. I have tried every single recommendation in this thread, inclusive of deleting preferences for both applications, and the result is still the same.... I have no idea how many people out there have this same issue, but this is major for me, with lost work time and a project that had to be abandoned. Thanks again. I'll let you know what happens when it does.

Hello AustinTT,

I reverted back to 10.1.4, to be back in business. Some other threads report, that they could access their library if they create a new user and access their library from within that new user. This is - of course - just some means to survive for the current project.