iDVD no longer burns, El Capitan

I have found a solution that at least works on my mid-2010 27" iMac using MacOS Sierra

1/ set encoding to "Optimal Performance"

2/ Activate Background Encoding (allowed only if the encoding set up is chosen as above)

3/ Once background encoding is completed, save your iDVD project as a Disk Image

4/ Once the writing of "your DVD".img file is completed, control-click on the file name in the Finder and in the contextual menu choose "Burn DVD". If your Mac has no internal DVD drive make sure you have plugged your external DVD burner before

Please let me know how this works for you

Best

@pdewost

I have the same problem as Ray, and I'm hoping Old Toad will look at my report, and let me know all the bad news.

It seems every OS update makes things worse. I'll be installing more RAM in a few days. Thanks.

EtreCheck version: 3.4 (420)

Report generated 2017-06-10 18:50:51

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 6:07

Performance: Below Average

Click the [Lookup] links for more information from Apple Support Communities.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

Click the [Clean up] link to delete unused files.

Problem: Apps are crashing

Description:

Running El Capitan. iDvd stops responding part way through the burn phase repeatedly.

Hardware Information:ⓘ

iMac (24-inch, Mid 2007)

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

iMac - model: iMac7,1

1 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (Extreme) CPU: 2-core

2 GB RAM - Insufficient RAM! Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

1 GB DDR2 SDRAM 667 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

1 GB DDR2 SDRAM 667 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Video Information:ⓘ

ATI,RadeonHD2600 - VRAM: 256 MB

iMac 1920 x 1200

Disk Information:ⓘ

ST3500418AS disk0: (500.11 GB) (Rotational)

[Show SMART report]

(disk0s1) <not mounted> [EFI]: 210 MB

Macintosh HD (disk0s2 - Journaled HFS+) / [Startup]: 499.25 GB (112.94 GB free)

(disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

USB Information:ⓘ

USB20Bus

Western Digital My Book 1130

USB20Bus

Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

USBBus

bluetooth_device

USBBus

USBBus

Logitech USB Receiver

USBBus

USBBus

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Virtual disks:ⓘ

Time Machine Backups (disk1s2 - Case-sensitive Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/Time Machine Backups : 3.00 TB (1.63 TB free)

Physical disk: My Book 1130 3.00 TB (1.63 TB free)

System Software:ⓘ

OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G1510) - Time since boot: about 12 days

Gatekeeper:ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Clean up:ⓘ

/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.wdc.WDPrivilegedHelper.plist

/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.wdc.WDPrivilegedHelper

Executable not found!

com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist

/Applications/Adobe Reader.app/Contents/MacOS/Updater/Adobe Reader Updater Helper.app/Contents/MacOS/Adobe Reader Updater Helper

Executable not found!

2 orphan files found. [Clean up]

Kernel Extensions:ⓘ

/Library/Application Support/LogMeIn/drivers

[loaded] com.logmein.driver.LogMeInSoundDriver (4.1.4667) [Lookup]

/Library/Application Support/WDSmartWare

[not loaded] com.wdc.driver.1394HP (1.0.7) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.wdc.driver.USBHP (1.0.7) [Lookup]

/System/Library/Extensions

[loaded] com.rim.driver.BlackBerryUSBDriverInt (0.0.74) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.rim.driver.BlackBerryUSBDriverVSP (0.0.74) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.wdc.driver.IOFireWireWDHID (1.1.2) [Lookup]

Startup Items:ⓘ

WDBMService: Path: /Library/StartupItems/WDBMService

Startup items no longer function in OS X Yosemite or later

System Launch Agents:ⓘ

[not loaded] 8 Apple tasks

[loaded] 147 Apple tasks

[running] 49 Apple tasks

[killed] 35 Apple tasks

35 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

System Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[not loaded] 46 Apple tasks

[loaded] 149 Apple tasks

[running] 68 Apple tasks

[killed] 27 Apple tasks

27 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

Launch Agents:ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (? ffb65062 dbda64ee - installed 2011-05-03) [Lookup]

[failed] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a725c38014c95072f92651fb65e1bf9c8e43c37a2 3d420d.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-01-13) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2017-03-28) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.hp.help.tocgenerator.plist (? 11d191c4 a5335bcc - installed 2012-06-09) [Lookup]

[running] com.logmein.logmeingui.plist (LogMeIn, Inc. - installed 2016-04-16) [Lookup]

[running] com.logmein.logmeinguiagent.plist (LogMeIn, Inc. - installed 2014-11-30) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.logmein.logmeinguiagentatlogin.plist (LogMeIn, Inc. - installed 2014-11-30) [Lookup]

[running] com.rim.BBAlbumArtCacher.plist (Research in Motion Limited - installed 2012-07-17) [Lookup]

[running] com.rim.BBLaunchAgent.plist (? dcf2726d 325bafa3 - installed 2012-09-22) [Lookup]

[running] com.rosettastone.rosettastonedaemon.plist (Rosetta Stone Ltd. - installed 2015-06-05) [Lookup]

Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-01-13) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-01-13) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (? 2afb3af7 77ec3a65 - installed 2017-04-26) [Lookup]

[running] com.fitbit.galileod.plist (Fitbit, Inc. - installed 2014-10-29) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2017-04-17) [Lookup]

[running] com.logmein.logmeinserver.plist (? 6cf8791b 9f3ae822 - installed 2014-11-30) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.malwarebytes.MBAMHelperTool.plist (Malwarebytes Corporation - installed 2016-01-04) [Lookup]

[running] com.rim.BBDaemon.plist (? 9f895e8a b21e1422 - installed 2012-07-17) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.wdc.WDPrivilegedHelper.plist (? 9f7f4405 0 - installed 2016-11-04) [Lookup] - /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.wdc.WDPrivilegedHelper: Executable not found!

User Launch Agents:ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (? 8dd75d77 dbda64ee - installed 2011-05-09) [Lookup]

[failed] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (? c8cc50de 0 - installed 2011-03-16) [Lookup] - /Applications/Adobe Reader.app/Contents/MacOS/Updater/Adobe Reader Updater Helper.app/Contents/MacOS/Adobe Reader Updater Helper: Executable not found!

[loaded] com.dropbox.DropboxMacUpdate.agent.plist (Dropbox, Inc. - installed 2017-05-31) [Lookup]

[running] com.techyutils.ummhlpr.plist (Techyutils Software Private Limited - installed 2017-04-05) [Lookup]

User Login Items:ⓘ

Dropbox Application

(/Applications/Dropbox.app)

WDSecurityHelper Application

(/Applications/WD Security.app/Contents/WDSecurityHelper.app)

Unpollute My Mac Application

(/Applications/Unpollute My Mac.app)

WD Quick View Application

(/Incompatible Software/WDQuickView.app)

HP Scheduler Application

(/Library/Application Support/Hewlett-Packard/Software Update/HP Scheduler.app)

Internet Plug-ins:ⓘ

Google Earth Web Plug-in: 7.1 (installed 2016-04-16) [Lookup]

Default Browser: 601 (installed 2016-07-30)

Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: 3.2.0.16 (installed 2014-03-23) [Lookup]

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 17.009.20044 (installed 2017-04-14) [Lookup]

FlashPlayer-10.6: 25.0.0.171 (installed 2017-05-10) [Lookup]

LogMeIn: 1.0.298 (installed 2008-10-17) [Lookup]

Silverlight: 5.1.41212.0 (installed 2016-04-16) [Lookup]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2017-05-29)

Flash Player: 25.0.0.171 (installed 2017-05-10) [Lookup]

iPhotoPhotocast: 7.0 (installed 2011-06-24)

AdobePDFViewer: 17.009.20044 (installed 2017-04-14) [Lookup]

CouponPrinter-FireFox_v2: Version 1.1.7 (installed 2012-09-04) [Lookup]

JavaAppletPlugin: 15.0.1 (installed 2012-08-13) Check version

User internet Plug-ins:ⓘ

fbplugin_1_0_3: Unknown (installed 2016-04-16) [Lookup]

Picasa: 1.0 (installed 2009-01-06) [Lookup]

3rd Party Preference Panes:ⓘ

Flash Player (installed 2017-04-26) [Lookup]

Flip4Mac WMV (installed 2014-03-23) [Lookup]

MacFUSE (installed 2013-01-11) [Lookup]

Time Machine:ⓘ

Skip System Files: NO

Mobile backups: OFF

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HD: Disk size: 499.25 GB Disk used: 386.31 GB

Destinations:

My Passport for Mac [Local]

Total size: 3.00 TB

Total number of backups: 56

Oldest backup: 11/5/16, 8:17 PM

Last backup: 5/22/17, 7:17 AM

Size of backup disk: Excellent

Backup size 3.00 TB > (Disk size 499.25 GB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU:ⓘ

40% Google Chrome Helper

13% Google Chrome

3% WindowServer

2% kernel_task

1% Dropbox

Top Processes by Memory:ⓘ

405 MB kernel_task

121 MB Google Chrome Helper

73 MB Google Chrome

56 MB ummhlpr

47 MB Google Chrome Helper

Top Processes by Energy Use:ⓘ

53.78 Google Chrome Helper

12.34 Google Chrome

4.34 WindowServer

0.84 LogMeIn

Virtual Memory Information:ⓘ

288 MB Available RAM

43 MB Free RAM

1.72 GB Used RAM

245 MB Cached files

250 MB Swap Used

Software installs:ⓘ

iDealshare VideoGo 6.1.1.6250: (installed 2017-05-22)

Dr. Cleaner Pro: 1.1.1 (installed 2017-05-29)

Install information may not be complete.

Diagnostics Information:ⓘ

2017-06-10 17:59:50 iDVD.app Hang [Open]

2017-06-10 17:21:13 VTEncoderXPCService High CPU use [Open] [Details]

2017-06-08 12:19:21 Software Update.app High CPU use [Open] [Details]

Restate exactly what your problem is with iDVD. We've got to be on the same page. If you're having burning problems list any messages you might get or what happens when you try.

Follow this workflow to help assure the best qualty video DVD:

Once you have the project as you want it save it as a disk image via the File ➙ Save as Disk Image menu option. This will separate the encoding process from the burn process.

To check the encoding mount the disk image, launch DVD Player and play it. If it plays OK with DVD Player the encoding is good.

Then burn to disk with Disk Utility or Toast at the slowest speed available (2x-4x) to assure the best burn quality. Always use top quality media: Verbatim, Maxell or Taiyo Yuden DVD-R are the most recommended in these forums.

2 GB RAM - Insufficient RAM! Upgradeable - [Instructions]

However, one problem is your RAM. You have insufficient RAM. It's barely enough to run just the system let alone any applications. Your model can utilize 6 GB of RAM. So get a couple of 2 GB RAM modules from either Crucial.com or MacSales.com so you can get up to 6 GB. That will help any slowness.

Rerun Etrecheck and under the Clean Up section remove the two orphaned files.

Get rid of the Western Digital software. It's not needed to run or manage any external HD for a Mac. It only interferes with the system's disk management capability.

Uninstall Unpollute My Mac. It's not required or necessary. Again it only slows down the iMac. Download, launch Etrecheck and do the following search: Name contains unpolluted. Any files found can be dragged from the search results window to the Trash bin on the Dock.

Uninstall Dr. Cleaner. Again it's totally unnecessary software that hinders the iMac's performance. Totally not needed. Here are a couple of sites describing how to uninstall. Follow the manual method, don't use their application:

Dr. Cleaner 2.0.0 Removal Tutorial

The correct way to remove Dr. Cleaner 2.0.0 completely

I would remove all items from the User Login Items and launch Dropbox only when you need it. The other items in that list are unnecessary. If you're worried about HP updates then then check there website occasionally. Running their software in the background only uses up system resources.

I reread your Etrecheck report an did some research on a couple of items and found that Toitcheck is malware browser hijacker.

Totiteck software | Official Apple Support Communities

Totiteck

Remove it: Remove Search.totiteck.com from Mac OS X and Windows. It may not be what's giving you the iDVD problems but it is an unwanted addition to the software on your Mac.

Wow! Thank you so much for the detailed tutorial! I have ordered the RAM, and will clean out my computer as per your instructions before I do anything else. After the overhaul, I will attempt to use iDVD again, and then I will get back to you with results. Again, I so appreciate you sharing your knowledge, time, and expertise with me.

Karen

Ray:

Took another look at your original Etrecheck report and saw something else that should not be there: Totiteck. It's malware and here are directions to remove it from a very reliable source: How to Remove Totiteck - MalwareFixes

Extremely helpful Bengt -- thank you!

I will just add that I saw the process hang when spotlight indexing kicked off in the background, so I took the extra step of disabling spotlight (which requires booting in safe mode and disabling the system integrity protocol -- not for the faint of heart).

And, that I noticed the freezing occurring somewhat randomly while encoding, so by following Bengt's advice and also just brut-force attempting multiple times, I was able to get a successful encode. Since I'm not purging files it doesn't need to re-encode if I burn another disk.

Again, thank you for sharing all this great information (everyone, but especially the treasure-trove from Bengt).

How much free space do you have on your boot drive?

Try this basic troubleshooting fix:

1 - delete the IDVD preference file, com.apple.iDVD.plist, that resides in your

User/Home/Library/Preferences folder.

2 - delete the contents of IDVD'S cache folder: User/Home/Library/Caches/com.apple.iDVD.

3 - launch IDVD and try again.

NOTE: In Lion and Mountain Lion, and later the Home/Library folder is now invisible. To make it permanently visible enter the following in the Terminal application window: chflags nohidden ~/Library and press the Return key - 10.7: Un-hide the User Library folder.

If you're running Mavericks or later go to your Home folder and use the View ➙ Show View Options menu to bring the this window:

Create a new project with a few of the same photos and follow this workflow to see if you can create a disk image:

Once you have the project as you want it save it as a disk image via the File ➙ Save as Disk Image menu option. This will separate the encoding process from the burn process.

To check the encoding mount the disk image, launch DVD Player and play it. If it plays OK with DVD Player the encoding is good.

Then burn to disk with Disk Utility or Toast at the slowest speed available (2x-4x) to assure the best burn quality. Always use top quality media: Verbatim, Maxell or Taiyo Yuden DVD-R are the most recommended in these forums.

If you can then the old project is damaged and should be recreated from scratch.

Are the photos you're using large in pixel dimensions or file size? Are they all jpegs? One user had problems with very large pixel dimension images. See if you can create a project with about 10 different photos and save to disk image.

As a test log into another user account on your Mac and see if you can create and save to disk image an iDVD project. This will tell us if the problem is system wide or limited to your account..

Also dDownload and run Etrecheck. Copy and paste the results into your reply. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here (and recommended by Apple Support personnel) in the ASC to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

Hi RayB615 and Old Toad

I think OT has covered most of the problem. I would go this way.

a. Create a very very simple DVD project - only one .dv file included

- to see that iDVD does it's job at all

b. See that all photos used are in .jpg - nothing else and size of the photos IN PIXLES X PIXLES - not in stored or compressed size (this doesn't matter here) only HIGHT resp LENGHT in pixles - AND that bit depth are not 16 or more.

- Now use a few of these and see if iDVD performs

c. If they all fail - Try to create an external BOOT-drive with the old Mac OS. Start from this and see if iDVD come back to a performing state.

Sorry to say - I can not do this test for You - as I value performance and reliability far more than state of art (newest up-date) - So I'm still in Mac OS X.6.8 and iDVD 7.1.2. And to me all is well.

BTW - it seems like iLife suit has a problem with large picture. I love to make Panoramas and iPhoto choke up and close - from time to time.

Photos of 10.000 x 7.000 - is problematic. Even so non merged ones on 36M-pixles (7360 x 4912) are hard to import - I have to import two at a time - Rather tedious when ariving with 5000 pictures to import.

Yours Bengt W (in Sweden)