I have been having problems with Final Cut Pro 7 since I upgraded to El Capitan. (Version 10.11.3)
First, FCPRO kept crashing. Then it worked for a while. Now I can't open it at all. I'm in the middle of a large editing project and would really appreciate advice on this.
I am using a MacPro (late 2013). Processor: 3.5 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5, Memory: 32 GB 1866 MHz DDR3 ECC
Thank you
Mac Pro (Late 2013), OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)
The last fully supported OS for FCP 7 was 10.6.8. Every OS after that didn't take FCP 7 (The whole studio, really) into account in terms of functionality. And no updates to the applications are made to help it remain compatible. Apple dropped all support for FCP legacy. Now, the apps worked fine with 10.7 and 10.8...but then when 10.9 came out, Compressor and QMaster and Motion no longer worked. And now you are two versions after that.
What should you do? Back up all your files, erase the hard drive and reinstall a supporting OS. Or since you have a Mac Pro...drop in another drive and install 10.6.8 or 10.7 or 10.8 and then install FC Studio 3 onto that, and bring your project to that drive.
It's NEVER wise to update your OS when you are in the middle of a project. And if you do update, always clone your working system so if things mess up, you can always go back. If you NEED 10.11 for some reason, then make your computer multiple boot...different OS versions on different drives, or different partitions of a drive.
But yea, the answer is you need to go back to a supporting OS version.
Thanks very much Shane! I don't really understand what 'drop in another drive' means though. I'm a bit of a neanderthal I'm afraid, but my understanding is that the OS has to be on the computer itself.... Are you able to clarify that bit for me? The rest of your answer is incredibly helpful and informative.
A MacPro tower has four drive slots...on removable sleds. Open the computer, pull out the sled marked "2" and put in a bare SATA drive. You can google how to do this, I'm sure there are many videos. But yes, you need a SATA drive that isn't in a drive enclosure for this.
Or, find a tech savvy friend to do this, or a place that assembles edit systems.
Thanks again, Shane! You are incredibly helpful. I will definitely get someone more tech-savvy than me to do this....
Actually, Shane is wrong about your computer.
You have the new cylinder MP, and it does not have 4 drive slots. Nor can you boot in any OS earlier than what your computer had when launched so you are limited to 10.9 or later. OS boot is always restricted to the original shipped OS or later.
Since you were successfully using FCP7, prior to updating, you might try to restoring back to the last OS version you were using. It sounds like you have some conflict with the latest update. What OS and version were you using??
If you are having crashes, then you can look in your log files/Diagnostic Reports to see what process is causing the actual crash. It could be any number of things including 3rd party apps/plug-ins or hardware. Even things like Fonts can cause a problem. You may have a corrupt file inside FCP7 causing the issue. If you have Motion created files in your project, this can cause the crash too.
Would help to have all the info so we can help to troubleshoot the issues.
As to using FCP7 in El Capitan, it will work, but you have to expect some issues. As Shane says, this is no longer being supported. Apple is changing the underlying frameworks that run your computer and editing programs. Soon, very soon, legacy FCP won't run at all. I really suggest you consider FCPX and transfer any projects from FCP7 to 10 using the excellent 7toX app. Try to finish your current project in FCP7 if you can.
Personally, I love the new FCPX and hate if I have to spend any time in FCP7.
Sorry you are having the issues, that is very stressful.
Hope this helps, Greg
Compatibility: FCPRO7 and el Capitan
