NathanCS10
Level 1 (8 points)
iLife

Q: iMovie keeps crashing?

This problem has been reoccurring for a couple days now; A couple minutes into working on iMovie and any action I do causes iMove to freeze, and I have to wait for a while until it starts working again or force quit. I heard that I need to remove the preferences file (com.apple.iMovieApp.plist), but cannot locate the file on my Mac. I've tried restarting my computer, checking updates (I am completely up-to-date) even opening iMovie using the Terminal file (iMovie>Contents>MacOS) but the problem keeps on returning.

MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015), OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Aug 18, 2016 8:19 PM

by Jim Wanamaker,Solvedanswer
Jim Wanamaker Jim Wanamaker
Level 4 (3,666 points)
iLife
A:

The next thing I would try is to create a new library. Create a project and see how it goes. If that still fails then try a new user or guest account. Last resort would be to reinstall iMovie from the App store.

Posted on Aug 22, 2016 7:30 AM

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NathanCS10

Q: iMovie keeps crashing?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by becky_s22,

    becky_s22 becky_s22 Aug 19, 2016 2:57 PM in response to NathanCS10
    Community Specialists
    Aug 19, 2016 2:57 PM in response to NathanCS10

    Hello NathanCS10!

     

    I'd certainly want iMovie running smoothly on my Mac. We can try out a few things!

     

    Start out with restarting the MacBook in safe mode and testing iMovie out while it's in that state: Try safe mode if your Mac doesn't finish starting up - Apple Support

    If it works in safe mode, restart and login normally to see if that resolved it.  Otherwise, you can create a test user to open iMovie in and try there, too: How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac - Apple Support

     

    Let us know how that goes! Regards. 

  • by NathanCS10,

    NathanCS10 NathanCS10 Aug 20, 2016 7:26 PM in response to becky_s22
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iLife
    Aug 20, 2016 7:26 PM in response to becky_s22

    Hi Becky,

     

    I tried running it in safe mode, however it gave me an error saying "Safe mode does not support OpenGL hardware accelaration, which is required to run iMovie. Please reboot normally and try again."

     

    I created another test user as well, but I cannot recreate the problem as it only crashes when I try to play my project; to clarify iMovie crashes upon usage, not upon opening (unlike the problems in other discussions).

     

    Thank you so much for the swift response!

  • by Jim Wanamaker,

    Jim Wanamaker Jim Wanamaker Aug 20, 2016 8:35 PM in response to NathanCS10
    Level 4 (3,666 points)
    iLife
    Aug 20, 2016 8:35 PM in response to NathanCS10

    To delete preferences open iMovie holding down the command and option keys and select delete preferences. If the problem still exists try creating a new project add a clip and see if it edits ok.

  • by NathanCS10,

    NathanCS10 NathanCS10 Aug 21, 2016 1:53 PM in response to Jim Wanamaker
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iLife
    Aug 21, 2016 1:53 PM in response to Jim Wanamaker

    Hey Jim, thanks for the reply.

     

    I've tried opening iMovie with deleted preferences in the past and it did not work. I tried it again just now and it still continues to crash.

     

    I tried making a new project but it freezes whenever I do anything to it (drag clip, attempt to play movie, etc.) It'll start working eventually and it comes back to life faster, but it still refuses to respond in half a minute episodes.

  • by Jim Wanamaker,Solvedanswer

    Jim Wanamaker Jim Wanamaker Aug 22, 2016 7:30 AM in response to NathanCS10
    Level 4 (3,666 points)
    iLife
    Aug 22, 2016 7:30 AM in response to NathanCS10

    The next thing I would try is to create a new library. Create a project and see how it goes. If that still fails then try a new user or guest account. Last resort would be to reinstall iMovie from the App store.

  • by NathanCS10,

    NathanCS10 NathanCS10 Aug 22, 2016 7:32 AM in response to Jim Wanamaker
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iLife
    Aug 22, 2016 7:32 AM in response to Jim Wanamaker

    Hey Jim, thanks again for the reply. iMovie seems to work fine and doesn't crash in a new project, even after testing for audio, titles and different video formats. Should I simply create a new project and start again? Do you have any idea what the problem might have been?

  • by NathanCS10,

    NathanCS10 NathanCS10 Aug 22, 2016 9:13 AM in response to NathanCS10
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iLife
    Aug 22, 2016 9:13 AM in response to NathanCS10

    Just to note, I also believe the constant crashing had to do with the file type. I'm uploading primarily MTS files, while Apple seems to like mp4 better. When I was testing it just now, iMovie seemed to take longer uploading my MTS files than my mp4 files.

  • by Jim Wanamaker,

    Jim Wanamaker Jim Wanamaker Aug 22, 2016 12:41 PM in response to NathanCS10
    Level 4 (3,666 points)
    iLife
    Aug 22, 2016 12:41 PM in response to NathanCS10

    Not clear from your response whether you created a new project in the original library or in a new library. In any case you should be able to copy and paste your timeline into the new project. Clearly there was corruption in the project or library if  you created a new library. As to the MTS files they should not be a problem for iMovie if you imported from your camera or if from the finder that you had the complete structure from the camera file. I assume you were importing AVCHD files.

  • by NathanCS10,

    NathanCS10 NathanCS10 Aug 22, 2016 1:55 PM in response to Jim Wanamaker
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iLife
    Aug 22, 2016 1:55 PM in response to Jim Wanamaker

    Hi Jim, to clarify:

    I created a new project, not library. I started a new project and worked from there.

    What I noticed, however, is iMovie begins to freeze after I sped up some clips to 20x speed. Do you think this might be source of the problem?

  • by NathanCS10,Helpful

    NathanCS10 NathanCS10 Aug 23, 2016 8:32 AM in response to NathanCS10
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iLife
    Aug 23, 2016 8:32 AM in response to NathanCS10

    In fact, the exact problem reoccurs in the new project as soon as I add a sped up clip.

     

    I think I'm just going to create timelapses in separate files and add them as normal clips.