eshaines

Q: iMovie not Saving My Files

Why is my iMovie saying it cannot finish saving a movie to file? I seem to have adequate enough space on the drive I plan on saving to...

 

I've tried saving smaller and smaller versions in lower and lower qualities of file to the disk and I still get the same response.  "so_and_so_file did not finish."

 

I am running out of space on my main hard drive so tried saving to the SD card adapted by USB.

 

Any ideas?

 

 

Thanks,

Erika

MacBook Air, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)

Posted on Sep 12, 2016 4:47 PM

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Q: iMovie not Saving My Files

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  • by Jim Wanamaker,

    Jim Wanamaker Jim Wanamaker Sep 12, 2016 5:42 PM in response to eshaines
    Level 4 (3,761 points)
    iLife
    Sep 12, 2016 5:42 PM in response to eshaines

    Don't know how much space you have on the drive you were trying to save to, it takes more space than just the size of your project. Drive should have 10-15% free. Not sure what you mean by SD card adapted by USB. Is this really a SD card or is it a USB thumb drive?

  • by erisimone2,

    erisimone2 erisimone2 Sep 12, 2016 6:37 PM in response to Jim Wanamaker
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 12, 2016 6:37 PM in response to Jim Wanamaker

    It is a usb adapter for an SD memory card, on which i transfer files back and forth between devices. I have about 50% or 7.7 gb free on SD card and project runs anywhere from 400mb to 3 gb. Do you think this or lack of space on main hard disk is the culprit here? Or could it be something else?

  • by erisimone2,

    erisimone2 erisimone2 Sep 12, 2016 6:54 PM in response to Jim Wanamaker
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 12, 2016 6:54 PM in response to Jim Wanamaker

    Also, update:  It saved the file, but only about 75% of it.  After about 30 minutes of video, the video says it is playing in quicktime, but both audio and video halt.

  • by Jim Wanamaker,

    Jim Wanamaker Jim Wanamaker Sep 12, 2016 7:45 PM in response to erisimone2
    Level 4 (3,761 points)
    iLife
    Sep 12, 2016 7:45 PM in response to erisimone2

    Was the file that was saved on your HD or on the SD card. If on the SD how is the SD card formatted? If it is FAT 32 that  is likely your problem. If on your HD then it would seem that you do not have enough free space. You didn't say how full your HD is.

  • by erisimone2,

    erisimone2 erisimone2 Sep 13, 2016 7:29 AM in response to Jim Wanamaker
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 13, 2016 7:29 AM in response to Jim Wanamaker

    Hi again. Saving to the SD card in this case. It is formatted for a mac, never had problems with it before. I have literally kilobytes left on my main HD. Pretty pathetic. Actually, the file just managed to save on the tenth or so try. Go figure. Whats the best way to free up space on my main HD?

     

    thanks for the attention to this matter.

     

    Erika

  • by Jim Wanamaker,

    Jim Wanamaker Jim Wanamaker Sep 13, 2016 4:10 PM in response to erisimone2
    Level 4 (3,761 points)
    iLife
    Sep 13, 2016 4:10 PM in response to erisimone2

    It seems pretty clear your problem is lack of free space on your HD. The best solution is to add an external HD and store your Library on it. USB 3 or thunderbolt interface will be fine. Format it for MAC OS Extended journaled. You can move your library to it in finder by drag and drop. No need to move the iMovie app it should stay on your boot drive.

  • by erisimone2,

    erisimone2 erisimone2 Sep 13, 2016 4:30 PM in response to Jim Wanamaker
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 13, 2016 4:30 PM in response to Jim Wanamaker

    Jim,

     

    I have two external drives formatted for MacOS.  I have a minidrive with a microSD card adapter that I put a 128 GB microSD card in; in addition, I have a G drive that has about 500 GB worth of storage.  How do I know which files I can and cannot move?  For example, can I move applications?  Which would be the best ones to move to conserve my HD space?

     

    Thank you for your time; I truly appreciate it.

     

    Erika    

  • by Jim Wanamaker,

    Jim Wanamaker Jim Wanamaker Sep 13, 2016 4:42 PM in response to erisimone2
    Level 4 (3,761 points)
    iLife
    Sep 13, 2016 4:42 PM in response to erisimone2

    Use the G drive and move your iMovie library to it by drag and drop in finder. Don't move applications they need to stay in your applications folder on your boot drive. Just moving the library should be sufficient. After you move the library check on how much free space is on the boot drive. If you are using iPhoto or Photos you can move those libraries to the G drive as well if necessary.