Install iMovie on El Capitan

Hi,

As you have found, you won't be able to purchase current iMovie version 10.1.8 because High Sierra is required. And the older versions are no longer for sale.

You might still have the old iMovie 9 on your computer. It is separate from your old Leopard operating system and should still be on your computer in the applications folder if you haven't erased it. However, iMovie 9 does not work well with El Capitan and later. Yosemite was the last operating system where iMovie 9 was fully functional.

You might try signing in to your account at the app store, using your apple I.D. and password. Then look at your purchased folder and see if some version of iMovie is still downloadable, though I doubt it.

If you kept a Time Machine backup, you can restore iMovie from that.

Also, search Amazon online and see if you can purchase iMovie as part of the iLife '11 package. For example:

Amazon.com: iLife '11 [OLD VERSION]

The only other thing I can think of is to purchase a new computer with the current version of iMovie on it, or a used computer that has iMovie on it.

-- Rich

TravelDiaries wrote:

Can someone send me the link to download iMovie and iLife on a Mac 09?

read the rest of the thread. the full-version downloads are no longer available from Apple; look for used iLife install disks on eBay is one option (sometimes on Amazon, too).

Old versions of iLife (iLife 8,9,11, etc) which includes various versions of iMovie, are readily available as the original DVDs on eBay for $8-$20, and some of them are even on Amazon. (if you don't have an internal DVD drive, an external USB DVD drive is about $20, or borrow one). Yep, costs money, but you get what you need.

why i know: I stupidly deleted everything from my '09 MB Pro and re-installed El Capitan, preparing to sell it, before i remembered that i needed its firewire to transfer mini-dv tapes from my old digicam via iMovie, since my new MBPro doesn't have firewire, and adapters to thunderbolt may not work (with this cam, i'd have to go all the way from FW 400 to Thunderbolt) . When i tried to reinstall iMovie from the original system disks that came with my MB Pro, it said it was incompatible. So i have to buy iLife myself, now. Dang it.

iLife 9, like other versions, is not available for download. You can get it from Amazon or eBay.

Hi,

All you need to do is go to your app store then go to purchases, then look for iMovie. It will say it is going to download an older version that is compatible.

Please note the account you log in with must have had iMovie installed on it at some point in the past.

Just tried it now and worked fine os 10.11

Another way to get the software, is if you downloaded it on a different computer at a different time, you will not be able to download it from just searching for It on the app store, but if it is in your purchased section it will let you download an older version. Thats what worked for me.

You will need install disc iLife 09 and install it from that. You can also install iDVD from it, they both work well on 10.11.6.

If you have trouble locating iLife 09, PM me and I may be able to help you.

An interesting note is that iMovie 06 HD also works on 10.11.6 with a small mod in the info.plist file.

Try this: Download iMovie 10.0.8 for Mac OS X

It's not going to put any bad reputation on you since iMovie is free anyway, so "downloading a free application for free" isn't bad. "Downloading a paid application for free" is bad.

There may be alternative sites like what FilmGuyFromPA and ChuckReid suggested

eli59 wrote:

Another way to get the software, is if you downloaded it on a different computer at a different time, you will not be able to download it from just searching for It on the app store, but if it is in your purchased section it will let you download an older version. Thats what worked for me.

If you got iMovie from the App store, that is...

Folks who got it long enough ago that it came on disks or other methods are out of luck on that ;-).

What i wound up doing was i erased my drive, installed a copy of Yosemite that i had on a flash drive, and installed iMovie from my original 2009 system disks. That version was indeed compatible with both Yosemite and my mid-2000s firewire video cam, so i'm transferring the videos, then i'll just erase again and re-install El Capitan. But this was on a macbook that i'd already migrated my all data from (to a new one).

I have a 2008 MacBook Pro that used to run OS X 10.5 Leopard, now upgraded to OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan. I installed iMovie 10.1.6 from a thumb drive from B&R Computer Services in San Diego, after first installing iLife '09 and then its downloadable updates, and then iLife '11 and then its downloadable updates. I then installed downloadable updates for iDVD.

Take a look at this link to a YouTube vid that explains how to get iMovie 9. Looks a little complicated but I have heard that it works. Can't vouch for it because not done it myself.

Get iMovie 9 On Mac OS Sierra 2017! - YouTube

-- Rich

You'll find versions 9 and earlier of iMovie here:

Apple - Support - Downloads

Enjoy!

You mean go on Pirate Bay and download iLife 09 or iLife 11 there?

Yeah, that's fine to discuss. What, like it's a big secret?

Sorry about that! I had a version already installed, so I guess it worked for me as an upgrade.

There is one “other” way of obtaining previous versions of iMovie if you’re comfortable with going that route.

(Not sure it would be wise to openly discuss it here.)

Those are only updates and none are a complete version.