How to copy/transfer iMovie projects from older iMac hard drive to new iMac

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Level 1

6 points

How to copy/transfer iMovie projects from older iMac hard drive to new iMac

I have removed the hard drive from my older (late 2009) iMac and placed it in and external hard drive enclosure. It is now connected to my new iMac with a USB type connection, and I can open iMovie on the old drive and see the projects I would like to transfer/copy to my new iMac. I tried the procedure recommended (by Rich and Apple) whereby I create a new library, go to Projects and select the project I wish to copy, touch the icon next to the name of the project and "move" the project to the new destination. The problem I am having is: when I touch the icon (...) next to the project name every thing on the list of choices is highlighted EXCEPT "copy to library" and "move to library".

So now I have no idea how to copy my projects to my new iMac.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017), macOS High Sierra (10.13.6)

Posted on Sep 26, 2018 5:43 AM

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Answer 1

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Rich839

Level 8

47,226 points

Oct 5, 2018 11:58 AM in response to mekanic1

Hi,

Let's try a new approach. Rather then transfer each individual project to your new Mac, instead copy the entire library to your new Mac. That will take all the projects with it. All you have to do is to select the library by clicking on the iMovie Library icon. Don't open the library, just select it. Then do an Edit/Copy of the library and then Edit/Paste it to your new Mac's drive.

Here's a link that will show you how to work with libraries:

https://help.apple.com/imovie/mac/10.1/#/mov3fa25bae7

-- Rich

https://help.apple.com/imovie/mac/10.1/#/mov3fa25bae7

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Answer 2

mekanic1 Author

Level 1

6 points

Oct 5, 2018 12:00 PM in response to Rich839

Rich, thanks very much for your patience and knowledge of my problem. Your solution worked and I now have access to my previous projects that I thought would be lost forever. Thanks again for your assistance🙂🙂

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Answer 3

Sep 26, 2018 6:18 AM in response to mekanic1

Drag and drop.

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Answer 4

Rich839

Level 8

47,226 points

Sep 26, 2018 7:33 AM in response to mekanic1

The reason that those options are grayed out is because the destination library is not open. Open the destination library and the options will become available.

-- Rich

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