Problem opening imovie

[Rich@naples]

When attempting to open iMovie, keep getting message stating that iMovie cannot be opened while it is updating. This message has been appearing for two days. What is wrong?

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

Have you rebooted to see if this helps?

 

[honestone]

Need to know the following:

1. What exact Mac model do you have?

2. What Mac OS are you using?

3. Have you ever done any disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs?

4. Are you making backups to an external device?

5. Did you try updating iMovie, and thus are stuck in this "loop"?

 

[Rich@naples]

When attempting to open iMovie, keep getting message stating that iMovie cannot be opened while it is updating. This message has been appearing for two days. What is wrong?

 

[Rich@naples]

Yes, continues to repeat message

 

[Rich@naples]

Need to know the following:

1. What exact Mac model do you have? MacBook Pro

2. What Mac OS are you using? OS X 10.9.5

3. Have you ever done any disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs? About 2 years ago

4. Are you making backups to an external device? No

5. Did you try updating iMovie, and thus are stuck in this "loop"?

. Didn't try updating, just trying to open.

 

[honestone]

Again I ask:

1. Have you ever done any disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs?

2. Are you making backups to an external device?

If you have a recent, reliable, and "as clean as possible" backup, then there is a way to solve your issue. But, it will take some time and effort.

 

[Rich@naples]

Again I ask:

1. Have you ever done any disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs? About 2 yrs ago the computer wouldn't start and was repaired by local shop. Nothing else since then.

2. Are you making backups to an external device? Not making backups at all.

If you have a recent, reliable, and "as clean as possible" backup, then there is a way to solve your issue. But, it will take some time and effort.

 

[honestone]

Well, without doing any disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs, and no backups, things are looking bleak! Even if, by some miracle, your issue gets resolved, you are still asking for trouble by not doing disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs, and having no backups.

If you want to start making a dedicated effort to do those things, and also willing to invest some $$, then we can help you with that.

 

[Cory Cooper]

If iMovie shows in App Store > Purchased, you could simply delete iMovie from the Applications folder, then re-download it from the App Store. That should fix the issue and it will download the latest version.

However, the very latest version, iMovie 10.1.4, requires Mac OS X 10.11.2. Sometimes the App Store app will automatically download the latest "compatible" version of an app, but not always.

As honestone recommended, it is always best to have a current Time Machine or other backup before attempting fixes like this, and as a safety precaution so that you do not lose any of your valuable data. Remember, it is not "if" your hard drive will fail, it is a matter of "when."

C

 

[Ormond]

Another option.

1) Forget about the newer versions of iMovie. I'll give you the installer for the good old iMovie 6 HD if you want it. It will run on new operating systems via Terminal, will explain further if desired.

2) Forget about the Mac App Store. Sometimes the App Store does this, sometimes that, no way to know for sure, never mind about all that.

3) This could be a time to check out the alternatives to iMovie. If you search for "alternative to imovie" a number of other softwares will come up, and one or more of them might be as good or better than iMovie for your projects.

The research I did indicated that some people love the newer versions of iMovie, and some people really really hate them, with reliability concerns being a significant complaint amongst the doubters. As with any software, if iMovie isn't working in a professional manner, consider giving someone else a try.

 

[honestone]

As honestone recommended, it is always best to have a current Time Machine or other backup before attempting fixes like this, and as a safety precaution so that you do not lose any of your valuable data. Remember, it is not "if" your hard drive will fail, it is a matter of "when."

C

Yes, a backup is mandatory, no matter what. And even if the internal drive/SSD is new or not that old, a backup is still needed, as trying to do things (like you are trying to do) can mess things up.