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iMovie project library is completely empty!

I tried accessing my iMovie projects but my library is EMPTY! I had about 6-7 projects, a few were finished and exported but the rest were things I was working on slowly.


I’ve read other people’s posts but their issues were a little different than mine so their advice didn’t help.

I don’t have multiple libraries, I don’t have projects that show 0 seconds, there’s just absolutely nothing here.

Please help!!


MacBook Pro Catalina v10.15.3

iMovie 10.1.14

MacBook Pro

Posted on Mar 31, 2020 11:11 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Mar 31, 2020 12:12 PM

Hi,


You might inadvertently have an iMovie library that you have forgotten about or don't know about. Sometimes updating or redownloading can create a new library. So, just to cover the bases, check your Movies folder on your Mac (Go/Home/Movies) and see if you by chance are opening iMovie in a blank library.


If no other library, then reset your preferences to see if that will cause iMovie to read your library. To do that open iMovie while holding down the Option and Command keys and selecting to delete preferences in the box that appears. iMovie will open in a new empty library. Reopen your old library to get back to your projects. See if that solves it.


If still no luck you have two other options that might work:


  1. Use your Time Machine backup, if you have one, to restore your library to a point in time that precedes the appearance of the problem.
  2. Alternatively, you can try using the iMovie Backups folder on your Mac to open iMovie in a previously saved backup of your library. iMovie makes the backups automatically. To get to the Backups folder follow this file path from the Finder menu:

Go/Home/Library/Containers/com.apple.iMovieApp/Data/Library/Caches/iMovie Backups


When you get there you will see a list of previously back ups of your iMovie library. Open one that is dated just before the problem happened. iMovie will open in that library. Navigate to your projects after iMovie opens.


--Rich


1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 31, 2020 12:12 PM in response to b3llacupcak3s

Hi,


You might inadvertently have an iMovie library that you have forgotten about or don't know about. Sometimes updating or redownloading can create a new library. So, just to cover the bases, check your Movies folder on your Mac (Go/Home/Movies) and see if you by chance are opening iMovie in a blank library.


If no other library, then reset your preferences to see if that will cause iMovie to read your library. To do that open iMovie while holding down the Option and Command keys and selecting to delete preferences in the box that appears. iMovie will open in a new empty library. Reopen your old library to get back to your projects. See if that solves it.


If still no luck you have two other options that might work:


  1. Use your Time Machine backup, if you have one, to restore your library to a point in time that precedes the appearance of the problem.
  2. Alternatively, you can try using the iMovie Backups folder on your Mac to open iMovie in a previously saved backup of your library. iMovie makes the backups automatically. To get to the Backups folder follow this file path from the Finder menu:

Go/Home/Library/Containers/com.apple.iMovieApp/Data/Library/Caches/iMovie Backups


When you get there you will see a list of previously back ups of your iMovie library. Open one that is dated just before the problem happened. iMovie will open in that library. Navigate to your projects after iMovie opens.


--Rich


iMovie project library is completely empty!

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