imovie "Error: RenderFrameAt returned: 4 for absolute frame: 101"

This issue has come up recently.

I am not sure, but I think that the error means that the transaction timed out due to some incompatibility or corruption in the project. My Google search did not come up with much about it.

The data on your post shows that you are running El Capitan. You might try updating your operating system and iMovie version to as high as you can go. You don't want Catalina yet, or iMovie 10.1.15 that will only run on Catalina. There are some issues yet to be worked out there.

 To rule out a corrupt preference, try opening 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 library. Reopen your old library to get back to your projects. Now see if you can share out.

To rule out corruption related to this specific project, try doing an Edit/Select All, Edit/Copy, of the media in the project, and then Edit/Paste the media into a newly created project. See if you can share from the new project.

Also, possibly you have some incompatible format in one of your clips, or a corruption in a clip. Check the formats of the clips. iMovie likes Mp4/AAC or mov. You can track down corruption in a clip by expanding your timeline with the slider located at the upper right of the time line, and then slowly scrolling through the project, looking for black frames, white flashes, artifacts, and any other signs of corruption. Cut out any that you find and see if you can share out. Good to work with a duplicate project so that you can preserve your original.

All else failing, here are some general diagnostic procedures that you can go through:

Updating

iMovie

To update/redownload iMovie 10, drag your iMovie 10 app from the Applications folder into the trash, but do not empty the

trash. Sign in to the app store and open your purchases folder by clicking on your name at the bottom of the app store side bar. (NOTE: For El Capitan and older, click on the Purchases tab at the top of the app store screen and then sign in. Click on Purchases again to reveal your purchases.)  You will see your purchases displayed, including iMovie 10. Redownload/update iMovie from there. If not successful, drag your present iMovie app out of the trash and return it to the Applications folder.

New

Project

Another thing you can try is to copy your media into a newly created project and see if that cures the problem. To do

that, do an Edit/Select All, Edit/Copy, of the media in your project and then Edit/Paste it into the newly created project.

Safe

Mode

You could also try booting up in Safe Mode (see Finder menu for instructions) and, after everything loads, immediately shut down and reboot in normal mode. Then see if iMovie works properly.

Open iMovie in New User Account

You can try opening iMovie in a new user account that you can create in System Preferences/Users and Groups.

Resetting

the System Management Controller

Try resetting the System Managemen Controller. It is easy to do -- basically restarting while holding down certain keys.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295

Resetting the NVRAM or PRAM

Try resetting the NVRAM or PRAM, although this issue would be fairly rare. Requires a restart while holding down certain keys.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063

-- Rich

Great! Glad you got it working.

So, when you say that you rebooted iMovie do you mean that you did a redownload of it? It might help others who have been

having problems since the recent updates. It might also indicate that Apple has corrected some problems related to the recent update.

-- Rich

You are welcome. Thanks for posting back.

-- Rich

Ah, restarting iMovie while holding down CMD and Option actually already solved the issue!

Thanks for the suggestion gents!

Frank