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Downgrade iMovie Library from 10.3.6 to 10.2.5

Question: How to downgrade an iMovie Library


I have iMovie 10.3.6 on a MacBook Pro 2018 model running Ventura. Every time you I try to export a movie in iMovie the computer overheats and shuts down, even if you do it in small segments.

I also have an iMac 2013 model running Catalina and thought I just could export it from there. But iMovie says it can’t open the library since it’s made in a later version of iMovie. It says it will ignore the library.

The iMac 2013 can’t upgrade to Ventura or the latest version of iMovie.


How do you solve this?


This is not a question about the overheating MacBook Pro. Nothing to do about it (even tried to export while it was in a freezer).

The question is about opening the library on an older version of iMovie.


If you right click the iMovie library and choose Show Package, what files or folders need to be changed i each project, and what information must be altered?


iMovie 10.2.5 is the last available update for Catalina on the iMac 2013

iMovie 10.3.6 Ventura on MacBook 2018

Posted on Nov 15, 2023 5:15 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 16, 2023 3:44 AM

Hi Rich, I really appriciate your reply, and thank you for taking your time to write it.

The link was good, and it gave me new ideas. I also tried everything in this thread too:

iMovie Library cannot be opened after dow… - Apple Community


I created a new library on Big Sur and a new one on Ventura and compared the following files:

CurrentVersion.plist

Settings.plist

_Sync_ file is empty in both places, so it doesn't matter

The difference is:

CurrentVersion.plist both of the <strings> showing the version number

Settings.plist the <string> too


To just overwrite them did not help


Then I created the same project in both libraries and compared the file list:



Looks about the same, except the numbers on the Thumbnail Media and Find People files.


I tried moving different parts of the project from Ventura library to Big Sur library, and it worked. But the edits are ignored in the Big Sur library. It's just the original file, unedited, every way I tried.


Conclusion: The edit (cuts, transitions, effects, filters) must be in the file CurrentVersion.imovieevent

and that file can't be moved to an older library.

So I think this might be a dead end. But it was interesting to try:)


Similar questions

12 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 16, 2023 3:44 AM in response to Rich839

Hi Rich, I really appriciate your reply, and thank you for taking your time to write it.

The link was good, and it gave me new ideas. I also tried everything in this thread too:

iMovie Library cannot be opened after dow… - Apple Community


I created a new library on Big Sur and a new one on Ventura and compared the following files:

CurrentVersion.plist

Settings.plist

_Sync_ file is empty in both places, so it doesn't matter

The difference is:

CurrentVersion.plist both of the <strings> showing the version number

Settings.plist the <string> too


To just overwrite them did not help


Then I created the same project in both libraries and compared the file list:



Looks about the same, except the numbers on the Thumbnail Media and Find People files.


I tried moving different parts of the project from Ventura library to Big Sur library, and it worked. But the edits are ignored in the Big Sur library. It's just the original file, unedited, every way I tried.


Conclusion: The edit (cuts, transitions, effects, filters) must be in the file CurrentVersion.imovieevent

and that file can't be moved to an older library.

So I think this might be a dead end. But it was interesting to try:)


Nov 15, 2023 10:02 AM in response to SamNielsen

That's a tough situation. Once you update the library by opening it in a newer iMovie version the update for all practical purposes is irreversible. The updated library cannot be opened with the old iMovie version as you have found.


If you keep a Time Machine backup you might be able to restore your old iMovie library and iMovie app to an earlier point in time preceding the update. Then you should be able to open the library with your older iMovie version. Restore the library and iMovie app to different locations that the current ones so as not to overwrite them.


Regarding you Show Package Contents question, read the thread in the below link and see if anything in there helps you. No guarantees, and you should do your own experimenting after backing everything up.


Opening iMovie Library reveals LOTS of ev… - Apple Community


-- Rich









Nov 16, 2023 3:40 AM in response to SamNielsen

I really think you need to sort out why your Mac is overheating and why the iMovie export is not working on it.


Is it the Library that is causing the problem?


Create a new Library, add some clips and try to export it.


It's a long shot but whenever editing apps start misbehaving, deleting the preferences can sometimes help.


Hold down the Option and Command keys as you launch iMovie and in the popup window click Delete Preferences.

Nov 16, 2023 3:49 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

Hi Ian, that was a very good idea. I was hopeful and tried it, but it had the same outcome.

It burns down to the fact that the battery is toast, so either I need to replace it or buy a new laptop.


But I think I might go with your previous idea and edit everything essential again.

Thank you very much for taking your time to help me, I appreciate it.

Nov 16, 2023 3:50 AM in response to SamNielsen

Another thought . . . could the problem be that your hard drive is full?


You should never let it get more than 90% full or you are likely to be in trouble.


How much free space have you got?


For future reference you should not let your Library get too full either. You mentioned hundreds of hours of footage . . . long before it gets to 10 hours you should be creating new libraries. You can have as many as you want.

Nov 16, 2023 4:56 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

True about the hard drive. It has about 50gig free.


The MBP runs off the mains electricity, but since the main electricity is through the battery, the battery gets heated, and affects other components. I've tested a few different adapters and cables too. And I have an app that can control the fan, so the fans are at max when I try to export. I also have a temperature app. When it exports the processor goes from 40Celsius to about 85 before it dies.


And I agree, never an oversized library ever again. I've learned that lesson :P


I think I'm gonna try to remove all transitions and effects and do a screen recording. Then I at least get the cuts and crops.


Thank you again Ian for your ideas. It has been helpful, and fun experimenting.


Nov 16, 2023 5:27 AM in response to SamNielsen

Incidentally if you are thinking of a new computer, the best value is the base model M2 Mac mini at under £600 from Amazon.


Its performance is incredible . . . far better than any Intel Mac.


Of course it isn't a laptop but it is still quite portable as you can carry it around with a keyboard and mouse and plug it into any modern TV to use as a monitor.


I got one a month ago together with a 27" monitor for £110. I'm using a cheap keyboard and mouse that I already had.


It blows my 2017 27" iMac out of the water being at least 3 times faster.

Nov 16, 2023 7:26 AM in response to SamNielsen

If you are serious about an M2 Mac mini there are 2 things you need to be aware of.


The base model only has 8 GB RAM and a 256 GB SSD.


When the M1 came out there was a concern that the small SSD would have a comparatively limited lifespan which was made even worse by the fact that the small amount of RAM necessitated a lot of RAM swapping when undertaking extremely heavy processing tasks.


These fears were possibly overblown but as I am a belt and braces guy I got around the "problem" by plugging an old 1 TB Samsung T5 SSD into the mini, installing macOS Sonoma on it and running the mini from the OS on the Samsung. (The latest 1 TB Samsung T7 costs £82 from Amazon).


This solution gives me a low cost 1TB drive and any wear and tear occurs on the T5 which is comparatively cheap to replace.


As for performance, I was expecting to see a drastic reduction but all the Benchmarks I did were identical and using Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve felt just as fast as using the internal drive.

Downgrade iMovie Library from 10.3.6 to 10.2.5

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