My iMovie isn't working

Hi, Tahasami,

You didn't mention what operating system and iMovie version you are using. That information may be helpful.

Crashing can be caused by a number of things. It could be something simple, like a corrupt preference or a conflict somewhere. Nothing to do but try a few diagnostic procedures to see if you can cure it. Try the procedures listed below in order. See if one of them solve the issue.

Deleting

Preferences

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.

Opening iMovie in a new library

Try opening iMovie in a new library.  To do that, open iMovie while holding down

the Option key and then selecting to create a new library in the box that

appears.

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.

Opening iMovie in a new user account

Create a new user account from System Preferences/Users and Groups and try to open and use iMovie in the new account.

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. (You can skip that step if you had iMovie 10 on your computer before,

but deleted it.) 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 (if you moved it

there) and return it to the Applications folder.

Resetting

the System Management Controller

Try resetting the System Management Controller. It involves starting your computer while holding down certain keys. Very easy to do. This link explains the process.

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. The link below explains the process.

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

-- Rich

O.K. If you are running iMovie 10.1.15 you may be experiencing one of the many glitches that have been observed following that update. If that's the case, Apple may need to resolve it. However, work your way through the list of procedures that I provided in my earlier post. It may just be something simple that can be cured by deleting preferences, the first one on the list.

-- Rich