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After an update to Catalina, iMovie doesn't function anymore. I dragged it to the bin and tried to update through my purchases - as recommended here, but it doesn't appear under purchases in the App Store. I tried to update an old version through the internet archive, but my computer doesn't want to open that because it isn't safe.
What can I do to install iMovie again? Please help, I have a lot of work that would get lost.
Thanks, An
Hi,
I am running Catalina on a partition of my drive. iMovie installs and functions fine. So not to worry.
Probably your iMovie app purchase is hidden from display in your app store account. To display it, click on the View Information item in the top left of the app store Account pane.
That will open another pane, shown below, where you can unhide any redownloadable purchases.
Try that and see if your iMovie app will appear. Then you can redownload it.
-- Rich
Hi,
I am running Catalina on a partition of my drive. iMovie installs and functions fine. So not to worry.
Probably your iMovie app purchase is hidden from display in your app store account. To display it, click on the View Information item in the top left of the app store Account pane.
That will open another pane, shown below, where you can unhide any redownloadable purchases.
Try that and see if your iMovie app will appear. Then you can redownload it.
-- Rich
Yes,I believe it might be possible.
The OP would drag the original iMovie into the trash,which I believe they have already done.
Then sign into the App Store with their own Apple ID.
Instead of going to their Purchased page they would go into the main App Store page and do a search for iMovie and hopefully download from there.
Hello Rich, Thank you for your answer, with all the screenshots.
However, I have 'no hidden purchases' in the App Store. I wonder if this is because I bought the computer secondhand and iMovie was already on it ... so what can I do?
Thank you, An
If you get iMovie on your Mac after redownload, and it still doesn’t function, try deleting preferences. Open iMovie while holding down the Option and Command keys, and select to delete preferences in the box that appears. iMovie will open in a new empty library. Reopen your old library to access your projects.
You may need to reboot to set the changes.
— Rich
Hmmm. Your options are fairly limited with a second hand computer because the iMovie app was purchased with a different Apple I.D. than yours. So it won’t show on your purchases. You would need to obtain the previous owner’s ID.
Drag out your iMovie app from the trash, so you will at least have that. If you backed up your computer with a Time Machine backup, you could revert back to the previous operating system so that your present iMovie app will run. Otherwise, I think you probably are out of luck. If so, you can try calling Apple Support and see if the techs there can give you some guidance.
— Rich
Hello Rich, thank you for all of your advice. I bought the computer from a (second hand apple) store, so it won't be possible to get the former owner's Apple ID. But I will try and contact the Apple Support ... I don't have a Time Machine - I think so anyway, my computer skills are not great.
But thanks anyway! An
You have upgraded to Catalina but can you upgrade further, to say Big Sur?
Click on the Apple logo top left of screen and select "About This Mac"
What Mac model and what year does it say? Let us know.
Most Macs from year late 2013 to 2020 can run Big Sur.
If you are able to upgrade to Big Sur then you can download the latest version of iMovie.
Hi, thesurreyfriends,
Good point. I had assumed that the original poster had updated to Catalina as the highest available. So, you believe that by updating to Big Sur one can obtain current iMovie even if the person acquired the older iMovie though someone else’s Apple I.D. via a second hand computer? I didn’t realize that that was possible. But maybe it is possible.
— Rich
Yes, I agree that it might be possible. Let's see if someone who has done it will post here to confirm. It would seem to run against the policy that an iMovie redownload would only be available to customers who had previously acquired iMovie under their own I.D. On the other hand, since the purchaser here bought a computer with iMovie already installed on it, then perhaps the iMovie license was transferred along with it in accordance with Paragraph 3 of the iMovie license agreement. In that case, the purchaser should have the right to upgrade it like any other purchaser who initially acquired iMovie preinstalled on a new Mac. Interesting question. Hopefully others who have done it will chime in here.
-- Rich
You are welcome. Good luck with this.
-- Rich
iMovie for Catalina
