iLife update problems "Eligible application not found..."

The iLife '08 updaters, including iPhoto 7.1.4, iMovie 7.1.4, iLife Support 8.3, iWeb 2.0.4, released on July 22nd may present an error claiming the targeted application cannot be found, even though the iLife applications are installed and functional on the system, and can be located manually.

User Stephen Prensky writes:

"When I manually downloaded these updates and attempted to install them I get the following error message: 'An eligible iPhoto application was not found in the location /Applications.' This despite the existence of all the iLife '08 applications in the correct folder."

This problem occurs most commonly because of user confusion about the target directory. In many cases, users have installed iLife 08 into the default Applications folder, and then moved the applications to a different location. Additionally, some users have created an "Applications" folder in their home directories, which they've used for installing applications for the corresponding user only. While iLife applications will run properly in these alternate locations, the only way they will be updated is if the installers and updaters can find them in the default Applications folder.

Fix: Move the iLife applications to the default installation folder for updating The default folder for iLife applications is the "Applications" folder at the root of the main boot drive (/Macintosh HD/Applications/). If the application is elsewhere, move them to this location and update them. They can then be moved back to the desired location and should function properly.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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