iMovie '08 (7.0.x) Special Report: Crashes and kernel panics, fixes

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 1:55 a.m. PT

3 min read

One of the most widespread issues with iMovie '08 is a problem where the application causes a kernel panic shortly after launching or crashes outright (unexpectedly quitting).

A few typical reader reports:

"I am experiencing a kernel panic every time I launch iMove '08. I have removed all plugins."
"Just Installed iLife 08, all apps run fine except imovie which crashes my mac with a kernel panic every time, this is frustrating, Apple needs to sort it out." -- Steven Thompson, iMac G5 iSight 2.1 GHz

There are a number of potential fixes for this issue, including: Rebuild iPhoto database Since iMovie accesses the iPhoto database at launch, problems with it can cause crashes. This can be accomplished by launching iPhoto while holding down either the control or Command key. A menu will pop up and ask if you want to rebuild the photo files database. You should then check all the boxes and allow iPhoto to rebuild the database.

Crashes when updating iPhoto libary, fix Some users have experienced an issue where iMovie crashes shortly after attempting to update (import) movies in the iPhoto library.

You can also try launching iPhoto '08 (7.0.1) first and allowing it to update the library before launching iMovie '08.

Delete problematic .plist files Delete the following files from the ~/Library/Preferences directory.

com.apple.iApps.plist com.apple.iMovie7.plist (if it exists)

However, this fix does not work for everyone, and in some cases, the issue is solved for one launch only then returns after iMovie is quit and re-launched.

Remote QuickTIme components and re-install> Some users have apparently been able to solve the issue more permanently by deleting all QuickTime-related components, then re-installing QuickTime 7.2 via the package available from Apple's download page. Delete the following files/directories (note that you will lose any added third-party components):

Library/QuickTime
~/Library/QuickTime
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.quicktimeplayer.plist
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.quicktime.plugin.preferences.plist
/Library/Caches/com.apple.QuickTime.StreamingBandwidth
/System/Library/com.apple.Components2.SystemCache.QuickTimeComponents

then re-install QuickTime 7.2 using this 51.4 MB package.

Update Little Snitch This issue can, in some cases, be resolved by updating to the latest version of Little Snitch -- a generally useful tool designed to alert you on outgoing network connections. Failing that, you can try uninstalling Little Snitch altogether. In order to do this, download and launch the the Little Snitch installer application and choose the option "uninstall".

One reader writes:

"Just to let you know that many people (including myself) have had the Kernel Panic on iMovie '08 startup solved by upgrading LittleSnitch to the latest version."

Revert to iMovie '08 7.0 It appears that for some users, iMovie 7.0.1 is crashing, but the originally released iMovie '08 7.0 is not.

MacFixIt reader Sam writes:

"I started getting this since the latest 7.0.1 update. I reverted to the disk-installed version and it went away. Out of curiosity I did reinstall the 7.0.1 update, and the crash came back."

You can easily revert to iMovie 7.0 by simply removing the iMovie 7.0.1 application from the /Applications folder then re-installing iMovie from the iLife disc.

Index:

Resources

51.4 MB package.

latest version of Little S...

Displays wrong help versio...

Import issues: AVCHD, Keyn...

Crashes and kernel panics,...

Knowledge Base articles

Performance problems on G5...

Poor export quality; updat...

Third-party plug-ins not c...