Quartz Extreme "Not Supported" error message after iPhoto 7.1.5 update

Some users have experienced problems with movie-related program such as iMovie or Final Cut not starting, giving errors that state inadequacies with the graphics card.

Apple Discussions poster etraitel writes:

"After using my iMac 24" for a while, all of a sudden iMovies and Final Cut Studio refuse to start complaining that the graphics card I have does not support Quartz Extreme."

Quartz Extreme is a technology that runs OS X's Aqua interface through the graphics processor using the OpenGL libraries, which allows for high-speed rendering of effects such as transparencies and shading. When it was first released in OS X 10.2, many graphics cards did not support the technology, but the users experiencing this problem have been running Macintoshes with relatively high-end graphics cards such as the Geforce 8800 series, which definitely do support Quartz Extreme. In addition, all graphics cards that run on Macs which support Leopard should be fully capable of running Quartz Extreme, so users should definitely not be experiencing this problem based on GPU limitations.

Users have found that this problem occurred soon after installing updates to iPhoto (7.1.5) or Aperture. Updates to these programs, as well as others, may include updates to Finder add-ons or other system files which may lead to broken drivers if improperly installed. As with any update, it is always recommended to have a full backup of the system such as a clone of the drive or a Time Machine backup before updating. This will at least ensure users can fall back to the clone in the event of a problem.

Luckily these problems have been temporary, with some users being able to fix the problem with a simple restart. However, for others the problem may require a few additional steps.

Fixes

Restart the computer in safe mode and run permissions fix When the computer is booted into safe mode, it will run a few maintenance scripts at bootup, and load only the essential system software. When in this mode users should run a permissions fix with Disk Utility.

Reapply the update while in safe mode Since Safe Mode is a limited boot environment, it is a better mode in which to apply updates. Therefore, just in case some process inadvertently interfered with the previous update, leading to this problem, users should download the standalone updater to the recently installed updates (iPhoto, Final Cut Pro/Studio, or other application) and then boot into safe mode and apply the patch again.

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