5 Verified Solutions to Recover iMovie Projects on Mac in 2024

Why are my iMovie projects missing from my Mac?

iMovie is fantastic software that helps Mac users create and edit movies of cinematic quality. You can add music, voiceovers, and other clips to your videos, but sometimes, your projects might get deleted or not saved due to the following reasons:

- iMovie quits unexpectedly and your work isn't saved. - Your macOS system crashes and requires disk repair. - You need more space, and you need to free up space on "Macintosh HD." - I accidentally deleted my favorite iMovie project. - Other kinds of physical damage caused by a person.

Losing an iMovie project that you've spent time and effort on is not pleasant, but you've come to the right place. We'll introduce you to five methods you can use to recover iMovie projects on your Mac.

1. Best Tips: Recover iMovie Projects on Mac with Recovery Software

The first solution we recommend is to recover iMovie project on Mac with data recovery software. For Mac users, the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac tool would be a good option.

We've listed the highlights of this Mac Video Recovery tool for your reference:

• Supports recovery of deleted videos from Ring, iMovie, and other video apps. • Supports Mac Trash Recovery. Helps you restore iMovie projects even after emptying the Trash. • Recovers and repairs damaged iMovie projects from your local Mac, external hard drive, USB flash drive, and other storage devices.

There's a picture-illustrated tutorial for that, with steps you can follow to recover iMovie projects on a Mac.

Note: You can create a backup of your Mac by clicking "Disk Backup" on the left first. The software will recover the deleted files from the backup image. This prevents further damage to the disk and data, making it safer and more reliable.

Step 1: Choose a location and scan.

Launch the Mac Data Recovery Wizard, and select the disk from which you lost data. Then click Search for Lost Files to start scanning.

Step 2: Preview and filter the lost files

After the scan is complete, you can use the file type filter on the left or in the top-right corner to find the deleted files you need.

Step 3: Recover Lost Data or Files

You can double-click a file to preview its content, or select multiple files to recover them all at once. Click "Recover" to restore the lost data to your local or cloud drive.

2. How to Recover Deleted iMovie Projects from Mac Trash

If you accidentally used the Move to Trash shortcut or clicked on the "Move to Trash" option to delete your iMovie project, you can recover the deleted iMovie project from the Trash of your Mac. (If you have already emptied the Trash on Mac, go back to the first method.)

Step 1: Open the Trash on your Mac from the Dock.

All recently deleted files appear in the Trash.

Step 3: Select the iMovie project you want to recover and click on it.

Step 4. Select "Put Back" to restore the deleted iMovie project on your Mac.

3. How to Recover iMovie Projects from Library on Mac

Sometimes after updating to the latest macOS, your iMovie project might have moved to another folder but still within your iMovie library. So you should check your iMovie library and recover your iMovie project from there.

Step 1: Click on “Go” in the Apple menu bar and select “Home.”

Step 2. Open the Movies folder on your Mac.

Step 3. Locate your iMovie library, which should have a .imovielibrary extension. Right-click (or Control-click) on it and select “Show Package Contents.”

4. Scroll down and restore the iMovie projects that you need.

4. Recover iMovie Projects from Backup on Mac

iMovie automatically saves your projects and keeps backups in an iMovie Library folder. Use the following steps to locate the iMovie backup folder.

Step 1: Click on “Go” from the Apple menu bar and select “Library.”

The iMovie backups are located at the following path: Go to /iCloud Drive/Library/iMovieApp/Data/Library/Caches/iMovie Backups

Step 3: Locate and open the target iMovie project. If you don't find it here, try using Time Machine to look for it.

5. Restore iMovie Projects on Mac with Time Machine

Many Mac users would like to back up Mac data with Time Machine in case of data loss. If you can't find your iMovie project in the iMovie backup folder, you can recover it from Time Machine backup.

Step 1: Click “System Preferences.”

Step 2: Open Time Machine on your Mac.

Step 3: Make sure “Show Time Machine in menu bar” is checked, and you'll be able to access Time Machine from the menu bar.

Step 4. Then, you can restore the deleted iMovie project from Time Machine backup.

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After going through the 5 ways to recover iMovie projects on Mac, we hope you've managed to get back your lost files. To avoid data loss when using iMovie or any other app, we recommend downloading the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac tool right now.

Frequently Asked Questions on Recovering iMovie Projects on Mac

Still have questions about recovering iMovie projects on Mac? Don't worry! We've listed four frequently asked questions and their answers to help you learn more.

Is there any way to recover deleted projects without iMovie?

Without the software, you have four options to recover deleted iMovie projects from Mac:

1. Recover from the library. 2. Recover lost iMovie projects from the Trash. 3. Restore from a Time Machine backup. 4. Recover from an iMovie backup.

Yes, you can potentially recover deleted iMovie projects from macOS Ventura. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to do it: 1. **Check the Trash**: First, make sure you didn't simply move the project to the Trash. Open the Trash, find the iMovie project, and if it's there, simply right-click (or Control-click) on it and choose "Put Back." 2. **Time Machine Backup**: If you have a Time Machine backup, connect your backup drive and restore from a previous version of your system where the project was still present. Open Time Machine, navigate to the iMovie application, find the project, and restore it. 3. **Third-Party Data Recovery Tools**: If you don't have a recent backup, you can use data recovery software like Disk Drill, tools Data Recovery Wizard, or Stellar Data Recovery. These tools scan your Mac's hard drive for deleted files and allow you to recover them. Note that this may not always be successful, especially if the drive has been written to since the deletion. 4. **iTunes Backup**: If you've synced your iMovie projects with your iPhone or iPad, you might be able to restore them from an iTunes backup of those devices. Connect the device to your Mac, open iTunes (or Finder in macOS Catalina or later), select your device, and choose "Restore from Backup." 5. **Contact Apple Support**: If all else fails, you can contact Apple Support for further assistance. They might have additional suggestions or resources to help you recover your deleted iMovie project. Remember, prevention is key. Always make regular backups of your important files to avoid losing them in the future.

There are four ways you can recover deleted files on macOS Ventura:

1. Recover iMovie Projects from macOS Ventura Trash 2. Restore iMovie Projects on macOS Ventura with a Mac Data Recovery Wizard 3. Recover iMovie Projects on macOS Ventura using Terminal 4. Retrieve iMovie Projects from Time Machine Backup on macOS Ventura

Where are iMovie backups stored?

iMovie stores all of its backups in the iMovie Backup folder. You can find this folder by going to /Home/Library/Containers/com.apple.iMovieApp/Data/Library/Caches/iMovie Backups.

Why are my iMovie projects missing on my Mac?

The iMovie project might be missing on your Mac for any of these reasons:

• iMovie app crashes and doesn't save your work.
• The macOS system kernel panics and requires a disk repair.
• You need more space and have to free up space on your Macintosh HD.
• You accidentally delete your favorite iMovie project.
• Other physical damage caused to the Mac by human error.