I actually stumbled across the solution on accident when working with Xcode and some of the Developer tools from Apple. I was working in a preference file and found the answer… couldn’t believe it! After pulling a GetInfo using the Developer Tools, it appeared as though there was an issue with aVbstClinmedz setting (the ‘V’ should be ‘v’). Changed it and back came the drive! w00t! Seeing as a lot of people don’t have Xcode or the Developer tools installed, here is a much quicker way to fix the problem thanks to File Buddy. (Wish I had tried this months ago… sometimes the easiest answer is right in front of your face and you don’t even know it!)

1. Go to macupdate.com and download an application called File Buddy (side note, a totally awesome and really handy application to have)

2. Install File Buddy and give it Administrative access to the computer

3. From File Buddy, click File > Get Info and then select the Mac HD

4. On the right, there should be a box labeled Invisible… uncheck the box

5. Quit FileBuddy

6. Inside of ~/Library/Preferences/ located the com.apple.sidebarlists.plist file and delete it

7. Log out and log back in

8. Dance for joy (because a little happy dance is always in order after fixing a problem!) Problem solved! Only thing you’ll have to do is reset and of the sidebar preferences you had by opening a Finder window and going to Preferences from the menu bar.

I have no idea why this happened or what in the update caused this problem to happen, but I know of at least 4 other people who have had the same issue appear. Crazy. Just goes to show that there is no perfect company and no perfect OS. Granted, I’ll take a problem like this over any stupid Windows issue. So there you have it. I hope this helps out other people who are having the same problem or know people who are. Please feel free to comment and let me know if this has helped or if you have any suggestions as to why the problem popped up in the first place!

Typically I have found that when FCP won’t open for me, it is usually caused by a preference getting all wacky, a bad font, or a bad plugin (usually in that order). The easiest thing to do first is to check the different FCP preference files which all serve a different purpose and are conveniently located all over your hard drive.

For reference, the main FCP preference files are usually in the following locations:

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.FinalCutPro.plist Contains basic preference such as the last project that was open, the last locations and sizes for the different windows, etc.

~/Library/Preferences/Final Cut Pro User Data/Final Cut Pro 6.0 Prefs.fcset The ‘grand-daddy’ of FCP preference files. This one contains all the different information for presets, default transitions, etc. I would estimate that if there was a preference problem in FCP, 7 out of 10 times it would come from this file.

~/Library/Preferences/Final Cut Pro User Data/(Custom Settings or Window Layouts) These folders all contain the settings that a user may save for easy recall. Examples are window layouts, button bar settings, and browser column organization.

/Library/Application Support/Final Cut Pro System Support/Plugins This is where the FCP plugins are loaded for use. If there is a problem with a suspected plugin, chances are it is located inside of this folder. *Note*: This is located at the root drive and not in the user folder/home directory

Troubleshooting the Preferences When going to troubleshoot FCP and check to see if it is a preference file giving you problems, I would HIGHLY suggest that you do not delete the preference file until you have tested and determined that it actually was the cause of the issue. Depending on the preference file, especially for the custom settings, you may have spent a lot of time organizing your button bars and window layouts in a way that works best for you. It would be a shame to lose all of those settings if they weren’t even the problem. Testing to see if they are the issue is pretty easy and straight forward. With FCP closed, simply select the suspected preference file and move it to another location on your hard drive. Typically, I will just drag the file to the Desktop for easy retrieval. Launch FCP and see if the problem is solved. If it isn’t, place the preference file back, and move on to the next one repeating the process.

Backing Up the FCP Preferences You have gone through the preferences and settings and have now realized that the problem setting was your customized button bar. Great news! You can delete the problem file, reopen FCP, and move on with your edit. Bad news, of course, is that you no longer have your custom button bars and can’t even remember what went where to put them back the way you had them. Do you start from scratch and hope to get it right? Well, that is one option… of course the easier option is to just have your FCP preferences backed up on a regular basis. When it came time to backup FCP preferences, I used to use a free application called FCP Rescue that was created by Anders Holck (check out my review from a couple years ago here). This application was easy to use, did the job, and was totally free. In the last year or so, FCP Rescue has fallen off the map and is, to my best knowledge, no longer available on the net. In its place are two other application that I have not have to opportunity to try out first hand. The first is Preference Manager which is available from Digital Rebellion and the second is FCP Manager created by reinphase, Inc. The biggest draw towards Preference Manager is that it is totally free and FCP Manager is $99. While it seems that FCP Manager has a few more features that would make an IT manger’s job a little easier, for my 3 computers running FCP, I can’t really justify the investment. As I mentioned, I haven’t used either program and would be interested to hear anyone’s opinion who has. Since I can no longer get FCP Rescue, I have just made it a habit to periodically backup the preferences listed above manually or just let them get saved when I run my weekly Time Machine backup.

While there are other problems that can pop up that will cause FCP loading issues, checking the preferences is usually a good place to start. I hope this helps and I’m always available for questions on FCP, editing, Mac hardware, or OS X. As always, I would love to hear your comments or experience with FCP!

Many Mac and Windows users are actually unaware that Apple computers and devices only make up about 9.6% of the entire computer market (Net Applications February 2009 report). With all the advertising and marketing that Apple does, one would almost assume that this number is much larger (ranked 16th most recognizable brand in 2008 by Millward Brown). In reality, though, Windows and Microsoft applications have been the business standard for a long time before Apple began its rapid growth in the last few years (largely caused by the release and popularity of the iPod in October 2001). Having Windows computers making up about 88% of all computers in use has made them the primary target for viruses. I think the biggest reason for this is simply because if one was to design a virus, it should attack the largest amount of computers available. This is easily shown with estimates of there being over 1 million Windows viruses and variants by the end of 2009. Similarly, Spyware and other Malware primarily effect Windows computers and largely leave Macs alone. While I do believe that Macs have a superior user experience and capabilities, I don’t think that they are bulletproof against viral attacks. In the last few months, most notably with the OSX.Trojan.iServices.A and OSX.Trojan.iServices.B trojans, it has been shown that Macs can get viruses. As Macs grow in use and take over more of the computer market share, I think that the numbers of these viruses will only grow. So while it is really cool that they are getting more popular, I am afraid that it will only draw more attention for viral, malware, and spyware attacks. The biggest problem with this…? Apple’s advertising….or lack thereof.

I love Apple and their advertising… but I do believe that they are doing a serious disservice to their customers by giving a false sense of security. Obviously, seeing as one of their biggest ’selling points’ over the past few years has been that there are no Mac viruses or that Macs don’t get viruses, they are not going to just switch gears and tell people that all Macs are vulnerable and they need anti-virus software as soon as possible (although they have ‘recommended it’ in Apple Tech doc: HT2550). That said, though, I think that they need to be extremely clear with customers and mention that while there are currently only a handful of Mac viruses, spyware, and malware… that the number can and will grow as they become more popular. In reality the best way to be safe on a Mac is to use the computer, software, and internet as if it was a Windows computer. Please feel free to comment or put in your two cents!