Appendix A. Troubleshooting

A. Troubleshooting

Software is never perfect, and unfortunately iMovie 3 had more than its fair share of "challenges," as an optimistic friend of mine likes to say. iMovie 4 was a big improvement, but many people reported performance problems and other glitches. I'm happy that iMovie HD versions 5 and 6 are much more polishedbut no software is without issues.

My first bit of troubleshooting advice is to make sure you're running the latest versions of iMovie and iDVD; check the iLife page at Apple's Web site (www.apple.com/ilife/) or run Software Update (in your System Preferences or from the Apple menu).

Also, check Apple's online support discussion forums for iMovie HD and iDVD (discussions.info.apple.com) to see if other users have found solutions or workarounds to a problem you may be experiencing. And check some of the resources in Appendix B for up-to-the-minute reports and troubleshooting. iMovie and iDVD users make up a dedicated community, and I owe a great debt to many folks online who have prodded the program to find answers.

Finallyand perhaps most importantgive Apple feedback (www.apple.com/feedback). It's the best way to communicate what needs fixing (and yes, the developers do listen).