Question :

The official installer DVD of iLife ’09 refuses to install iMovie 8 on my good old iBook G4 (1.33 GHz, 1GB RAM, OSX 10.5.8 Leopard) – Is there an other way to install and get it running ?

Answer :

Yes, you can !

iMovie 8.0.6 (a.k.a. iMovie ’09) is the last version of iMovie that will run on the pre-Intel PowerPC Macs (which have G4 and G5 processors), and you can even install it on an unsupported G4 Mac that runs OSX 10.5.8 ; here’s how :

1- Download the app called “Pacifist” from MacUpdate.com :

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/6812/pacifist

2- Use it to install only the iMovie.pkg from the official iLife’09 installer DVD

3- Do NOT run the iMovie app after installing ; update it first using OSX’s built-in “Software Update” function (under the Apple-logo in the top left corner of your screen) ; after upgrading you will have iMovie 8.0.6 installed

4- Do NOT run the iMovie app yet ! ; download this pre-tweaked iMovie file :

iMovie.zip

5- Rename the file to “iMovie.zip” and unzip it (just double click)

6- Now go to Applications –> iMovie –> [right-click the icon] –> Show Package Contents –> Contents –> MacOS

inside that folder is the un-tweaked version of iMovie.app (or just “iMovie”, since you might not be able to see the .app-fileextension) ; replace it with the tweaked version you’ve just downloaded

7- Now go to System Preferences –> Accounts –> select the user you are installing iMovie for and make sure that “Allow user to administer this computer” is checked during iMovie’s first run, else iMovie will not be able to set up the configuration needed…

8- Start up iMovie for a first run and see how it works 😉

9- Remember to re-adjust the account-settings back to “Managed” and/or “Parental Control” if you need to, since Administrator rights are only needed on the first run

10- Note that in the “Parental Control” settings of your System Preferences, iMovie will no longer be listed under the iLife-applications, but under the “Other” applications…

NOTE : there is (as always) a minimal, remote possibility that Apple might update iMovie 8.0.6 to a newer iMovie 8.0.x or 8.x version… If you upgrade your tweaked iMovie 8.0.6, it will no longer run… and you will have to do a new tweak yourself…

If you need more info on this, look here :

http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/feedback/iLife09_user_feedback_tips.html#imovie_G4_patch

http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20090130074400511