Final Cut Pro X is running very slowly... What should I do?

FCPX is running slowly, and it's especially slow when I'm trying to import clips.

Should I reinstall the program?

Please let me know what you think.

Thanks, Eddie

Reinstalling the application very rare has any benefit. Trashing prefs may help for a start. May depend on the type of clips you're importing.

I'll try trashing the preferences.

Thanks! Eddie

I trashed the preferences... but I'm still having problems in the Import window. Things are going slow, the beach ball of death is spinning for a long time before it stops, the clips are turning green, and it's basically a mess.

Any advice is most appreciated.

Thanks, Eddie

What is it you're trying to import exactly, from what?

I'm working with a card reader that I always use. I've tried several cards and a thumb drive for an experiment, and I'm getting the same slow results for all of them.

Any ideas?

Thanks, Eddie

Make sure TimeMachine or Spotlight isn't running...
check with Activity Monitor to see memory & cpu useage,
repair permissions & re-boot... etc.

I keep an eye on my activity monitor, and I've got 24 gigs of ram in my power Mac. I don't think it's a shortage of memory... but it is a mystery.

Thanks, Eddie

On each and every connected drive; what percentage of each drive's total capacity is free space?

I assume there's no background tasks running.

If its only happening on import check your cables reader etc. Also it could be a faulty USB port.

The back up drive has 2TB and there is 465 gigs available. Is that bad?

I've tried both USB ports and multiple card readers and thumb drives. It's painfully slow on all of them, and the clip turns green (not sure what that means, but I know it's not good) when I try and play it in the import window.

300 GB is the minimum to let that drive get down to.
All connected drives should have at least 10-15% of their total capacity clear as free space. But you seem good so far.

I'd do this. First, run Disk Utility and repair all discs/permissions. Second, I'd run Disk Warrior and repair the directories on all drives. I'd just make sure everything was honky-dory before looking at anything else.

Eddie, says…"I've got 24 gigs of ram in my power Mac."
Surely, you don't mean "Power Mac"? Power Mac was a G4/5 computer and doesn't run FCPX. What computer do you have? MacPro? Model? OS version? FCPx version?
Using Activity Monitor you can monitor how much memory is actually being used. See how much free memory is left. 24GB should definitely cover FCPX usage.
Do you have lots of other programs running at the same time?
How many events/projects are showing up when you open FCPX? You can free up some ram if you move older events out of folder so FCPX does not see them.
Are you trying to run the files over USB2 or just importing 1st time? No video program will like to try to run media off a USB2 drive.
What drive(s) do you have FCPX program installed on and what drive(s) do you use for media storage? I/O for media drive? What type of video /codex /camera are the files?
Is this a new problem that suddenly showed up using all the same equipment/programs or has something changed?
Greg

I'm running into a similar problem since updating to 10.0.9. Check your project file size. I noticed in the past that my projects typically run about 20-45mb. The first project I started since updating has ballooned to over 100mb making fcpx come to a screeching halt. Most of my projects are the same, 2 hour multicams with a lower 3rd periodically. Usually 2 cams. I just deleted a 15 min section in the middle of the multicam and my project file went from 114mb to 157mb.

I still need to play around to see if it is in fact 10.0.9 causing this problem.

I just have a minute... but I want to thank you for your comments before I go. When I return I will give you all the stats on my "Mac Pro" (sorry that I called it a Power Mac)

I'm making little 90 second (e-card) movies.

Talk soon!

Thanks!! Eddie