Final Cut Studio: Failed Installation

I was working on a Mac Pro with newly installed Snow Leopard on Wednesday September 16th, 2009. I tried installing Final Cut Studio (2009) and it kept failing.

After a long troubleshooting session, I finally found out what the culprits were.

I managed to duplicate the error on a 13-inch MacBook Pro also running a newly installed Snow Leopard.

Final Cut Pro 2009 Failed Installation

For some reasons on both the Mac Pro and MacBook Pro, Final Cut Pro installation failed if iLife ’09 installed. Make sure all iLife ’09 is up to date, especially iDVD.

I succesfully installed Final Cut Studio sans iDVD Theme Element.

fcp09 custom install no idvd

If the installation still failed, you can separately install Final Cut Studio elements. The error most likely occurred after Final Cut Pro and Colors are installed. Therefore, install the followings separately:

  • Motion Contents
  • Audio Contents
  • DVD Studio Pro

It is likely that there was an error while reading the installation disc. For example the Mac Pro I was working on was unable to read Motion Contents disk 2. By installing Final Cut Studio components separately, I managed to get all of them successfully installed.

Pro Applications Update 2008-02 and Final Cut Server Update 1.1

Pro Applications Update 2008-02

Pro Applications Updates improve reliability for Apple’s professional applications and are recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Server, and Logic Studio. Pro Applications Update 2008-02 addresses installation issues, compatibility updates, and general performance issues and improves overall stability.

Applications included in the update:

Final Cut Pro 6.0.4
Compressor 3.0.3

For more information about this software update, see the Release Notes.

Pro Applications Update 2008-002 is available for Mac OS X 10.4.11 and 10.5.3. It seems that the update appears in Software Updates only on Macs with QuickTime 7.5 installed.

Final Cut Server Update 1.1

This update addresses issues with the check in/check out process for Final Cut Pro projects, fixes issues with double-byte character sets, and improves the general reliability of the software.

Final Cut Server Update 1.1 is available for Mac OS X 10.5.3.

Pro Applications Update 2008-02 and Final Cut Server Update 1.1 are available through Apple Software Update or Final Cut Studio Download page.

Apple Releases Pro Applications Update 2008-001

Apple today releases Pro Applications Update 2008-001.

About Pro Applications Update 2008-001:

This update improves reliability for Apple’s professional applications and is recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Server, Logic Studio, and Shake.

For more information about this software update, please see:
Release Notes

Pro Applications Update 2008-01 is a revision to Final Cut Studio 2.0. This update includes Final Cut Pro 6.0.3, Compressor 3.0.3, which addresses specific customer issues, installation issues, compatibility updates, general performance issues and improves overall stability.

This update is recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio 2.0 and later.

System Requirements:

  • Mac OS X 10.4.11
  • Mac OS X 10.5.2

Unfortunately, Apple has not added support for Panasonic HDC-SD9 1080p/24 mode. I have been waiting for the update from Apple to support this camera.

Apple Releases Plugin Manager 1.7.3

Apple releases Plugin Manager 1.7.3 for ProApps

Plugin Manager 1.7.3 – 864KB
This update improves reliability for Apple professional applications and is recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Express, Aperture, Logic Studio and related SDKs.

System Requirements
Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later

Release Notes:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1190

From Software Updates, the Plugin Manager 1.7.3 weighs in on 1.3MB instead of 864KB. Interesting.

Plugin Manager 1.7.3 Software Update

Final Cut Studio 2: Option to install Final Cut Pro is dimmed

I’ve dealt with this particular problem before, and I encountered the same one today. I’ve got the call to install Final Cut Studio 2 on a Mac Pro. The owner told me that the installer wouldn’t let him to install Final Cut Pro on his brand new Octo-Core Mac Pro. I remember I had encountered this problem a few month ago, and I do know that it had something to do with Logic Studio installation. The “correct order” is to install Final Cut Studio first, then install Logic Studio. All I needed to do is to delete one particular file in the installation receipt folder, the thing is I don’t quite remember what file to delete.

A short trip to Apple Support page refreshed my memory. Here it is:

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1110

Final Cut Studio 2: Option to install Final Cut Pro is dimmed

Symptoms
If you install Final Cut Studio 2 after having installed Logic Studio, the option to install Final Cut Pro may be dimmed so that it is not possible to install Final Cut Pro. Other applications can be installed.

This particular issue specifically occurs on systems on which Logic Studio has already been installed.

Products Affected
Final Cut Studio 2, Logic Studio

Resolution
Take the following steps to resolve this issue:

  1. If it is still running, quit the Final Cut Studio Installer.
  2. In Finder, navigate to /Library/Receipts/.
  3. Locate the file named ProMediaIO.pkg and drag it to the Trash.
  4. Run the Final Cut Studio Installer again.

All in all, the installation went smoothly.