Final Cut Pro library won't update/copy, possible corruption?

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Level 1

9 points

Final Cut Pro library won't update/copy, possible corruption?

I am running FCP 11.2 on a MacBook with an M2 processor. I keep my FCP libraries on external SSDs, so I can also open them on my iMac Pro.

This morning I opened, or tried to open, a library file I haven't used for three or four months.

But when I clicked 'OK' I got an error message saying FCP was unable to back up the library file. I presumed this was maybe because there was not enough space on the SSD for the backup? I therefore hit 'cancel"

But now, I can't even copy the library to a larger SSD, as when I do, I get an error message saying there is a problem reading the data on the .fcpbundle file.

Does this mean the file is irretrievably corrupted?

MacBook Air (M2, 2023)

Posted on Jan 1, 2026 2:57 PM

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Answer 1

terryb

Level 4

3,376 points

Jan 2, 2026 12:07 PM in response to tontoe

Which format did you select when you formatted the SSDs? APFS or ExFAT?

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Answer 2

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,799 points

Jan 1, 2026 3:21 PM in response to tontoe

What are the external drives? How big are they, and how much free space? How are they formatted?

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Answer 3

tontoe Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 2, 2026 6:58 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Thank you 🙏

The drives are [as I remember] Sandisk SSDs in UGreen enclosures; the one with the problem FCP project is 1TB, the destination one 4TB. I formatted them on my MacBook Air M2 [running the current version of Sequoia].

Main reason I wanted to open the project was to reduce its size by deleting generated files [which I realise would have been best to do after I finished editing/rendering when it was last open.

I'll double check exact model/capacity/free space and report back when I get home tonight.

Thanks so much for responding so promptly!

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Answer 4

tontoe Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 2, 2026 7:02 AM in response to tontoe

...I should also say that prior to the backup error message, I got a dialog saying the Library needed to be updated to work with the current v erosion of CFP [11.2]. It was when I 'OK'd' this that I got the error.

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