Turn on debug menu and clear caches/reset application and remove plist if need be.

I did say last week to remove the appstore plist !!!!!

AND OVERALL YOU WILL VERY RARELY NEED TO REINSTALL OS X especially to sort out trivial issues

app store program has a debug menu?

uh huh.

well, check this out. Last year, while trying to un-hose my email issues, an apple tech wizard genius had me do a "simple, harmless" move that ended up borking my whole entire computer system.

Next thing, he sez, "oh, you're going to have to back up your files and re-install your OS X to solve this."

And just 2 weeks ago, another wizard genius at apple told me after 2 or three little experiments trying to make app store shut up, that "well, if this doesn't work your going to have to re-install OS X"

Now, don't get me wrong. I like the sound of what you say: Just drag the offending part to the trash and problem solved.

But I have way too many experiences with procedures sold as innocuous that lead to a complete and total trainwreck on the Mac..

Hours of trubbleshooting...hours of fails...hours of backing up and reformatting.

Great when it works, but I think they got them a OS that's so fussy a speck of dust can wreck it.

And I say that because there seem to be many "little" things in OS X which are "woven throughout the system." That's like a thread on your shirt where you give it a little tug and your sleeve unravels!

a

Your Disk Warrior log should show the path to the location of that .plist file.
If it is in your user Library (probably the Preferences folder), then there should be no problem to delete that file, which would be re-created the next time you launch the App Store.
If the .plist file is inside the App Store package, then it might be best to remove the App Store app, and restore that from your OS X installer.

OK found app store plist in prefs. trashed. no change. rebooted. no change.

app store STILL thinks I need iMovie 9.0.8.

on the up side, last week it stopped thinking I needed 10.8.2, so that is progress.

thank you.

a

Does the App Store show the same results, if you open App Store when you are logged in to a different user account on your Mac?
This can a good opportunity to create a new user account, just for this purpose.

yeah, the apple genius wizard person had me try that..log out and back into a test user, same BS: I need iMovie 9.0.8

that's when he said the part about system-wide problem and you need to re-install your OS X.

How's a practically brand-new install barely used get all hosed up like that?

and such a small problem on a small application?

I was tellin' my wife, if your car has a dead battery you don't put in a whole new engine, you just put a new battery...but apparently in OS X, the app store is one of the pillars of the OS.

sounds pretty screwy to me..

The engine/battery is probably not a relevant illustration in this case.

And, a reinstall does not necessarily mean "Erase and Install"
Boot to the Recovery partition, and choose reinstall OS X.
You will get a fresh install of the OS X system - similar to the older Archive & Install in older OS X versions. Your own stuff, applications that you have installed, documents, etc, would all stay as is.
Run Software Update (App Store) when the install completes. There are normally a few updates for you to do at that point.

And, finally, being a relatively minor problem, you would need to decide if the result is worth your time (if you have no other problems)

I know and you are right to point that out. I guess I'm happy not to have the admin credentials-demanding nags...

a

It is all related to the fact that Apple Support "Engineers" are following a script and if they cannot solve your problem they will tell you to re-install in reality it is a very rare thing to do. Not saying it does not happen.....ie when someone sets 777 permissions on a boot drive !

A seasoned professional will look for problems and solve rather than just wiping.
The core OS OS is pretty damn stable but things in your user folder can mess up.

see post #2 for Apple Store debug menu

Can i ask is this a Retail version of iMovie from (iLife11 disk/installer) or an App Store version of iMovie that came with your machine ?

Have you ever used 2 Apple IDs ?
Have you totally removed iMovie ?

DO NOT RE-INSTALL FFS !

I bought an iMovie upgrade from the apple app store.

to my knowledge, 1 apple app id

I haven't totally removed iMovie because I use it and have ongoing projects.

what IS "ffs?"

It's the nags AND the queasy feeling I get when I hear "system-wide problem."

things in my experience that were like that: font issues...mouse the wrong font out of the wrong face and you have system-wide problems serious enough that re-install is your only workable option.

Quicktime/iTunes components: move or de-install the wrong thing (even tho there's an online tip about it) and you face system-wide problems; re-install city is your next stop.

some of these things are User dumbness; other things are OS booby traps, but when you think you have a "system-wide problem," there's the lingering fear that this problem, whatever it is, will manifest right when you're in the middle of an important client project that you HAVE to get done.

So you think, well...better deal now than later. But with this app store thing I'm having, the problem sprouted right off, when the MT. Lion install was brand new, so you think if THAT got hosed when brand new, then what fix in re-installing it all over again?

Since my under-the-hood chops are nowhere near most of you guys's, I'm just left with this weak hope that some hail mary pass will save the day, but those often also lead into a pit of despair.

a

how to re-subscribe to a thread
 

I accidentally clicked unsusbscribe in an email; is there a button in that thread to re-subscribe me?

thanks!

a

OK just delete the App from /Applications and reinstall
Shoudl be fine after that and doing the debug menu resetting etc.

FFS = FOR F**KS SAKE ;-)

There are two com.apple.appstore.plist files. One is in ~/ library/cookies & the other ~/library/prefs.

I recently had a problem with the App Store and trashed both of them without a problem. The appstore still notifies me of updates, so i shouldnt worry too much about pulling the plug :D

Do you have any other hard drives attached, besides the boot drive, which might have a second, older version of iMovie installed?

I may have bumped onto the answer to this dumb problem: there was, on my drive, in the downloads folder, an older copy of iMovie..ie older than 9.08

I tossed it and after that, the little "1" on the App Store Updates Icon vanished!

So..Good and Dumb both...if it's not in the Applications folder, why should the App Store tell me I have or don't have it?

Maybe there's a very good reason I haven't considered...

Thank you heartily to all who chimed in on this issue...

a