 Irene Troy |
Computer/Photoshop problems I’ve asked this question before and have not really figured out the answer, so I am asking it again and begging for help from some of you techie experts. I am totally frustrated and at the end of my rope, computer/Photoshop wise! I am trying to get a project done and it is taking me forever and five days just to edit my images. Asking PS to execute a simple command, such as save a document takes up to 2 minutes! Trying to adjust levels or curves, etc. takes up to 4-5 minutes per command/image. I just don’t understand why! Here is my computer setup: Dell XPS 400 with 4GBs of RAM; Pentium D -3.2gHz 500GB hard drive. I close every other application while running PS CS2 including background aps. I even disable my anti-virus/spyware while I am working in PS. I clear my cache regularly and write only to the hard drive and assign a partition solely for images. I regularly scan my hard drive for adware/spyware/malware and have not found anything that would account for this amazingly slow performance. This has always been an issue, but it is getting ridiculous and I really am beginning to lose it. My image files can be large – I shoot in RAW; however, with the setup that I have I just don’t get why it is this slow. I know there are plenty of people here who run PS-CS2 with much less RAM and they don’t seem to have these issues. So, if anyone has any ideas, PLEASE help! Irene
|
|
|
|
||
|
Robert E. Gaughan |
Hello Irene. That sure is some issue you are having. You are right on the fact that people are using a lessor Spec PC to run PS SC2. I myself use a Sony Vgc RA-840-G Viao. Pent D 2.8 Ghz and only 1 GB ram. 250 GB hard drive. No issues what so ever. I read that you scan for spyware and malware.. but you do not mention for VIRUSES. What programs do you use for Antivirus, Spyware scan and removal? I use the FREE programs ( AVG free for antivrus and Spybot search and Destroy for spyware detection and removal ) and have never had any issues with using them. There is no reason other then you have a virus that is not detetced or.. you may just need to do a DEFRAGMENTATION to your system. That will bring your files all together so the hard drive is more accesable by the CPU. I hope this helps you.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Irene Troy |
Robert - thanks for your advice. I also run Spybot and Norton Security Suite which includes anti-virus and spyware detection; although I think that Spybot does a better job on spyware and adware. I keep thinking along the same lines that you mention. That this is a virus/spyware/adware issue. However, neither Norton or Spybot ids anything. I have also done the defrag thing several times without noticable improvement. This all started when I got my new computer back in July of 2006. It has gotten much worse with time and is now impossible. I've pretty much exhausted my slim amount of knowledge without finding a solution. The system is somewhat slow in other aps, but it is in PS that the real slowdown occurs. Of-course, this is probably because PS is so memory intensive. At this point I am simply grasping at straws. Thank you, again, for taking the time to think about this for me. Irene
|
|
|
|
||
|
Robert E. Gaughan |
Irene, You mention that you have slowness on other apps too. With the amount of RAM you have in that Dell, there is no way it should lag in anything. That precessor is very fast. It has to be a hardware issue. What I have done to my wifes computer when it got as slow as you are runng, we used the recovery cds and went back to factory specs.. then re installed all Microsoft updates and reinstalled our AV and Spyware programs. I suggest that. But if you go this route, DO NOT load Norton back on it.. That program is not very good with XP with SP2 . I suggest you use the free programs I have mentioned.. If none of this works, you might have to contat DELL support. I personlay wilkl never buy a dell product. I have seen some terriable issues and poor service from the ones I have used. good luck
|
|
|
|
||
|
Michael A. Bielat |
I am a software engineer by day and may be able to help you. You really seem to have a decent computer with all the specs you listed.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Irene Troy |
Thank you, Robert and Michael for taking the time to respond to my issue. Robert– I had to smile, well grimace, reading your sentence about Dell. It would take me about an hour to tell you all about my problems with Dell and this system. Trust me; you don’t want to go there! Once upon a time Dell was a terrific company with great customer service. Today Dell is about as bad as they get. It practically took an act of Congress for me to get any support with this system. The first computer they sent arrived almost dead and never booted up right from day one. It took me three weeks of repeated phone calls, e-mails and finally a nasty snail mail to get them to replace that machine. This is actually the 3rd replacement for the initial machine that I bought. In order to get an intelligent response from Dell I had to ask a friend of a friend – someone who works with Dell to install OEM systems for a defense contractor – to intervene on my behalf. Even then it took an additional month to get this system operational. Anyway, I have already restored the system to factory specs twice using software that I finally got Dell to send me. Dell ships their systems with McAfee Security Suite. I have read many bad things about McAfee and have some personal bad experience with the software. I installed Norton instead and was told by someone at Microsoft that it works better with XP. Of-course, this could be wrong. For several days I ran the system with no virus software installed just to see what would happen to the speed issue. This made no difference so I installed Norton again. I will try your idea and see if it helps. Michael – I really appreciate your knowledge as a software engineer. The fact that you tell me that my system should be screaming helps to confirm that it is not me, it is the system. I apologize; I’m not sure what I meant to say when I said that I store my images on a separate partition. After editing my images are stored on two external drives. Current images and PS are on the hard drive along with the OS. I am not sure what RAID means – sorry, as you can probably tell I am not a computer expert! I have downloaded and installed the updates from the link that you suggested. This has not fixed things. As you may have read above, getting help from Dell is pretty impossible and I have already restored the system to original status without success. I’m thinking about hiring someone to fix my system, but around where I live it can be hard to find someone who really knows what they are doing. I get really angry about this at times. This system cost me a bundle and was a major investment in my writing and photography and now I spend much of my time simply trying to get the system to run. Grrrrrrr…. Thanks again for the help and if anyone has more ideas, I’m open to hear them. Irene
|
|
|
|
||
|
W. |
Clearly some invisible process is eating up your CPU big-time, Irene. That screams V.I.R.U.S to me! May I suggest you get a Mac? Good luck!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Irene Troy |
I was wondering when someone was going to make this suggestion! Believe me, there are times I wish I had a Mac; however, for now, I live and work in the PC world. I know that this screams VIRUS, but since Norton doesn't see it and since the problem persisted after I reformatted and reloaded the drive, I can't figure out how the virus would still be working away. I'm getting suspicious that this is a hardware issue and not something that I can solve myself. If so, that means I have to try to deal with the less than helpful folks at Dell again. Oh my aching head!
|
|
|
|
||
|
Robert E. Gaughan |
Hi again, Have you checked in your device manager to see that ALL of your hardware is working properly? You can check by... clicking on START> right click on My Computer, choose properties> click on the HARDWARE tab> click on device manager. A window will open and give you a list of the hardware on your computer. If you see any yellow question marks ( ? ) ir exclamation marks ( ! ) that says that hardware is having issue and you can click on it to see what the issue is. Another thing to try is going to this web page http://groups.msn.com/WindowsXPCentral/spyware.msnw and follow the 5 steps. In step 1, choose the Trend Micro online scan. It found stuff on ours that our AVG did not find.. and it removed it. I hope some of this helps you with the.. umm... DELL of yours The iMac is looking closer into my future too. The 20 or 24" version is what my eye is on.. good luck
|
|
|
|
||
- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
Not a techie, but I had a problem with a feature of what I use to get on the internet. I use earthlink and it has this thing called a task panel. It's just the bar that has email buttons, toolbox buttons, etc... Anyway for a while it had a temporary problem of making my cpu run at 100%. Which at first when I was trying to figure out why things were freezing up, photoshop being one of them, I thought that was a good thing. Cpu at 100%, can go full throttle! But it really meant that it was taking up all the cpu usage, or whatever you can call it. The cpu should have been around 3%. So to work around it until it was fixed, I had to exit the task panel. Even though I wasn't on the internet , it was one of those things that becomes activated when your computer or windows is activated. So maybe there's something that in your internet provider program that's doing something.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Shobin George |
What's the size of your photo trying to open? If it is too big, then it taken a little time to open. So mention the size of the file. If it happens with all the files including small, go to safe mode, uninstall photoshop completely. Then restart, reinstall the software. It may work properly. Usually CS2 take bit longer than other Photoshop versions.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Marianne Fortin |
You shouldn't be having these problems with your system, Irene. I had McAfee on my previous computer and it becaame so slow I had to remove it (which wasn't easy). Now I'm been having the same problem as Gregory. Also use earthlink and have stopped using Task Panel. I just use IE without opening the Task Panel. I also use Disk Cleanup (to clean Temp Internet, Temp and Recycle Bin) and run my Anti-spy and anti-virus programs at each start-up. How did you fix it, Greg?
|
|
|
|
||
|
- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
At the time I was having the problems I would click the earthlink symbol down at the bottom right corner of my screen and click exit task panel. Did that when I wasn't on the internet, which is what earthlink said to do when I asked them. For now, I don't know if they've fixed the problem, but I went to connection options and unchecked the box that said start task panel whenever windows starts up. Even though the bar isn't on screen, task panel was still active. So now I just don't have it become active when I have my computer on.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Marianne Fortin |
Thanks, Greg, I'll give it a try.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Irene Troy |
Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to think about my problem and to respond. Robert – yes, I have checked device manager without finding any errors. Thanks for the link; I followed the steps, also selecting Trend Micro which found nothing. Gregory – I have Broadband (always on) and it does not use a tool bar of any type. Good idea, though. I have a friend who uses Earthlink and she had a problem similar to yours and we uninstalled the toolbar and that solved her problem. Shobin – my images sizes vary from fairly small Jpeg to huge RAW files. I did try uninstalling and reinstalling PS without success. Marianne – My system came configured with McAfee. It caused amazing problems with the first system, so when I had to get a replacement system (this has been a long ordeal with Dell) I told them not to install any anti-virus. I then installed Norton. I have uninstalled Norton several times to see if that makes any difference, but it does not. I’d love to know how to rule out software as the culprit. I suspect that the issue is more hardware, but I don’t know how to prove that. If I could prove it, I would go back to Dell and hammer on them until they replaced the system – a third time! Meanwhile, I continue to slog along here, occasionally taking a break to slam my head against the wall because it feels so good when I stop. Lol :]
|
|
|
|
||
|
Robert E. Gaughan |
Send the computer back to DELL after you take it back ot factory specs with the recovery disks or from the recovery partition and ask for a full refund.. and but another makers PC or put the money you get back towards a 20 or 24" iMac.. you deserve it after all the trouble you are having..
|
|
|
|
||
|
- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
What about devoting more memory to the scratch disk?
|
|
|
|
||
|
Irene Troy |
Hi Gregory - could you explain the scratch disk thing to me? I've read that you should set the disk to 30-40% but then I've been told to set it around 5-8%. I am not sure I even understand the purpose. Sorry if this is really stupid. Thanks! Irene
|
|
|
|
||
- Carlton Ward Contact Carlton Ward Carlton Ward's Gallery |
Hi Irene, Open Photoshop and go to Edit>Preferences>Memory&Cache and see what you are allocating for PS. I have 2 gig RAM and allocate mine for 75% (which =1318MB). Try this and see if it helps.
|
|
|
|
||
|
W. |
One more plug: run Windows (XP or Vista) – and all associated software (which you got) side-by-side, and simultaneously, with Mac OSX Tiger, and all it's software, on a blazingly fast Duo or Quad Mac. And grill 'm in real life head-to-head comparisons. After all, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
|
|
|
|
||
|
W. |
One more plug: run Windows (XP or Vista) – and all associated software (which you got) side-by-side, and simultaneously, with Mac OSX Tiger, and all it's software, on a blazingly fast Duo or Quad Mac. And grill 'm in real life head-to-head comparisons. After all, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
|
|
|
|
||
|
W. |
Well . . . OK, two! (OOPS! Dunno what went wrong there)
|
|
|
|
||
|
Christopher A. Vedros |
Irene, Carlton might be on to something. Check to see what your memory settings in PhotoShop are. While you're at it, you might want to check to see what your Virtual Memory settings in Windows are. Click on the System Icon in Control Panel. Click the Advanced tab, then click the Settings button under Performance. Click the Advanced tab here also, then click the change button under Virtual Memory. Click the Custom Size button in the middle, and enter 6144 in the Initial Size box and 12288 in the Maximum size box. I don't remember where I picked up this tip, but I've used it successfully on several different computers. The Initial Size corresponds to 1.5x your physical RAM and the Maximum size corresponds to 3x your physical RAM. After you reboot, you should defrag your hard drive again, using the Windows Disk Defragmenter, not the one from Norton if you have it. Norton Speed Disk won't defrag your paging file (virtual memory) but the Windows Disk Defragmenter will. Good luck,
|
|
|
|
||
|
Irene Troy |
Thanks Chris! I had already checked and reset the virtual memory for Windows and also reset the memory setting for PS. Unfortunately, neither made any difference. I have also defrag the drive several times using Windows Disk Defrag - also without making a difference. This is getting really bad since nothing I do makes any difference or solves any of the problems. I sometimes hate technology! Thanks again -
|
|
|
|
||
|
- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
I've never been sure about what a scratch disk is, just that sometimes when doing something to a large file, be it tiff. or a psd., photoshop will put up a window and say I don't have enough room on my scratch disk. since Chris Vedros already told you where to find it, you may have already tried it.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Michael A. Bielat |
With all that being said, I am thing this is something Dell needs to address. I am thinking it is Hardware that is shot or you have some funky virus. This is why I am liking Macs more and more with each and every day.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Irene Troy |
Michael – I only wish that Dell would address this issue! Since receiving my machine back in August, I have had endless problems not just with the hardware, but with Dell techs. I am currently working on the 3rd system that they sent me – having returned the other two for serious hardware problems. Over the past ten years or so, I have purchased about a dozen Dell systems both for my own use and for use in my old office (back when I worked in an office). Dell always had a great rep and provided superior support. I can’t explain what has happened, but their support now is about as bad as it gets. When I started having problems (my first system arrived DOA) and called them, I thought that it would be no big deal – WRONG. I actually had a Dell rep tell me that I didn’t know the difference between a desktop unit and a laptop unit and another tell me that she wouldn’t have bought the system that I bought since it probably was mis-configured from the factory! I could go on and on, but no one wants to hear this sorry tale and I am tired of the whole mess. Like you, I suspect a hardware problem. I’ve already tried to address the problems with Dell and have not made headway. I suppose that I am going to have to go into battle with them once again. Sometimes I yearn for the days before computers – but then, I love my Canon 5D and shooting digital and without a computer where would I be? Thanks for the help. And yeah, I like the Mac idea myself Irene
|
|
|
|
||
|
Robert E. Gaughan |
With all that said Irene, I would request my money back and get a new computer.. I recamend SONY.. but that is who I had great products from. HP's higher end models are nice too. But the iMac is what im saving for and will someday get...good luck again
|
|
|
|
||
|
Paul Tobeck |
Irene, try this site out and see what it shows. It's called PC Pitstop, and it runs a series of of hardware and software tests and then rates your computers performance among similar models. It'll detect any hardware/software issues you are having, and make suggestions for speeding up/fixing your machine. Best of all, it's free. I've even emailed them about specific issues, and they were quick to respond. Nice people. Thought it might be worth a shot.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Paul Tobeck |
Would be helpful if I gave you the link, now wouldn't it? Duh.. http://www.pcpitstop.com/
|
|
|
|
||
|
Irene Troy |
Paul – Thank you, so very much for the link! I downloaded their software and let it do its thing with my system. It found many errors and oddities that may be slowing things down. One thing that I learned was the external drive containing most of my images is running very slow and may be at least part of the culprit in this problem. I’m going to shut that drive down and see if that makes any difference. Thanks again! Irene
|
|
|
|
||
|
- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
This is a lot better than lame Grey's Anatomy. Comeback with the final episode so we can see what's been going on.
|
|
|
|
||
|
Paul Tobeck |
Instead of "As the World Turns", it's "As Irene's Hard Drive Spins" Let us know if you get 'er fixed
|
|
|
|
||
|
- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
Took a while for Susan Lucci to win a daytime Emmy for All My Children. When will Irene Troy win a Clunker award for All My Problems?
|
|
|
|
||
|
dennis w. mcclain |
norton is a notorous system resource hog. I had that problem once. went and got the avg free antivirus. it works great, and has a small footprint. hope that helps
|
|
|
|
||
|
This old forum is now archived. Use improved Forum here
Report this Thread |
||