scratch file information, please?

R
Posted By
ross
Feb 6, 2006
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602
Replies
18
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Closed
I will load a DVD with perhaps 500 MB of photos and edit them and in about 5 minutes Photoshop CS starts floundering and slows to a halt. I have 126 Gigs of free hard drive and 1.50 GB of RAM. I have been told this condition has something to do with scratch file volume. Perhaps set the amount of hard drive to assign to the scratch file? Can you advise me on this please? I really need to correct it if possible. I appreciate this newsgroup. Dick Ross

Must-have mockup pack for every graphic designer 🔥🔥🔥

Easy-to-use drag-n-drop Photoshop scene creator with more than 2800 items.

V
Voivod
Feb 6, 2006
On Mon, 6 Feb 2006 14:25:21 -0600, "ross"
scribbled:

I will load a DVD with perhaps 500 MB of photos and edit them and in about 5 minutes Photoshop CS starts floundering and slows to a halt. I have 126 Gigs of free hard drive and 1.50 GB of RAM. I have been told this condition has something to do with scratch file volume. Perhaps set the amount of hard drive to assign to the scratch file? Can you advise me on this please? I really need to correct it if possible. I appreciate this newsgroup.

For best performance Photoshop and the scratch file should be on separate PHYSICAL volumes.
R
ross
Feb 7, 2006
So perhaps I should add a separate drive? Is there a reference for placing the scratch file to this physical drive? thanks for the reply. Dick Ross

"Voivod" wrote in message
On Mon, 6 Feb 2006 14:25:21 -0600, "ross"
scribbled:

I will load a DVD with perhaps 500 MB of photos and edit them and in about 5
minutes Photoshop CS starts floundering and slows to a halt. I have 126 Gigs
of free hard drive and 1.50 GB of RAM. I have been told this condition has something to do with scratch file volume. Perhaps set the amount of hard drive to assign to the scratch file? Can you advise me on this please? I really need to correct it if possible. I appreciate this newsgroup.

For best performance Photoshop and the scratch file should be on separate PHYSICAL volumes.

A
adykes
Feb 7, 2006
In article ,
Voivod wrote:
On Mon, 6 Feb 2006 14:25:21 -0600, "ross"
scribbled:

I will load a DVD with perhaps 500 MB of photos and edit them and in about 5 minutes Photoshop CS starts floundering and slows to a halt. I have 126 Gigs of free hard drive and 1.50 GB of RAM. I have been told this condition has something to do with scratch file volume. Perhaps set the amount of hard drive to assign to the scratch file? Can you advise me on this please? I really need to correct it if possible. I appreciate this newsgroup.

For best performance Photoshop and the scratch file should be on separate PHYSICAL volumes.

What do you mean by "load a DVD"?

This might be CS making a browser cache, which is resource-intensive and reading from a DVD is CPU-intensive, which would make things even worse.

Try copying the files to a folder on your hard disk, first.


a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don’t blame me. I voted for Gore.
TC
tony cooper
Feb 7, 2006
On Mon, 6 Feb 2006 18:16:06 -0600, "ross" wrote:

So perhaps I should add a separate drive? Is there a reference for placing the scratch file to this physical drive? thanks for the reply. Dick Ross

Google "Adobe scratch disks" for more information. You will come up pages like:

http://graphicssoft.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=ht tp://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/322829.html

Your scratch disk can be a different disk from your primary C: drive, or you can partition your C: drive. You have to have a decent-sized C: drive to do this, though.



Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL
N
noone
Feb 7, 2006
In article <5d90d$43e7b0ab$40971e23$
says…
I will load a DVD with perhaps 500 MB of photos and edit them and in about 5 minutes Photoshop CS starts floundering and slows to a halt. I have 126 Gigs of free hard drive and 1.50 GB of RAM. I have been told this condition has something to do with scratch file volume. Perhaps set the amount of hard drive to assign to the scratch file? Can you advise me on this please? I really need to correct it if possible. I appreciate this newsgroup. Dick Ross

Ross,

As others have mentioned, a second PHYSICAL HDD is a big step with PS Scratch Disk. The only advantage of partitioning a physical HDD for use with PS SD, is that it is easier to defragment, and to remove any TMP files, if you do crash. Otherwise, a second, third, fourth physical HDD will improve things. RAID 0 is also a bit of a "speed-up," but I’m not sure that the benchmarks would indicate THAT much of an increase. In CS/CS2, you can use all the HDD space, in 4 physical HDD configurations, that you can possibly buy.

As Al Dykes mentioned, some of the problem could be with reading directly from DVD. Also, if one Opens a ton of high-rez images at one time, it doesn’t take PS long to use up ALL of the real estate that you can possibly have, HDD SD space, RAM — Everything!

In response to Al’s suggestion, I’d agree, that copying the files to your image HDD, THEN working on them a few at a time, might be all that is required. However, as HDD’s are cheap, I’d also add all that you can.

My new workstation has 8 250 GB HDD’s in RAID 0 to give me 4x500GB SD space. My OS is on another RAID 0 HDD, and my image files are on another RAID 0 HDD. A lot of HDD’s, but nearly all gets used, at some time, or another with 10GB+ files (tons of Layers and very large size + high-rez). Is this overkill for you? Probably, but you can get an idea of what some of us do with regards to SD for PS.

Hunt
R
ross
Feb 7, 2006
I have 126 GB of free space. Enough? Thanks for the advice, Dick Ross

"Tony Cooper" wrote in message
On Mon, 6 Feb 2006 18:16:06 -0600, "ross" wrote:
So perhaps I should add a separate drive? Is there a reference for placing the scratch file to this physical drive? thanks for the reply. Dick Ross

Google "Adobe scratch disks" for more information. You will come up pages like:

http://graphicssoft.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=ht tp://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/322829.html

Your scratch disk can be a different disk from your primary C: drive, or you can partition your C: drive. You have to have a decent-sized C: drive to do this, though.



Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL
R
ross
Feb 7, 2006
Thanks will give this idea a try as it is the simplest.

"Al Dykes" wrote in message
In article ,
Voivod wrote:
On Mon, 6 Feb 2006 14:25:21 -0600, "ross"
scribbled:

I will load a DVD with perhaps 500 MB of photos and edit them and in about 5
minutes Photoshop CS starts floundering and slows to a halt. I have 126 Gigs
of free hard drive and 1.50 GB of RAM. I have been told this condition has
something to do with scratch file volume. Perhaps set the amount of hard drive to assign to the scratch file? Can you advise me on this please? I really need to correct it if possible. I appreciate this newsgroup.

For best performance Photoshop and the scratch file should be on separate PHYSICAL volumes.

What do you mean by "load a DVD"?

This might be CS making a browser cache, which is resource-intensive and reading from a DVD is CPU-intensive, which would make things even worse.

Try copying the files to a folder on your hard disk, first.


a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don’t blame me. I voted for Gore.
TC
tony cooper
Feb 7, 2006
On Mon, 6 Feb 2006 20:38:11 -0600, "ross" wrote:

Thanks will give this idea a try as it is the simplest.

Moving your files to C: is a good interim step. Still, a scratch disk on a separate drive or separate partition is highly recommended. Google and learn about how and why.

"Al Dykes" wrote in message
In article ,
Voivod wrote:
On Mon, 6 Feb 2006 14:25:21 -0600, "ross"
scribbled:

I will load a DVD with perhaps 500 MB of photos and edit them and in about 5
minutes Photoshop CS starts floundering and slows to a halt. I have 126 Gigs
of free hard drive and 1.50 GB of RAM. I have been told this condition has
something to do with scratch file volume. Perhaps set the amount of hard drive to assign to the scratch file? Can you advise me on this please? I really need to correct it if possible. I appreciate this newsgroup.

For best performance Photoshop and the scratch file should be on separate PHYSICAL volumes.

What do you mean by "load a DVD"?

This might be CS making a browser cache, which is resource-intensive and reading from a DVD is CPU-intensive, which would make things even worse.

Try copying the files to a folder on your hard disk, first.


a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don’t blame me. I voted for Gore.



Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL
P
Pat
Feb 7, 2006
Okay, you win. Your computer beats my computer.
A
Avery
Feb 7, 2006
On Tue, 07 Feb 2006 01:27:44 GMT, Tony Cooper
wrote:

On Mon, 6 Feb 2006 18:16:06 -0600, "ross" wrote:
So perhaps I should add a separate drive? Is there a reference for placing the scratch file to this physical drive? thanks for the reply. Dick Ross

Google "Adobe scratch disks" for more information. You will come up pages like:

http://graphicssoft.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=ht tp://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/322829.html

Your scratch disk can be a different disk from your primary C: drive, or you can partition your C: drive. You have to have a decent-sized C: drive to do this, though.

Putting the scratch disk on a different partition on the same physical drive will do nothing at all for performance – it may even slow things down. There may be some advantages in system management but not for performance.
HG
Henry Glover
Feb 7, 2006
"ross" wrote in message
I will load a DVD with perhaps 500 MB of photos and edit them and in about 5 minutes Photoshop CS starts floundering and slows to a halt. I have 126 Gigs of free hard drive and 1.50 GB of RAM. I have been told this condition has something to do with scratch file volume. Perhaps set the amount of hard drive to assign to the scratch file? Can you advise me on this please? I really need to correct it if possible. I appreciate this newsgroup. Dick

I think that your problem is that windows and Photoshop are usisng the same drive. Windows is using it for it’s swap file and photoshop is using the same drive as its scratch drive… this will slow down photoshop. You will have to install a second drive and assign photoshop’s scratch file to this drive. Henry
A
adykes
Feb 7, 2006
In article ,
Avery wrote:
On Tue, 07 Feb 2006 01:27:44 GMT, Tony Cooper
wrote:

On Mon, 6 Feb 2006 18:16:06 -0600, "ross" wrote:
So perhaps I should add a separate drive? Is there a reference for placing the scratch file to this physical drive? thanks for the reply. Dick Ross

Google "Adobe scratch disks" for more information. You will come up pages like:

http://graphicssoft.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=ht tp://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/322829.html

Your scratch disk can be a different disk from your primary C: drive, or you can partition your C: drive. You have to have a decent-sized C: drive to do this, though.

Putting the scratch disk on a different partition on the same physical drive will do nothing at all for performance – it may even slow things down. There may be some advantages in system management but not for performance.

Agreed. I’m a fan of making a small partition, a few GB, on the second disk and using it *only* as a PS work disk. Somewhere I recall seeing a mention that PS will see less fragmention that way. I’m sure that for the work I do, the effect is unmeasurably small.


a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don’t blame me. I voted for Gore.
A
adykes
Feb 7, 2006
In article ,
Henry Glover wrote:
"ross" wrote in message
I will load a DVD with perhaps 500 MB of photos and edit them and in about 5 minutes Photoshop CS starts floundering and slows to a halt. I have 126 Gigs of free hard drive and 1.50 GB of RAM. I have been told this condition has something to do with scratch file volume. Perhaps set the amount of hard drive to assign to the scratch file? Can you advise me on this please? I really need to correct it if possible. I appreciate this newsgroup. Dick

I think that your problem is that windows and Photoshop are usisng the same drive. Windows is using it for it’s swap file and photoshop is using the same drive as its scratch drive… this will slow down photoshop. You will have to install a second drive and assign photoshop’s scratch file to this drive. Henry

reading from a CD/DVD sucks CPU cycles. Try copying some MP3s from CD to harddisk while trying to do anything else with the computer. The OP machine may have the DVD and the hard disk on the same channel, which would make things even worse.


a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don’t blame me. I voted for Gore.
R
ross
Feb 7, 2006
You guys are terrrific!!!! I am installing a separate HDD and phoning Photoshop to get the instructions on allocation of the scratch disk to the new HDD this morning also. I will let you know how it works out. Dick Ross

"Al Dykes" wrote in message
In article ,
Henry Glover wrote:
"ross" wrote in message
I will load a DVD with perhaps 500 MB of photos and edit them and in about
5 minutes Photoshop CS starts floundering and slows to a halt. I have 126 Gigs of free hard drive and 1.50 GB of RAM. I have been told this condition
has something to do with scratch file volume. Perhaps set the amount of hard drive to assign to the scratch file? Can you advise me on this please?
I really need to correct it if possible. I appreciate this newsgroup. Dick

I think that your problem is that windows and Photoshop are usisng the same
drive. Windows is using it for it’s swap file and photoshop is using the same drive as its scratch drive… this will slow down photoshop. You will have to install a second drive and assign photoshop’s scratch file to this drive. Henry

reading from a CD/DVD sucks CPU cycles. Try copying some MP3s from CD to harddisk while trying to do anything else with the computer. The OP machine may have the DVD and the hard disk on the same channel, which would make things even worse.


a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don’t blame me. I voted for Gore.
A
adykes
Feb 7, 2006
In article <e0d29$43e89e70$40971e23$>,
ross wrote:
You guys are terrrific!!!! I am installing a separate HDD and phoning Photoshop to get the instructions on allocation of the scratch disk to the new HDD this morning also. I will let you know how it works out. Dick Ross

In Photoshop;

Edit -> Preferences -> Plugins & Scratch Disks

"Al Dykes" wrote in message
In article ,
Henry Glover wrote:
"ross" wrote in message
I will load a DVD with perhaps 500 MB of photos and edit them and in about
5 minutes Photoshop CS starts floundering and slows to a halt. I have 126 Gigs of free hard drive and 1.50 GB of RAM. I have been told this condition
has something to do with scratch file volume. Perhaps set the amount of hard drive to assign to the scratch file? Can you advise me on this please?
I really need to correct it if possible. I appreciate this newsgroup. Dick

I think that your problem is that windows and Photoshop are usisng the same
drive. Windows is using it for it’s swap file and photoshop is using the same drive as its scratch drive… this will slow down photoshop. You will have to install a second drive and assign photoshop’s scratch file to this drive. Henry

reading from a CD/DVD sucks CPU cycles. Try copying some MP3s from CD to harddisk while trying to do anything else with the computer. The OP machine may have the DVD and the hard disk on the same channel, which would make things even worse.


a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don’t blame me. I voted for Gore.


a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don’t blame me. I voted for Gore.
R
ross
Feb 7, 2006
Okay, here is where I am now. I recieved a knowledge base document from Adobe.com about this issue and followed the directions. They are on http:// www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/331412.html. Then I followed the directions given me by Tony Cooper.They are on
http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/322829.html
I have been working with CD’s all morning and editing the images and the only difficulty that I had was when I decided to print one. Then old sluggishness set in. However, taking break and coming back after printing solved this issue. I may have found the solution from Tony. Thanks everyone!! Dick Ross

"Al Dykes" wrote in message
In article <e0d29$43e89e70$40971e23$>,
ross wrote:
You guys are terrrific!!!! I am installing a separate HDD and phoning Photoshop to get the instructions on allocation of the scratch disk to the new HDD this morning also. I will let you know how it works out. Dick Ross

In Photoshop;

Edit -> Preferences -> Plugins & Scratch Disks

"Al Dykes" wrote in message
In article ,
Henry Glover wrote:
"ross" wrote in message
I will load a DVD with perhaps 500 MB of photos and edit them and in about
5 minutes Photoshop CS starts floundering and slows to a halt. I have 126
Gigs of free hard drive and 1.50 GB of RAM. I have been told this condition
has something to do with scratch file volume. Perhaps set the amount of hard drive to assign to the scratch file? Can you advise me on this please?
I really need to correct it if possible. I appreciate this newsgroup. Dick

I think that your problem is that windows and Photoshop are usisng the same
drive. Windows is using it for it’s swap file and photoshop is using the
same drive as its scratch drive… this will slow down photoshop. You will
have to install a second drive and assign photoshop’s scratch file to this
drive. Henry

reading from a CD/DVD sucks CPU cycles. Try copying some MP3s from CD to harddisk while trying to do anything else with the computer. The OP machine may have the DVD and the hard disk on the same channel, which would make things even worse.


a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don’t blame me. I voted for Gore.


a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don’t blame me. I voted for Gore.
A
adykes
Feb 8, 2006
In article <41e87$43e8d606$40971e23$>,
ross wrote:
Okay, here is where I am now. I recieved a knowledge base document from Adobe.com about this issue and followed the directions. They are on http:// www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/331412.html. Then I followed the directions given me by Tony Cooper.They are on
http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/322829.html
I have been working with CD’s all morning and editing the images and the only difficulty that I had was when I decided to print one. Then old sluggishness set in. However, taking break and coming back after printing solved this issue. I may have found the solution from Tony. Thanks everyone!! Dick Ross

Money will fix that. 🙂


a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don’t blame me. I voted for Gore.
R
ross
Feb 8, 2006
I would be lost without newsgroups, Al. I am always struggling trying to push the knowledge barrier that I have and many times it is either Google or a newsgroup that helps me win. Thanks, very much, Dick Ross www.rosskc.com and I voted for Gore also, by the way <grin>

"Al Dykes" wrote in message
In article <41e87$43e8d606$40971e23$>,
ross wrote:
Okay, here is where I am now. I recieved a knowledge base document from Adobe.com about this issue and followed the directions. They are on http://
www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/331412.html. Then I followed the directions given me by Tony Cooper.They are on
http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/322829.html
I have been working with CD’s all morning and editing the images and the only difficulty that I had was when I decided to print one. Then old sluggishness set in. However, taking break and coming back after printing solved this issue. I may have found the solution from Tony. Thanks everyone!! Dick Ross

Money will fix that. 🙂


a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m

Don’t blame me. I voted for Gore.

Must-have mockup pack for every graphic designer 🔥🔥🔥

Easy-to-use drag-n-drop Photoshop scene creator with more than 2800 items.

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