File Browser Launch Freezes PS Elements

JO
Posted By
John_Olson
Oct 29, 2003
Views
180
Replies
6
Status
Closed
Hello…
I’m new to this so I hope I get it right. I just got Photoshop Elements 2.0.(It was bundled with a Nikon digital camera.)

My problem: When I click on File Browser (at any of its opening locations), the browser comes up…showing thumbnails of My Pictures directory. Everything looks OK, but when I move the curser to click on anything on the screen (in the browser or in other parts), it all freezes. Part of the larger application window goes white and there is the message at the top that says that Photoshop Elements is not responding. I then have to kill the program (which takes at least six clicks of the X in the top, or the Close when minimized (which I can do).

I read the exchange in this forum (about six months ago) where a similar problem was described. It was suggested that it would be fixed if the user cleaned up his computer. I did this (deleting all temporary files on my C and D (where scratch files etc are) drives and running Norton speed disk on the whole computer). But no change.

My system: I’m using Windows XP Professional SP1. It’s a Pentium 4 with lots of space.

I can’t contact Adobe since they don’t provide talking to technician support for bundled software. So I’m hoping that someone here may be able to help.

The application works fine…other than the File Browser which I can do without…but it would be nice to have it working the way it’s supposed to.

Thanks
John Olson
Ottawa, Canada

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BH
Beth_Haney
Oct 29, 2003
I can’t tell from your description whether this is relevant, but there have been posts from others complaining of freezes when using the browser. In the two cases I’m remembering, the trouble was traced back to folders of LOTS of images that were left open. And I’m talking big folders. If you’ve got any on your hard drive that contain a lot of image files – especially large PSD or TIFF files – break them down into smaller chunks and make sure the folders are closed in the browser before you exit Elements. In one case, Elements wouldn’t even open without freezing because it hung up on generating a huge number of thumbnails. If any of this applies to you, "erase" the problem by deleting the Elements Preference folder, which, essentially, will leave you with nothing besides closed folders.

Oh, to delete the Preferences: With Elements closed, click on the start up icon and then make a quick grab for the Control, Alt, and Shift keys. Hold all three down until you get a screen asking if you want to delete the Settings. Say Yes.

Different people make use of My Pictures in different ways. I had to go in to my hubby’s XP My Pictures folder and teach him how to use sub folders. He kept cramming everything in there without any subdivisions. Not good for Elements, and probably not an ideal way to manage files when it comes time to do backups, either.

I can’t remember how application memory is handled in XP. Can the amount allocated to Elements be increased? If so, you might try that, too.
JO
John_Olson
Oct 29, 2003
Beth…

Thanks for your advice. I got the File Browser working.

In My Pictures, I had two folders and about 12 pictures loose outside of these (these were not large…very small in fact). I created another folder and stuffed the loose ones into that. And lo and behold, it started working.

I say started…because when I would click on the new folder, it would still freeze. However, after starting it up again, I clicked on the More button and cleared the cache. It was then able to operate properly.

Again…thank you. It was one of those small — but frustrating things — that was bothering me. Now I can worry about something else.

John Olson
BH
Beth_Haney
Oct 29, 2003
So what are you gonna pick next to worry about?! 🙂

I’m glad my suggestion was helpful.
JO
John_Olson
Oct 29, 2003
Actually…I’ve got something to add about my File Browser problem. I’ve learned a bit more.

I put the loose pictures in a folder called "Other." Everything was fine…until I clicked on pictures in that file…and things froze.

I moved the Other file to another drive (where I really keep my images). No problems with File Manager and My Pictures (what was left of it).

However, when I used File Manager to access the Other file (in its new location), it was freeze up time again.

So it would seem that one (or more) of the images in the Other file has something that File Browser doesn’t like. Knowing that, I can work around things.

As for worries…I had been nit picking over the fact that my bundled software is "User Guide-less" but I can pick up a book. (I’m not too keen on on-screen tutorials.)

Again thanks Beth.

John Olson
Ottawa
JO
John_Olson
Oct 29, 2003
A little more…

There was a gif file at the beginning of my Other folder that wouldn’t display a thumbnail in MS Explorer (My Computer) and when I tried to open it (using File Open) from Elements, it crashed Elements.

I deleted that gif and I can now open the Other folder using the File Browser. So it would appear to have been one defective gif file that was doing all of this.

John Olson
DS
Dick_Smith
Jan 6, 2004
Ed,

I don’t think it’s a feature, but yes it frequently seems to disappear. I usually just hit the tab key to go to full screen mode and drag it back then hit tab again.

Dick

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