Photoshop Elements so slow

[WynneWages]

Hi. I am a relatively new to Photoshop Elements. I thought I would love it, but I don't. It is so slow. When I try to edit a photograph, it takes forever. Is there a trick that I don't know about? Please help.
Thanks!

[imported_admin]

Hi Wynne,
Can you be more specific about the sort of problem you're encountering? Are you saying the program is slow to load, or is it just taking you a long time to edit because you're unfamiliar with the software?

We'll do whatever we can to help!

[WynneWages]

It is taking a long time to upload. I click on Edit and it probably takes a good 3-5 minutes to open the edit screen. Then each attribute I try to edit takes a long time as well. Thanks for any assistance.
Wynne

[MikeH]

Wynne,

What the is the spec of your PC?

Mike

[WynneWages]

I'm so sorry. What exactly do you mean by spec?

This is the only program that I have this problem with...if that helps at all.

[MikeH]

Wynne,

Sorry, I should have been more specific about the information I asked for... I am trying to see if your PC has the specification required to run PSE3 properly.

So, can you tell me what your processor i (i.e. 2.4Ghz) and how much RAM you have (e.g. 512Mb)...

Mike

[WynneWages]

I have a Pentium III processer--664mHz
128mB RAM
Total of 19GB--13.28 used.

Does that help?

[kerriann85]

That pretty much explains it Wynne. Following are the minimum requirememnts for the software. 256 MB of RAM is even too little. I upgraded my P4 from 512 RAM to twice that much and could tell a differnece in speed.

Intel® Pentium® III or 4 (or compatible) 800MHz or faster processor
Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional or Home Edition with Service Pack 1; Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 or later
256MB of RAM (512MB or more recommended)
800MB of available hard-disk space

[MikeH]

Wynne,

As Kerri has pointed out your processor and RAM are both below the minmum spec required for PSE3.

Adding more RAM might help but I'm afraid you're always going to struggle with a P3 664mhz machine.

Sorry it's not better news... :(

Mike

[WynneWages]

Thanks. I guess I should work on upgrading my Pentium processor. Is that hard to do? Any suggestions on where to go to get info on that?

[DJett]

Looking for some help / advice on this subject myself. I have a Dell Dimension 4300 (P4, 1.9 Ghz w/512 RAM). The PSE is slow in loading and I can only have one file in the edit bin at a time or it slows everythng to a crawl (using an 8-megapixel camera). Would upgrading to 1 meg be worth the investment or am I better off putting the money toward a new machine? Upgrading would requre buying 2 512 cards and discarding the two 256 cards in the machine (only two RAM slots available). Note, also running NAV, which I hear is a memory hog as well (any better alternative?). Thanks for your input / advice

[WynneWages]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. Maybe I'll be back with a new computer!

[MikeH]

Wynne,

You have a few options here... install a new processor on your existing motherboard, install an upgrade kit or buy a new pc...

This will need to be checked out, but you will probably find that your motherboard won't take the latest P4 processors and DDR RAM.

You can buy a upgrade kit that will include the motherboard, processor, fan, power supply and DDR RAM. Nowadays installing these kits just takes patience and discipline to read the instructions. I'm by no means a PC engineer (far fromit in fact), but I've now done two.

I get my kits from komplett.com but where do you live?

If you are in any doubt about installing a kit then buying a new PC may be the answer.

Mike

[WynneWages]

Mike,

I live in Birmingham, Alabama. I can maneuver my way around software but hardware issues are not my forte. We primarily use our computer for digital pictures...this kind of stinks! But maybe it's time for a new PC anyway.

Thanks,
Wynne

[GaryK]

Wynne/Mike

In Canada a lot of the vendors include a case with the upgrade kit, so all you are really doing yourself is swapping the the hard drives/cd roms etc.

Gary.

[MikeH]

Would upgrading to 1 meg be worth the investment or am I better off putting the money toward a new machine? Upgrading would requre buying 2 512 cards and discarding the two 256 cards in the machine (only two RAM slots available).

Hi... Welcome to the forums... :)

I would say that investing in 1mb is worthwhile, but you might want to think before buying two 512mb units. In the future you may want to upgrade again, so if your motherboard can take it, a single 1mb unit might be better and cheaper in the long run. You could add another 1mb unit to give you 2mb!!

If you don't want to spend the money on a 1mb unit (or your board won't accept it) then you could always buy one 512mb and keep one of your existing 256mb cards and see how you go...

Note, also running NAV, which I hear is a memory hog as well (any better alternative?). Thanks for your input / advice

I use McAfee which uses less memory than NAV...

Mike

[MikeH]

I can maneuver my way around software but hardware issues are not my forte. We primarily use our computer for digital pictures...this kind of stinks! But maybe it's time for a new PC anyway.
Wynne,

OK... if your uncomfortable with getting inside your PC then maybe a new one is the answer. I upgraded one pc for a third of the cost of buying a new one.

You'll find that all of the latest photo editing software has a PC spec similar to PSE3, so I think it's something you'd face sooner or later.

Mike

[drummermom]

Looking for some help / advice on this subject myself. I have a Dell Dimension 4300 (P4, 1.9 Ghz w/512 RAM). The PSE is slow in loading and I can only have one file in the edit bin at a time or it slows everythng to a crawl (using an 8-megapixel camera). Would upgrading to 1 meg be worth the investment or am I better off putting the money toward a new machine? Upgrading would requre buying 2 512 cards and discarding the two 256 cards in the machine (only two RAM slots available). Note, also running NAV, which I hear is a memory hog as well (any better alternative?). Thanks for your input / advice

DJett,

Your machine has plenty of horsepower to run Elements. What's slowing you up is NAV, which is both a memory hog and a slug. Here are a couple of suggestions:

1) Switch NAV for Trend Micro's PC-Cillin (I don't work for Trend Micro and am not associated with them in any way, but I'm here to tell you that they have a superior product to NAV or McAfee). A one-user license on an upgrade to PC-Cillin is about $39 (US)

2) If you don't want the hassle of changing anti-virus programs, then disable NAV while working in Elements. That will help some, but it'll still be a resource hog.

3) The RAM Upgrade will be worth the investment. I'd suggest pricing a 1MB card instead of 2 512K cards.

With a different antivirus program and double the RAM, Elements will sail. Before you do the memory upgrade, try changing out NAV...it's a relatively small investment but you'll notice a huge performance increase.

Karoli, aka drummermom

[drummermom]

Wynne,

If you don't have someone you can trust to do a hardware upgrade, I'd suggest trying to price out the cost of just buying a box -- motherboard, RAM, bigger hard drive, video card, etc. without a monitor, printer, keyboard or mouse.

The problem with trying to put a new motherboard or processor into a machine as old as yours is that everything else will slow down the performance of the machine. You can find pretty good deals on P4 machines with 512MB of RAM and a nice big hard drive that won't break your pocketbook and will give you a nice work area for your photos.

Karoli

[Mary]

Just to clarify some of the suggestions in this thread - where 1 MB of memory is mentioned I think that should read 1 GB ????

I have been told that the best rule of thumb for upgrading rather than replacing anything other than a larger hard drive or more memory is only if your computer is less than 2 years old. Check the majors such as CompUSA, Office Max, etc and their weekend ads have some amazing systems at an affordable price these days.

[MikeH]

Just to clarify some of the suggestions in this thread - where 1 MB of memory is mentioned I think that should read 1 GB ????

Mary,

You've won 1st prize in the observation test!!!

Errr :oops: :oops: :oops: of course it should be 1Gb...

Mike

[Mary]

Hi Mike
I wrote that before my second cup of coffee this morning so it was a real iffy observation. :)

[drummermom]

Just to clarify some of the suggestions in this thread - where 1 MB of memory is mentioned I think that should read 1 GB

Ummmm Yeah. :) LOL.

Can you tell that I still hail back to the olden ancient days of PCs?

All of my references to 1MB should be mentally adjusted to 1GB ;-) [/quote]