Premiere Elements 5 won't load a saved project

[Ross Williamson]

Premiere Elements 4 won't load a saved project if that project has been saved after cropping a clip, or after using some other effect like Audio highpass.

[Chuck Engels]

There isn't a version 5 yet, what version are you using? How are you trying to load the project? Are you sure you are loading the .prel file?

[ATR]

Ross Williamson

In Premiere Elements 4, I have tried applying audio effects (highpass/lowpass) as well as video effects (cropping) and cannot repeat the problem that you described for reloading such a project into Premiere Elements.

As suggested in Chuck Engels reply, a clarification of your post and details (lots of them) will help us to help you.

1. Version of Premiere Elements 1 through 4.
2. How are you saving your project?
3. Where are you saving it to?
4. How are you attempting to load it into Premiere Elements? For diagnostic purposes, can you load a project to which no effects have been added?
5. Have you tried a new project to determine if this saved project has become corrupt?
6. Depending on how things go or do not go, we may need to get into the content of the project, your operating system, System Requirements, etc.

This is a starting point. I will be watching for your report.

ATR

[Ross Williamson]

Ross Williamson

In Premiere Elements 4, I have tried applying audio effects (highpass/lowpass) as well as video effects (cropping) and cannot repeat the problem that you described for reloading such a project into Premiere Elements.

As suggested in Chuck Engels reply, a clarification of your post and details (lots of them) will help us to help you.

1. Version of Premiere Elements 1 through 4.
2. How are you saving your project?
3. Where are you saving it to?
4. How are you attempting to load it into Premiere Elements? For diagnostic purposes, can you load a project to which no effects have been added?
5. Have you tried a new project to determine if this saved project has become corrupt?
6. Depending on how things go or do not go, we may need to get into the content of the project, your operating system, System Requirements, etc.

This is a starting point. I will be watching for your report.

ATR

Thanks for your detailed questions.

1.It's Premiere Elements 4 I'm using.

2. I have my preferences set to put everything in the Project file. I save my projects by pressing Ctrl+S, but also use Ctrl+Shift+S to save as Title1, Title2 etc. Then I have the autosave set to save in the autosave folder every 4 mins. I use these precautions because my computer crashes frequently or freezes with messages such as "Runtime has been terminated", or Insufficient system memory" or it just simply cannot render.

Recently I increased my RAM to 3GB thinking this would help rendering, but No, it still crashes.

3. I save to the Project folder

4. I'm attempting to load a project by selecting the top project in the list which comes up when I reload Premiere Elements. If that won't load, then the next time I'll select the most recent save from the AutoSave folder, If that won't load, then the next time I select the most recent previous Save from the Autosave folder. I keep doing this until I find something which will load, and I find it is a project saved just before I used one of the Effects like Crop or Auto levels.

Yes, I can save and later reload a project to which no effects have been added. When I'm in the editing program my saving always works. It never says "Cannot Save" or anything like that. It's just that I turn the computer off after an editing session, or Elements turns off after it crashes, and then when I try to reload my last .prel file, it comes up with the message, before anything is actually reloaded, saying "Something serious has happened..........and so Elements will need to turn off".

Then I know that I shouldn't have used an effect, and I start again the long process of trying to find the most recent Save which can be reloaded.

5. I'm sure a project becomes corrupted after I use some of the effects. The standard ones like Motion are ok, but Auto Levels, Audio High Pass, Crop are three which I know I can't use if I want to be able to reload a project which has been saved after using them. Transitions seem to work OK. No problem reloading a project which has transitions.

My editing computer is running Windows XP Home. It's Pentium 4, 3.0 MHz, with 800 FSB, 7200RPM, has a Matrox Parhelia 128 video card, and is not connected to the internet. I've increased the RAM to 3 GB. I've installed Windows SP 2, but not any subsequent updates, and wouldn't be sure how to do this. If I needed to do this would I just copy the list of updates from my internet computer's C Windows file. and past them into my editing Computer?

I suspect my problems might be because I have other things active on my editing computer, but can't find them to delete. I've reduced the Services and Programs which load at startup. I've also been through the list of Services which can be accessed through Control Panel and disabled any which seem unnecessary. But it's not easy to know what the Startup and Services items actually relate to.

I defrag often, using Auslogics disk defrag, and I've recently purchased the PC Tools Registry Mechanic. It found a number of problems with the registry and corrected them. I also use CCleaner and in the past have used the free versions of Regheal, Regseeker, Wise Registry Cleaner, and TweakNow Reg Cleaner. But I haven't ever tried to go in and make any manual changes to registry files.

My editing computer is 4yrs old now, and used to be connected to the internet. There might be some residue left over from that time. I used to have Norton System Works, 3 years ago when my editing computer was connected to the internet. This has been a difficult program to uninstall, but I think I've got it all out.

The Adobe website says that most problems are not with their software, but occur because programs like Premiere Elements make more demands on a system and so show up any weaknesses.

Following advice from the Adobe website, I've also tried setting up a new User Account, because there was some mention of user accounts getting corrupted over time. I think the new user account was better for a few hours, (its hard to be certain of this) but anyway, after a while the problems were back.

So, now I don't use any effects, and autosave every few minutes. I still have the Runtime and Insufficient Memory crashes and freezes (which I don't think are related to using effects, but rather might be caused by other programs using resources), and I limp along with an editing program which is not behaving properly.

Hope this information will help someone to suggest a solution for me.

Thanks

Ross Williamson from New Zealand

[ATR]

Ross Williamson,

Thank you for that very comprehensive report on the issues with which you are facing.

For this post, I am going to focus on "1" of your report, specifically how you are saving:
Ctrl S for project
Ctrl Shift S for titles

Check me out on this...whether you use Ctrl S or Ctrl Shift S you are saving the project as a .prel file. The titles in the project that you create are embedded in the project. So when you save the project, the titles are saved within that project.

HOWEVER, if you want to save a title for later use for another project, you highlight the title in the Project View/Media, go to File/Export/Title. You will get a dialog box where you set up Save In:, File Name:, and Save as type:.
An example would be Save In: My Video; File Name: Title 01; Save As Type: Title Designer Titler (*.prtl). If you were to use this title in another Premiere Elements 4 project, you would obtain it via Get Media/Files and Folders from the My Video location in My Documents.

The last part of "1" mentioned "Run time has been terminated" and "Insufficient Memory" messages. That is another topic maybe for the next post. For now, just how long (minutes/hours) are these projects that you are trying to save? What are the pixel dimensions of the stills that you are using in these projects? What is the format and time of the video that you are using in these projects? In spite of 3 GB RAM, a system overloading could be a consideration especially if Premiere Elements were competing unsuccessfully for the resources. Did you say how much free hard drive space you have and if you have an external hard drive in the mix?

Also, have you seen the following AdobeTechNote of troubleshooting Freezes in Premiere Elements 4 Windows?
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=kb402373&sliceId=2

To be continued....

ATR

[Ross Williamson]

Thanks ATR

I wish I could change my original heading To Elememts 4. The 5 was a typo.

I misled you when I used the word Title1 etc. What I mean is that if the name of my project is for example India Tour, then I back it up using Save As, and calling it India Tour1, and then next time I save it as India Tour 2. Then after a crash, I can hover the mouse over the different saved project files to see what date and time they were saved. And so I try each saved file until I find one which will open.

I know about saving titles, but don't do that very often. When I want to put a new title into my project with the same font and settings, I click on it in the Media Panel and make a duplicate, then rename the duplicate and drag it into my timeline. Then I double click it to bring up the title editor.

This reminds me of another problem which I didn't mention last time. I have to be very careful to do a "Save As" before double clicking on a title which I want to edit, because about 50% of the time, Elements crashes without warning into the blue screen of death while it is trying to load the part of the Title Editor which replaces the Media Panel.

I also didn't mention that this problem with title editing and also the other problems with Effects are more likely to occur when the computer has been turned on for an hour or so. It seems as though rebooting clears up some of the problems for a short time. I video maps from a atlas to use at the beginning of my travel videos, and they come up so much better if I use the Auto Levels Effect on them. I now remember that I have in fact succeeded to do this without problems if the computer hasn't been on for very long.

how long (minutes/hours) are these projects that you are trying to save? I've found from experience, that I get more crashes and other problems if my video is too long. So I usually limit them to about 10 mins. But this means I might have 30mins of material captured in the timeline to start with.

What are the pixel dimensions of the stills that you are using in these projects? The stills taken to the card on my Panasonic NV-GS500 and GS400 video cameras are up to 2288x1728. I've read that Premiere Elements can cope with those dimensions, but recently I used it to make a slideshow, and experimented with still images which had been resized using the Windows resize tool. I tried Medium 800x600, Large 1024x768, and Custom 720x576 which is the PAL dimension of the video clips. I didn't notice any difference with the editing program when using different sizes, but when my slideshow was projected the smaller images wern't sharp.I find the best way to use stills is to freeze a frame of a captured video clip.

free hard drive space Plenty. About 50GB of my 120GB projects and photographs Drive. The operating system and elements program are on another 40GB partition which is, again, just over half full.

if you have an external hard driveI have an external HDD which I transfer my trimmed and copied projects to after I've completed them. Don't usually have this plugged in when editing, but if I do, it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Also, have you seen the following AdobeTechNote of troubleshooting Freezes in Premiere Elements 4 Windows?
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/view...2373&sliceId=2 (http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=kb402373&sliceId=2)Thanks for that reference. I printed out a very similar one called "Troubleshooting Digital video playback in El 4", and it was that which put me onto the idea of trying a new user account. I think some of the other suggestions involved editing the registry which I wasn't confident to try. I did check that things like write-caching for the hard disk were set correctly.

Couldn't find any new drivers for my system. Wasn't easy to try, because my editing computer isn't connected to the internet, and also my hardware might not be supported any more. I did open the properties window of each device, and in every case it said "this device is working properly".

However, now that you've referred me to this new AdobeTechNote, I'll print it and study it.

Thanks for your time and patience.

RW

[ATR]

RW

I was waiting to learn if you had found anything that helped when studying that AdobeTech Note. I came across the following links that may or may not help. Check them out and see if there is anything that will be of use in your troubleshooting.

What are the system requirements for version 4?
http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.3bc43f9a

How can I update my firmware?
http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.3c057647

How can I clean the “junk files” off my computer?
http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.3bc43f9a


ATR

[Ross Williamson]

Thanks ATR

I'm sure the AdobeTech Note and the other links you sent me will be very helpful. I've started working through the Tech Note, and testing my Pr El 4 editor after each change I make.

So far, it is still crashing, the last one was the standard Runtime crash, the one where a window comes up saying

This application has requested the Runtime to terminate it in an unusual way. Please contact the application's support team for more information.

It happened when I was opening the Title Editor.

A Google search has led me to a Microsoft fix for this runtime error when you run your custom Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 program in Microsoft Windows XP. I haven't looked into this yet because I don't know whether Pr El 4 is a C++ 6.0 program, and also there is an indication that the fix will by now be incorporated in a MS Update. I'm not sure how to, or whether to, try installing all updates after SP 2 on my editing computer which is no longer connected to the internet. I might have to reconnect it to the internet, and that might make it vulnerable while it is updating.

Also, one of your other links led me to Belarc Adviser, which I've now downloaded and used on my laptop. I have yet to use it on my desktop editing computer, but I'm sure I'll find programs which can be deleted and references to my hardware and software which can be used to find fixes and updates.

Thanks again. I'll keep working on it all.

RW

[ATR]

What type of Internet connection are you thinking about using for your Desktop? DSL, Dial Up. Will it be a completely wired connection?

What type of Anti-Virus programs have you used? Have you seen this free one..AVG as a temporary measure?
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/

Also, under Control Panel/Windows Firewall, do you leave that on or off when you have been using the Internet in the past with this Desktop.

To be continued....

ATR

[Ross Williamson]

ATR

My internet connection is broadband using D-Link ADSL. I'll use a cable between the computer and the router, because I don't think my desktop has wi-fi.

Installing AVG will be no problem. The free version is on my laptop, and I've already installed it on my wife's laptop using a thumb drive. Other software like CCleaner, Belarc Adviser and Registry Mechanic have been installed on the desktop computer using the thumb drive also.

The Tec Note advised re-installing recent updates, because software installed after an update might have overwritten some system files. So I've now re-installed SP2 on the desktop computer (I have a disk from an old Windows magazine), and that has re-activated the windows update and firewall options.

I can't remember what type of firewall I used with this Desktop in the past. It was before SP2, and I did have Zone Alarm, and Norton Utilities (both of which are completely removed now).

Now I think I'm ready to install the AVG Anti Virus, turn on the SP 2 windows firewall, connect to the internet, and go into windows update. Do you agree?

[ATR]

RW

Whatever you do, make sure that you are doing so to meet your system requirements as well as your Premiere Elements requirements. Make sure that you have a good Windows Service Pack 2 install.

Be careful that you do not run into conflicts if your DSL modem/router has Firewall, and Windows XP has one as well. I just have a wired Desktop with DSL via a Westell modem/router. Firewall is ON there, but I leave the Windows Firewall off.

Explore, see what happens, BUT leave yourself a safety net to get back if the plan does not work.

ATR

[Ross Williamson]

ATR

Thanks again for your help and advice.

I can't get onto the internet from my video editing computer, and now I remember that over the past few years, whenever I've tried to link that computer to my laptop using a LAN cable, it hasn't been possible to do that either.

I'll get someone to come and look at it sometime, but I'll be away traveling for the next few weeks.

I think I've come to a dead end at present. Pr El 4 still crashes about 50% of the time whenever I double click on a title to edit it, and it is not possible to use any of the effects (except for the three which are always attached to a clip by default), without being unable to re-load the project after doing so.

I think for the present I'll revert to Pr El 3, which I found was much better behaved. Then later, if there's an update for El 4, I'll try it again .

Thankyou ATR for your time and attention.

[ATR]

RW

Keep me updated on your follow up. I am curious to learn if your Premiere Elements 3.0.2 (that is the updated version) still works as you remember it working in the past. That would be a significant troubleshooting aid confirming that Premiere Elements 3.0.2 still works whereas Premiere Elements 4 will not.

After much headaches and tries and retries, I finally made a connection from the wireless configuration of my DSL modem/router for the Desktop to a laptop in wireless operation. In spite of all that I read, it was a confusing experience.

I suspect that your issue resides basically in the computer or some conflicting hardware/software, rather than in Premiere Elements. So getting the computer checked out is a good idea.

Hope you enjoy your travel, and I will be looking forward to hearing more about this issue.

ATR

[Ross Williamson]

ATR

I'm back editing again after successfully connecting my desktop computer to the internet, updating Windows, AVG, and my Matrox Parhelia 128MB Display. But Premiere Elements 4 still won't reload after saving a project which has had effects like Crop applied to it.

However, I'm back to using Elements 3 and that seems to be working perfectly. I prefer it in some ways. eg I like being able to have the Properties window open all the time.

So, unless Elements 3 decides to misbehave after a period of time, like El 4 did, I'll stick with it, and perhaps try El 4 again after it's updated at some time in the future.

Thanks again for your help ATR.

[Ross Williamson]

I'm now having similar problems with Prem El 3. Seems that after using the program for a few hours, it starts the freezing, and out of memory problems. I have plenty of RAM (3GB), and hard drive space (the 160GB is only about half used). When I reboot , or reload Prem El, it improves for a while (about an hour) then runs into problems again.

Could it be something to do with the cache? I've tried holding down the shift key while it's loading to clear the cache. but that seems to make no difference.

I find Prem El 3 better to use than 4, because not only can I have the properties window open all the time, but the audio and video tracks in the timeline are set out in a way which I find easier to use. Perhaps 4, like Vista, might be a short term upgrade, which is improved shortly with another release.

[ATR]

Go back and re-read this thread to make sure that you have not overlooked any of the suggestions.
Check out the following links and see if any information there helps:

When you attempted to purge the Preferences, did you hold down BOTH the Shift and Control keys as you started up the program?
http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.3bbdd316

Definitely do not BUY the next version of Premiere Elements thinking that it is going to work any better in your system. Go the 30 day try out route from Adobe when the next version shows up probably around October/November 2008. Only after you try it out, then make your decision about upgrading.

I am only guessing on the following. I did some looking into what you described as “Matrox Parhelia 128 MB Display”.
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/media/common/user_manuals/parhelia_pseries/parhelia_millpseries_en.pdf
Is that the video (graphics card)? If so, have you considered the possibility that its installation may be causing the problems by reallocating system resources? You say that you have total RAM = 3 GB. How much of that is available RAM? I do not recall you listing that. Further, is that “128 MB” of the video card shared memory which would be detoured away from the system RAM? However that would be a minor loss given the current situation. In addition, is this card listed as compatible with your computer monitor?

I did some further homework and found the link “What graphics cards can I use with Premiere Elements?”. It DOES list Matrox Parhelia!
http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.3bb6984d

We have already gone down the clean junk from the computer route as well as the impact of a lot of oversized photos route. Both would be my first guesses at a solution to this issue. In looking over what has been written in this thread, my thinking is that this is not a Premiere Elements issue, but rather a computer issue.

If your background is not in computer troubleshooting (registry work, etc), it might be a good idea to have a computer shop in your area look at your system?

To be continued………..


ATR

[Ross Williamson]

ATR

Prem El 4 now works satisfactorily, although there is still some evidence of slight weakness in how my computer handles it.

The problem was that I was using two monitors, both 19" Philips Brilliance 109P4, and I think my 'out of memory' and other operational problems were related to that. Now that I've unplugged one of the monitors, and altered the settings in my Windows display and in my Matrox graphics card, both El 3 and 4 are working OK.

It will still crash occasionally, and this might be related to me dragging the mouse too quickly, or trying to render a big effect change rather than rendering each step separately. Because crashes only happen infrequently now, I still need to work out exactly what I must avoid to keep the program running smoothly.

I haven't yet been able to find out how to check whether my Matrox Parhelia 128 MB graphics card is compatible with my computer monitor, or whether my RAM can be better allocated.

When I was holding down the Shift key as I started up the program I wasn't trying to purge the Preferences. I didn't know about that until you told me. What I was trying to do was 'Re-create the Plug-in cache file' as set out in Item 4 of the AdobeTechNote of troubleshooting Freezes in Premiere Elements 4.

I'm still working through this TechNote, and exploring other knowledge bases, including the helpful links you've suggested. In the process I'm learning a lot about our computers, and find they're running better as a result of my changes and clean ups.

I take your advice about being cautious about future upgrades. Whereas Prem El 1 and 2 worked OK with my computer set up, 3 and 4 have shown up problems.

So, as you've said, its to do with my computer rather than Elements itself.

Thanks again for all your help.

[aknnav]

Hi, a related question that's caused equal frustration.

About a year ago, I created a pretty large project using Premiere 4, Windows Vista 32 bit, 4gb ram.

The project went as follows:

1- I created 10 projects containing various still images (batch resized), and video clips and created an indvidual DV-AVI for each.

2- I took my ten separate DV-AVI files and compiled them in a new project where I added audio then successfully burned them to a DVD. Cam eout quite nice.

3- Last night, I attempted to open the compilation project to burn another copy of the DVD, and I cannot.

The project seems to open to about 80% on the progress bar, says "loading project" then freezes with a Windows Vista program needs to close error. That's the end of it. Really frustrating. I pulled out my backup hard drive and attempted to open the same project directly from there but same error and the program shuts down. Putting this project together was extremely frustrating and now the problems continue. Any help getting this thing open will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[ATR]

aknnav

A lot can change in your computer in one year. So, think about what significant changes have taken place, if any.

First a lot more questions.

You did create this project with Premiere Elements 4, and you are trying to open it in Premiere Elements 4??
a. Are you taking the project file (.prel) for the composite DV AVIs and trying to bring that into Premiere Elements 4 from its saved location via Get Media/Files & Folders? If so, where is the saved location?
b. Are you trying to copy by ripping VOBs from DVD-VIDEO that you created a year ago by putting the DVD-VIDEO DVD into the DVD drive and using the Premiere Elements 4 Media Downloader?
c. If you have the original finished product (DVD-VIDEO), have you tried to make copies of it with the "Exact Copy" feature of the burn software that came with your DVD burner?
d. By any chance, did you archive the project with Premiere Element 4's Project Archiver?

The next thing to consider, what state of optimization is your computer system in? Has a lot of files and such piled up on the C: drive? Have you attempted to get rid of unnecessary files (scratch files included), used a utility such as ccleaner, defragmented, etc.? Have you done a recent check of available RAM and free hard drive space?

This is quite a long thread as it was left. We may want to start a new thread so that your issue gets full attention. But, for now, let us see if we can resolve this in a few exchanges of details/ideas.

ATR

[aknnav]

aknnav

A lot can change in your computer in one year. So, think about what significant changes have taken place, if any.

First a lot more questions.

You did create this project with Premiere Elements 4, and you are trying to open it in Premiere Elements 4??

Thank you. I created the project in 4 and am opening it in 4.

a. Are you taking the project file (.prel) for the composite DV AVIs and trying to bring that into Premiere Elements 4 from its saved location via Get Media/Files & Folders? If so, where is the saved location?

I'm trying to access the file, by opening Premier, then selecting open project, and double clicking on the file called Compilation. The saved location in in My Documents/Adobe/Premier/4.0/Data folder(created by me).

b. Are you trying to copy by ripping VOBs from DVD-VIDEO that you created a year ago by putting the DVD-VIDEO DVD into the DVD drive and using the Premiere Elements 4 Media Downloader?

I'm not trying to rip the DVD I've already made, just trying to open the project file so I can burn another DVD.

c. If you have the original finished product (DVD-VIDEO), have you tried to make copies of it with the "Exact Copy" feature of the burn software that came with your DVD burner?

I have not tried this and will, but I'd love to access the project file nonetheless in case I want to make edits.

d. By any chance, did you archive the project with Premiere Element 4's Project Archiver?
I don't recall ever archiving the project. In fact, I never do.

The next thing to consider, what state of optimization is your computer system in? Has a lot of files and such piled up on the C: drive? Have you attempted to get rid of unnecessary files (scratch files included), used a utility such as ccleaner, defragmented, etc.? Have you done a recent check of available RAM and free hard drive space?

I use CCleaner routinely and have not made any major changes to the machine.

This is quite a long thread as it was left. We may want to start a new thread so that your issue gets full attention. But, for now, let us see if we can resolve this in a few exchanges of details/ideas.

ATR


Thanks so much for your help...

[Ross Williamson]

Aknnav
I now believe that the problems I had with Prem El 4 weren't related to using two monitors. It was just that each time I tried something different, like reducing to one monitor, or setting up a new user account, etc etc, Prem El 4 would be better behaved for a while.
I'm now using Prem El 3, and not having crashes or other problems. I think that my 5 yr old computer wasn't able the cope with all the extra templates and stuff which Prem El 4 loads when you do something like open the Title editor, or set up an Effect.
Another thing I've discovered is that my computer doesn't cope well with big projects on the timeline, so although I might capture an hour or so at a time, I either divide that, or, as quickly as I can, reduce it to a project of 20 mins or less. So I have a lot of separate projects which can be chapters when burnt to DVD.

Your experience has helped me to remember to always save and archive those short projects separately. Then If I find I cant combine in Prem El, I can at least load them from my Mini DV master tape into my Panasonic DVD Recorder, and burn my DVD there.
RW

[ATR]

RW

Thanks for updating us on your progress and sharing those details. It sounds like you have everything under control and are moving forward.

By the way, you are far from an amateur. You need to substitute "amateur" with "experienced and skilled videographer/editor".

I have an idea for aknnav to try, but I need to "road test" it tonight before I post it. It may turn out to be a dud.

ATR

[aknnav]

RW

Thanks for updating us on your progress and sharing those details. It sounds like you have everything under control and are moving forward.

By the way, you are far from an amateur. You need to substitute "amateur" with "experienced and skilled videographer/editor".

I have an idea for aknnav to try, but I need to "road test" it tonight before I post it. It may turn out to be a dud.

ATR

Thanks ATR. Any suggestion to keep me from having to redo this entire project will be much appreciated. In fact, I don't think I have it in me to repeat it, so I might just try and find another product. This sucks.

[ATR]

I have been and am continuing to experiment with this type of problem.

However, while I am doing that, please check out the following Adobe Tech Note to see if there are any suggestions in it that might resolve your issue in your computer environment.

http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=331881

Let us know if any of that helped.

ATR

[aknnav]

I have been and am continuing to experiment with this type of problem.

However, while I am doing that, please check out the following Adobe Tech Note to see if there are any suggestions in it that might resolve your issue in your computer environment.

http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=331881

Let us know if any of that helped.

ATR

I tried them all even though the instructions were for Premier 2.0 not 4.0 and they did not work. Wondering if you think uninstalling then reinstalling the software might work? If I did, will I lose my data files?

[ATR]

aknnav

Sorry that the problem persists in spite of the troubleshooting from the Adobe Tech note.

Uninstalling/reinstalling should be tried. If you mean data files = the .prel files that are saved in the Adobe Premiere Elements folder in a place like My Documents, then uninstalling the program should not delete them. If in doubt, copy the folder beforehand.

Before doing all that, I would try "flushing the preferences" as per the link below:
http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.3bbdd316
You probably did that in your troubleshooting, but just in case.....

Have you tried bringing the .prel into Premiere Elements by another route? If I recall, you said that you were bringing it in via Open Project in Premiere Elements. I am assuming that the .prel is in a saved location on the internal hard drive (no networks involved). If you have not done this already, you could try opening Premiere Elements and then bringing the .prel in from its saved location on the internal hard drive via Get Media. Networking can could strange happenings in Premiere Elements. So, if any networking, you might consider disabling it and see if that helps.

See how you do. This may all boil down to:
a. error by the program in saving the .prel
b. resource issue, where you do not have all the resources that you think that you should have (then it is clean up time big time).

I have tried not to repeat what has already been said, so please excuse the oversight if I have.

ATR

[aknnav]

aknnav

Sorry that the problem persists in spite of the troubleshooting from the Adobe Tech note.

Uninstalling/reinstalling should be tried. If you mean data files = the .prel files that are saved in the Adobe Premiere Elements folder in a place like My Documents, then uninstalling the program should not delete them. If in doubt, copy the folder beforehand.

Before doing all that, I would try "flushing the preferences" as per the link below:
http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.3bbdd316
You probably did that in your troubleshooting, but just in case.....

Have you tried bringing the .prel into Premiere Elements by another route? If I recall, you said that you were bringing it in via Open Project in Premiere Elements. I am assuming that the .prel is in a saved location on the internal hard drive (no networks involved). If you have not done this already, you could try opening Premiere Elements and then bringing the .prel in from its saved location on the internal hard drive via Get Media. Networking can could strange happenings in Premiere Elements. So, if any networking, you might consider disabling it and see if that helps.

See how you do. This may all boil down to:
a. error by the program in saving the .prel
b. resource issue, where you do not have all the resources that you think that you should have (then it is clean up time big time).

I have tried not to repeat what has already been said, so please excuse the oversight if I have.

ATR

So, in the end, the only thing that worked was a full uninstall, then a clean reinstall of Premier Elements 4. I backed up my prel file and the avi files that made up my project that wouldn't open. After the clean reinstall, I opened the project file, and thankfully premiere asked where to find the first avi. It opened after that and I was able to burn another DVD. Somewhat disconcerting that this happened in the first place. Not much has gone smoothly with software since I bought it. Are there any patches out there that enhance stability? Is there a new version that provides a better platform?

[ATR]

Glad you are making progress. Sorry that it has been an uphill battle.

I have not seen Premiere Elements patches since the days of Premiere Elements 3 and its 3.0.2 update. That was supposed to be related to the Vista compatibility issue, but I suspect a few other fixes may have been included in that one. After that, the "patch" seems to be the release of a new version one year after the last.

I now have Photoshop Elements 3 and 6 and Premiere Elements 2 and 4 as well as tryouts Photoshop Elements 7 and Premiere Elements 7 installed on my Windows XP (SP3), 1 GB available RAM, and 50 GB free hard drive space. I have not run into stability problems. Of course, I run only one of these programs at a time.

I suggest that you monitor the stability of your system and re-installed Premiere Elements 4. When and if you think it appropriate (I do not want to mess up a working system), why not download the tryouts of Photoshop Elements 7 and Premiere Elements 7 from Adobe and see how they fare in your computer environment? The major complication/concern that I see in Premiere Elements 7 is its handling of 5.1 channel sound (newly supported).

But, when all is said in done, I would expect the same stability for 4 and 7 versions.

Please keep us updated.

ATR

[aknnav]

Thanks ATR. I fear screwing up something that appears to be working. Is there a major difference between Premiere 4 and the new one?

[ATR]

In my opinion, versions 4 and 7 have the same stability. I have never had any stability problems with either.

The link below is that article on new features in Premiere Elements 7.

As I see it (so far), Premiere Elements 7 major advance is adding AVCHD to its list of supported exports. But, in doing this, Sceneline View users are running into problems because of the way 7 handles 5.1 channel sound. The burn to disc is still Burn to DVD-VIDEO on DVD disc or Burn to Blu-Ray disc for the HD formats.

It looks like there have been some new Capture route options, but I have not gotten to them to try them out and see if they really work. It has always been the party line that the best way is mini DV camcorder with Firewire connection to computer for Premiere Elements Capture.

If you have a working system (version 4), you may want to stay with it unless your prior problems reoccur. I am not sure what affects to expect from your specific system by installing and uninstalling the tryout Premiere Elements 7.

ATR

[ATR]

Sorry about that....I forgot to post the new features link:

http://muvipix.com/learning/learning_pdf.php?preview=WhatsNewIn7

ATR