OMG-Plz Help-upgraded PSE5 to 6 & Windows won't boot

[guccigirl]

Am running Windows XP. Did an upgrade from PSE5 to 6 tonight & now after doing the RESTART it prompted me to do, it won't boot back to Windows correctly. It went to this bizarre, dark screen that was talking about "Windows did NOT boot correctly perhaps due to hardware/software change" (or something close to that!!). It went on to say that if you feel this error occurred due to that, then go ahead with the option to boot back into Windows normally (or something close to that). So I chose that option & here's what happened: It would flash over to my blue monitor screen like normal, then it would flash a message that my monitor was going to sleep, then it would go to a blank, black screen with a blinking cursor in the top left corner--it would hang there for a short time, then it would cycle back to that same, original screen I got about the Windows error/not booting... Well, I tried to select the option & do the same thing-at least 5 times & each time it would go thru the same cycles I just described & end up the same. So, then I decided to try to select one of the other options on that error screen, which was "Default to the last known good option" (or something like that). So when I did that, it finally cycled into my "normal" Windows login screen, (even though it took a long time & it was acting strange), then when I logged in & it finally went to my Desktop, there was a new icon there for PSE6.

I have NOT yet opened up PSE6, as I'm terrified to do so, because I believe my main catalog, which has all my precious thousands of photos would have been the catalog PSE6 would have tried to automatically convert during the upgrade/install. I wanted to come here first & look for help, I did a Search & couldn't find anything in the forums...:(

Has any1 EVER seen this happen & if so, what do I need to do to:
1) Get rid of this weird, dark Windows error screen & get back to my normal Windows screens??? (Doesn't seem right that I'd have to keep going into that screen & keep selecting that "Default to the last known good option" (or whatever it says!!!) every time my PC boots????)
2) Should I dare try to click on that new PSE6 icon to see what happens, & take a chance that it may totally mess up my main catalog with all my thousands of photos???:confused:

Oh, I hope with all my heart that some1 out there can help me & soon!! BTW, I was also going to install Premier Elements 4 when I was done with my upgrade, as I got the Premier 4 with PSE6 bundle, but right now, I'm at a standstill!! HELP please!!!!!!!!!!!:cool::o

[msbrad]

Yikes! I'd be scared too. Have not had anything like that ever happen. I'm sure one of the tech experts will wake up soon and have advice.
Have you considered calling Adobe Help on the phone??
They have been wonderful when I needed assistance before.
m

[NickLewis]

Hi Glenda,

As Douglas Adams said: DON'T PANIC!....

You've actually seen a perfectly normal Windows screen. All that has happened is that something that occurred (presumably during the PSE6 installation) that prevented Windows from booting up.

It then presents you with the screen you saw, and optimistically offers you the carry on normally option. It's not uncommon for that to fail.

The "last known good" option takes Windows back to the settings and configuration it had the last time it booted successfully. It is normal for starting up this way to take a while, and not look quite normal, as it's happening, because various changes are being made that don't usually have to be done.

Having got back to your Windows desktop, I wouldn't be at all surprised if your machine now shuts down and starts up normally, and you don't see the error screen again. You may have already found this, since you posted a while back.

However, if it was the PSE6 install that caused the problem, then PSE6 may not start at all - in fact, I'd rather expect it since the restoration to the "last known good" state is likely to have removed settings that PSE6 needs to function.

Starting PSE6 shouldn't affect your catalogue or photos - PSE6 doesn't overwrite your catalogue when converting - it creates a new one. And it doesn't touch the photo files.

However, I'd be tempted to start PSE5 first and make sure you have an up to date backup on an EHD or optical media, (not on the same drive as Windows) before proceeding. This isn't so much because PSE6 may cause problems, but that Windows could.

The chances are that Windows is now fine, and that the worst you'll have to do is uninstall/reinstall PSE6. But there is an outside chance that your Windows installation has been damaged, and so I would make sure that you have backed up any irreplaceable data files (documents, photos etc) that reside on the same drive as Windows - normally your C: drive - as soon as possible. This will protect you in the unlikely event that Windows suddenly refuses totally to restart and has to be reinstalled.

But what you've described so far is a long way away from that at the moment - all you've seen is Windows correctly responding to, and recovering from, an error condition.

Nick

[guccigirl]

Oh Nick, thanks so much for replying--be still my heart, I am a lot less scared right now. What's sooo frustrating is that I thought I'd done EVERYTHING right-that I'd done everything I should have done to be ready for this upgrade, as I've heard lots & lots of grumbling from many incredible digi scrappers I know about the many "problems" folks were having with PSE6. So, using my EHD, I backed up all "Documents and Settings" for All Users (becuz for some reason, a lot of my Abobe & digi stuff (most that came off of CDs & DVDs) ended up under "ALL USERS" & all of My Pictures/my photos defaulted under HP Administrator over the years), & I also backed up all the Program files on the C: drive. Then on top of that, I did a backup of the PSE5 catalogs I wanted to keep (I consolidated 2 catalogs into 1 B-4 I did this--not sure why I ever had this weird, separate one for a tiny bit of digi elements, when I already had another big catalog for all my digi stuff???...). Then, I went on Adobe support site which said to pay attention to the READ ME file on the PSE6 CD, so I printed it out & read it also B-4 I proceeded. I turned off my Norton & finally, thought I was ready & did the install. So, imagine my surprise, when after all this preparation, I got this Windows boot error!!

So, I have STILL NOT opened PSE6--do you think I should, or should I just try to go & uninstall it (and should I uninstall it from the Control Panel-ADD or REMOVE screen?? (Because when I click on START, ALL PROGRAMS, I do have an icon for PSE6, but when I hover over it, there are no arrows or other options (such as Uninstall) & when my mouse hovers over it, it shows it's under Location C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 6.0.) Do you think I should go back in & do a backup on my EHD of the ENTIRE C: drive (if so, here goes another 6 to 7 hours, which is what the EHD told me it would take to accomplish that, when is when I decided to just do the Documents & Settings & the Program Files (which still took almost 5 hours BTW--now I wish I'd just bit the bullet & done the entire drive--oh well, live & learn!!)???

Then, if I uninstall PSE6, should I use the same CD to install it--you don't think the problem lies on the CD perhaps??? Wondering if it will happen all over again??? Oh, my poor headache... Hope to hear more from you & the experts here as to how you think I should proceed now. I sooo appreciate your kindness and patience!!!

[NickLewis]

Hi Glenda,

Well, it sounds as though you've got all the backups you could possibly need......

There's not a lot of point in backing up your C: drive now - if there's a problem, you'd just be backing up the problem. In all honesty, simply copying your Program Files folder wasn't much use, either, as programs need to be reinstalled, not simply copied back into their folders, because Windows settings have to be made, and there are usually related files in other locations as well.

The PSE6 icon in your Start menu is all the program installs - I've got exactly the same. If you have to uninstall it, you have to use Control Panel>Add/Remove.

I doubt that the problem is on the CD. It's not impossible, but I doubt it. It would have to be quite a subtle problem for the program to install fully but then interfere with Windows start-up.

I assume your machine is behaving normally now, and that you can shutdown and start up routinely?

If so, then no guarantees, but if it were me, at this point I'd charge on and start PSE6. The only thing I'd do, if you didn't do it previously, is do a File>Catalog>Recover in PSE5 first to make sure that your catalog is in good shape.

If PSE6 won't start up, then uninstall it and try again. The only pitfall here is the possibility that it won't uninstall properly because of the reversion to "last known good". But lets worry about that if it happens!

Good luck!

Nick

[guccigirl]

Oh, one more thing---the ONLY reason I decided to do the upgrade to PSE6 is that I ran across an amazing deal that was for the"bundle" which included PREMIER Elements 4 and PSE6. I'd been wanting to try PREMIER for a while, so I decided I would go ahead. I'm not very familiar w/PREMIER, but I want it so that I can make & burn slide show type movies onto DVD that work w/the DVD remote (pause, rewind...). The main project I want it for right now is to take 1003 photos that I have from 3 different cameras from a trip to Italy in Feb/March & be able to put them up on the large TV screen, go thru them & really take a hard look at them, in order to finally weed them out & decide which of the probably close to 950 photos that are really good, are actually "scrap-worthy"(worthy to be put in a good scrapbook, with serious scrapping done with them). I've been doing the side by side screen thing in PSE5 & it's just too overwhelming for me with that amount of good photos for me. Plus, I thought once I'd weeded them out that it would be a great gift for my 80 year old Mom (in addition to the scrapbook I'll make for her as well), who we took with us. Then obviously, once that project was done, I'd like to do more of those w/other vacations, family events, etc.

So my biggest question is (becuz I'm NOT that familiar w/Premier) can I install Premier 4 & use it with PSE5 (in case I can't get this all to work correctly with PSE6)??? I thought they'd done things in PSE6 to make it work more seamlessly w/Premier & vice versa...??? Mind you, I'd still like to get PSE6 to work, but in case that can't happen, can I install Premier 4 alone & will it work correctly w/PSE5??? Thanks again!

[guccigirl]

Hi Glenda,

Well, it sounds as though you've got all the backups you could possibly need......

There's not a lot of point in backing up your C: drive now - if there's a problem, you'd just be backing up the problem. In all honesty, simply copying your Program Files folder wasn't much use, either, as programs need to be reinstalled, not simply copied back into their folders, because Windows settings have to be made, and there are usually related files in other locations as well.

The PSE6 icon in your Start menu is all the program installs - I've got exactly the same. If you have to uninstall it, you have to use Control Panel>Add/Remove.

I doubt that the problem is on the CD. It's not impossible, but I doubt it. It would have to be quite a subtle problem for the program to install fully but then interfere with Windows start-up.

I assume your machine is behaving normally now, and that you can shutdown and start up routinely?

If so, then no guarantees, but if it were me, at this point I'd charge on and start PSE6. The only thing I'd do, if you didn't do it previously, is do a File>Catalog>Recover in PSE5 first to make sure that your catalog is in good shape.

If PSE6 won't start up, then uninstall it and try again. The only pitfall here is the possibility that it won't uninstall properly because of the reversion to "last known good". But lets worry about that if it happens!

Good luck!

Nick

Nick, I haven't tried to reboot my PC or anything. It's acting OK, taking a bit longer to do some things than normal, but other than that, ok. And I have NOT tried to open PSE 5 or 6 since this happened. So, with knowing that & the above last post from me, do you still think I should I charge ahead & uninstall & reinstall, or should I first try to do a reboot/restart of my PC B-4 & then see what it does?? And should I still do what you said about the catalog in PSE5?? Thanks again for your amazing kindness & knowledge!!!

[NickLewis]

Hi Glenda,

As far as I know, you can install & use Premiere Elements 4 , but it won't integrate with PSE5 in the way it does with PSE6.

Again, if it were me, I'd reboot the PC before doing anything else. You want to get Windows running stably - that's a higher priority than anything with Elements, and it sometimes takes a couple of restarts to settle down.

From what you've said, you've got your photos and catalogs backed up, so there's nothing irreplaceable at risk. The worst that can happen is inconvenience.

Assuming Windows will run stably, then I'd try and start PSE6 - having first done the Recover in PSE5.

I wouldn't uninstall/reinstall PSE6 unless it won't run. You don't know there's anything the matter with it.

Nick

[guccigirl]

OK, I'm off to try a reboot/restart & then will do the recover in PE5 (do I need to do a recover on each catalog I want to save, or just the very last one that was open in PE5 (which according to the READ ME notes, they say this installer will only convert the most recently used catalog, but after all this, I'm not so sure...)???

Then, crossing fingers that windows reboots, I'll try to open PSE6. Do you think the READ ME notes are correct about the most recently used catalog??
Thanks again!!!!!

[NickLewis]

Hi Glenda

Sorry, the time difference caught up with us......

You should do the Recover on all the catalogues you want to convert.

PSE6 will indeed only convert the last catalogue automatically, you'll have to open the others manually to convert them. In fact, I don't think PSE6 always picks up the last catalogue for some reason. But if it doesn't, just open it manually.

Nick