Computer freezes with Adobe Premiere & Photoshop CS4
 

Hi, i have a problem with my computer when using adobe premiere & photoshop cs4. With premiere, when i'm doing video editing, i can't wath the video in the program. the image is always freezing on one only, but the sound is normal. Whith photoshop, everytime i open it, after 5 to 10 min., it's always freezing and it shut down by himself without warning or explanation.

here's what i have for computer

hope that somebody can help me

The program? Or the whole computer?

the program shuts down. the codecs are avi, mpeg, etc.

Also, i've been using cs4 for almost 2 years, now, without any kind of trouble. But since last october/november, i replaced my old graphic card (Nvidia Geforce 7600 gs) by a Ati Radeon hd 5450. i don't know if the trouble is related to that change.

thanks to answer

With the video playback, my initial thought was that it would be a non-editing codec, like MPEG-2 or MPEG-4, which would playback with choppy results in preview mode. Only lossless, uncompressed or low-compression codecs (like DV) tend to playback smoothly -- even on high end systems. It really takes an NLE card to work with compressed smooth realtime previews.

But when you mention the Photoshop error, my thoughts turn to overheating or even bad RAM. That sort of behavior commonly points to hardware misbehaving.

Now that you mention a new graphics card, that could be the error, if it's overheating. Photos and videos do use graphics to some degree, especially if their is any GPU acceleration used by the video software. I don't know offhand if Premiere CS4 has such acceleration, or if that ATI card offers it. Doubt it, but possible.

The smart move here would be to put the old nVidia card back in, and see how it reacts.

You want to always remove variables, and go through a process of elimination. If the old card and new card make no difference on performance, then you can eliminate the graphics card being the root problem. And then you have to move on.

How do other "hefty" programs act? Maybe try Firefox with lots of tabs loaded. Or Word docs with lots of images imported. See how those react.

Troubleshooting is never quick, and it's pure guesswork, based on past experience of the troubleshooter.

ok. for the card, i can't replace it since the other one is dead (and buried, so to speak). i'll check with the other things, including putting back on premiere cs3 to see how it behave.

i'll report back after the cs3 test.

Not to accuse you of anything -- and I don't want to know either way -- but I will warn you that those unofficial hacked/cracked copies of CS4 and CS5 don't work real well. Quite a few programs have become very intricate in how they fight piracy, and often the anti-piracy cracking breaks the software. So if you're not using a legally-obtained copy, that could also be part of your problem. Many CS4/CS5 complaints I see online are due to pirated copies. So keep that in mind if you obtained said software by unsupported means.

You can always try any other video card.

And then CS3 does work better than CS4, in terms of resource use. I have CS3, CS4 and some of CS5 available here. Most of the time, I'm using CS3. Only one system has CS4. Of course, this could also confirm my overheat issue, if higher resources causes a crash -- and assuming you have legit copies installed.

hi, i tryed with premiere cs3, no problem there. the image wasn't lagging while it played in the software, contrarely to cs4. so, it's eather the graphic card or the ram that is causing the trouble, unless something in the motherboard (cpu, processor...) need to be replaced.

Any way i can check for that ?

thanks to answer

So CS3 is fine, CS4 is not? Hmmm......

I don't think it's the graphics card. It's probably just fine.

Press CTRL+ALT+ESC on the keyboard to pull up the task manager, and go to the Performance tab --- while you're in CS3 and CS4. See what happens to the CPU usage % when you preview. Does CS3 not hit 100% while CS4 does?

Same for CPU % and PF Usage (vRAM) when in Photoshop and it crashes.
Also notice Physical Memory -- how much is left, vs how much total? (Calculate % manually.) Is it all used up?

Is CS4 using more than CS3 for sure?

Do you run the computer 24/7, or do you give it long breaks of off time -- like when you're asleep?

the computer run 24/7 (for uploading/downloding exchanged videos edited for a college web tv and also because i don't have high speed internet access).

Here are the other informations:

Premiere Cs3 :

cpu: 48%
Memory: 1.80 gb

Première Cs4:

cpu: 100%
Memory: 1.90 gb

Photoshop cs3:

cpu: 15%
Memory: 1.30 gb

Photoshop cs4:

cpu: 40%
Memory: 1.35 gb

(it didn't chash this time)

thanks to answer

Yeah, it's definitely looking to be a heat issue. You can see that 100% use -- it causes the slowdown. And if the system has a heat issue, it would cause full system crash/shutdown as the CPU safety kicks in.

How old is this system? Did you build it or buy it built? If already built, was it a "name brand" computer like HP or Sony, or some sort of small shop that built it?

I'm wondering if the thermal paste on the CPU has maybe dried out -- or possibly was never fully there. You'll also want to check on the internal fans. Maybe you accidentally unplugged one of the CPU fans or other cases fans, at the time you swapped out the graphics card?

the computer was built by a small shop some 7 years ago. one of the fan has been replaced 3 months ago and i don't know about the thermal paste.

anything else ?

That's what it is, I'm betting. You'll need to open the computer, and remove the motherboard. Yes, this means unplugging all your PCI/AGP/PCI-e cards, unplugging all wires, etc. Maybe even removing fans/etc that are in the way. It will take a couple of hours.

Then carefully remove the heatsink. It may be stuck really tight if they used tape-based thermal adhesive, or it may just fall off because old paste has turned to dust.

You'll need to remove any old paste/tape. Use a flathead screwdriver -- but DO NOT SCRAPE the CPU! A napkin (that doesn't leave fibers behind) with isopropyl alcohol may help, too. The surfaces won't necessarily sparkle like new, but they'll need to be free of debris and smooth to the touch.

Next, you'll need some new heat paste. Do you have a Microcenter, Fry's, TigerDirect/CompUSA, or any other computer specialty store nearby? If not, buy some online from Amazon. Antec Thermal Grease is only $5: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B00006HTLY (+ free shipping on a $25 total order). I'd get that. And obviously, you'll want to have this before you take apart the computer.

You'll need to put some plastic wrap on your finger ("Saran" wrap from the kitchen), and the put a tidy glop on your protected finger. Glaze the CPU. Think "paint primer layer" and not "birthday cake icing" when you apply it. Too much is bad. It's a thermal glaze, you're not icing a cupcake. Big gooey globs of thermal paste is a common newbie mistake.

Then re-attach the heatsink/fan, put it back in the case, re-attach all your devices.

Are you having fun yet? :)

I just finished building a new computer yesterday. And this was part of what I had to do. Sit in front of a TV and put on a good TV show DVD box set to watch while you work. Makes it seem less painful. Do it at a table, or on the floor -- doesn't matter.

Please don't be one of those people who are afraid of opening their computer. There's no sense in paying big bucks (usually $100+) to the local goon at Best Buy, or wherever, to do this mundane and idiot-proof task. You can't "mess up" and the computer won't explode in your face. This is as easy as baking a cake or frying an egg.

too late. i've sended it to the repair shop a week ago. but thanks for the help.

ok, back again, but with the same problem(s) and a new mother board installed instead.

the specs are in the attached file and it will be followed with a video of the inside of the case, if you need it (let me know).

hope this will help

thanks to answer

PS: if it doesn't do the trick, i'll have to buy a new computer, so i'll probably need some help on it.

At this point, I'm out of ideas.
I can only guess that the Adobe install is corrupt, if the CPU and/or motherboard are BOTH known to be good.

ok, but i don't think it's the adobe beacause i have in on a lapto and it work just fine. So...

No, not Adobe CS4 in general -- just the install on the problem computer.
It could be corrupt.

Why it's corrupted could depend on several things, including bad hard drive, fragmentation of various files, or simply a bad install that should be tried again. Possibly even an "automatic update" from Adobe, if you left that turned on. I keep them turned off. Just because something is new doesn't mean it's better.