could not save as "*.jpg" because of a program error

RC
Posted By
Ric_Cohn
Sep 11, 2006
Views
2762
Replies
20
Status
Closed
I just had the same "Cannot save Jpeg due to Program Error" message. I had opened a .pdf page (generated by InDesign) and could not save it as a Jpeg. I could save it as a .psd. Another page from the same .pdf saved as a jpeg without a problem.

I tried saving the .psd as a Jpeg, but get the same message.

There used to be a FAQ about this, which might have been helpful, but the link is broken.

Files are 8 bit. PS9.01, 10.4.7.

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R
Ram
Sep 11, 2006
Any layers involved?
JS
Jay_Stadler
Sep 19, 2006
previously written — "We are finding that consistantly 3 in every 100 image files processed by capture one result in a file which having been exported at a 16bit rgb tiff and opened by photoshop (on different computers using different versions of Photoshop) is not able to be saved as a Jpeg. "

We have had a nearly indentical experience. We are high-end prepress house that receives hundreds of files a day from different photographers. Those that use Capture One software seem to produce this error on occasion as stated in the previous post. We are changing to 8-bit before trying have a scripted version of Photoshop save to a "thumbnail" type jpeg.

Our workaround is to open the "bad" image in Photoshop (CS2), select all, copy, make a new document and paste into the new document. Saving the new document over the old as a tif, corrects the issue and the file can now be saved out to any format successfully.

I would like some sort of preflight method to catch this kind of problem. So far I have a script that tries to save the file as a jpeg and catches this "program error". I would like a way to catch the problem before it goes to photoshop so I can put the file aside to be fixed or preprocessed.

Is there any known way to "read" a tiff file to look for problems before opening it in Photoshop?
JF
jenny_forrest
Sep 20, 2006
‘could not save because of program error’
I’ve had this error message in other programs as well as Adobe ones. I just found a way of saving files o.k. by saving to another internal drive or an external one rather than my default hard drive, I’ve test saved TIFs and JPGs. and it seems o.k.

The problem only started happening recently and I can’t identify any changes I had made that could have caused it yet…but at least I seem to have found a way around it. Hope this helps.
AS
Ann_Shelbourne
Sep 20, 2006
Jenny:

There could be problem on your main HD.

I recommend that you back-up all the data from that Drive; and then run DiskWarrior before you do another thing — and before the disk becomes unreadable.
JS
Jay_Stadler
Sep 20, 2006
I tried Jenny’s method on some of our files that get this program error, and unfortunately, it did not work for me. Ours may be a different strain of this ‘program error’.
JF
jenny_forrest
Sep 20, 2006
Thanks Ann – it’s pretty strange as it’s a fairly new G5 – I’ll check out disk warrior. Also, what virus protection do you run? I know everyone says Macs are pretty immune, but I’m not totally convinced. Always used Norton before. Sorry Jay
AS
Ann_Shelbourne
Sep 20, 2006
Also, what virus protection do you run?

Absolutely NONE.

There are no known Mac viruses and IF one was to appear, NONE of the existing "anti-virals" would offer any protection at all.

In fact Norton’s NAV will actually CAUSE damage to your Photoshop files so do NOT install it, or any other Norton software, on your Mac.

Furthermore, do NOT use Norton Utilities either.

DiskWarrior is safe and effective but Norton’s NUM is neither!
JF
jenny_forrest
Sep 20, 2006
"Norton’s NUM is neither!"

I used to find Norton great for defragmenting files and disk maintenance on OS 7 – 9. Haven’t used it on OS X as it seemed to lose any effectiveness towards the end of OS 9.

Thanks for your opinion, although I tend not to feel comfortable with the idea of absolute truth – even the impossible can get to be real eventually.

P.S. no need to shout for emphasis.
R
Ram
Sep 20, 2006
Norton is NASTY stuff in OS X. Stay away from anything with the Norton name if you’re on any version of OS X, especially do NOT let anything with the Norton name (like Norton Anti Virus, File Saver) ever reside on your computer.

NAV (Norton Anti Virus) can lead to permanent file damage. Files damaged by NAV are not recoverable. NAV can also prevent many PostScript files from parsing, even if not damaged permanently.

Disk Doctor and Speed Disk are known to cause the kind of directory damage that can lead to kernel panics.

<http://www.macmaps.com/kernelpanic.html>

Another excellent reason to steer clear from all things Norton!

The kernel panic FAQ is divided by the order of most common occurrences of kernel panics:

* Directory
* Drivers
* Permissions
* RAM

1. A directory failure or user accidentally moving .kext files that should be left alone. The directory may fail, due to an accident caused by Norton Utilities or Systemworks, which may at random corrupt a directory even when trying to repair it. Norton Anti-Virus will not do this, but Norton Disk Doctor and Norton Speed Disk have a history of doing this.

[emphasis mine]
AS
Ann_Shelbourne
Sep 20, 2006

P.S. no need to shout for emphasis.

CAPS are just a lot quicker to type than html tags.

And don’t believe me: just install NAV on your computer and enjoy the consequences!
JF
jenny_forrest
Sep 20, 2006

[emphasis mine]
enjoy the consequences!

many thanks for all your help and advice – it is just coming across as very aggressive.

Maybe it’s normal – I don’t use forums or message boards much, which is probably best….I’m no arbiter of absolute truth…just learning something new every day.
Thanks
JF
jenny_forrest
Sep 20, 2006

[emphasis mine]
enjoy the consequences!

many thanks for all your help and advice – it is just coming across as very aggressive.

Maybe it’s normal – I don’t use forums or message boards much, which is probably best….I’m no arbiter of absolute truth…just learning something new every day.
Thanks
R
Ram
Sep 20, 2006
I’m no arbiter of absolute truth..

Nobody said or thought you were, Jenny. Neither is any of us. 🙂
AS
Ann_Shelbourne
Sep 20, 2006
Jenny:

My response was not intended to be "aggressive" — just a straight-forward response (expressed as briefly and clearly as possible) to your continuing to doubt what I had already taken the trouble to explain to you.
B
Buko
Sep 20, 2006
Norton is bad really bad.
AL
Adrian_Lambert
Sep 21, 2006
Our issue has dissipated. the problem followed the rebuild of a raid device. now that all the files on the raid have been finished with, archived and effectively flushed, the problem has gone. or at least I’ve not seen it for a few weeks.
hope you are all as fortunate, but in my humble opinion, the problem stems from HD issues. Disk warrior may have helped as we did run this, but we were pushed to reinstall our server altogether shortly after, which may have also helped.
JS
Jay_Stadler
Sep 21, 2006
I humbly disagree that this is exclusively a disk issue. We have used serveral different Macs files have been local and network, and we have tried to save both local and over the network. None of these solved the problem. I our case it seems to only occur on files from photographers who use Capture One software. I don’t know which version specifically because it is more than one photographer that use it.

The error even persists if you save the tiff as an eps and then try to save as jpeg. I have talked with the photographers/image processors and they believe "it just happens" with Capture One software here and there.

I would like a way to "look" into the Tiff and see if there is a difference inside the "bad" file and good file. Does anyone have a piece of software that allows one to look "inside" a tiff?
CC
Chris_Cox
Sep 21, 2006
Yes, Adobe has such software, if you would be kind enough to send them example files.
CC
Craig_Cheatham
Sep 21, 2006
We have this issue with one of our G5s. It seems related to how long PS has been working. Usually late in the afternoon we will get the message that a file could not be saved due to a program error. These are usually multi-layered files in the 60MB to 120MB range. This has happened, however with flat TIFFs. The workaround is to save to the desktop ( which is another drive) or to any other drive. Restarting PS fixes the issue. Since we do not have this issue with any other application we believe the problem is software, not hardware.

craig cheatham
CC
Chris_Cox
Sep 22, 2006
The fact that saving to a different drive solves it, indicates something else. Photoshop’s state isn’t affected by which drive it’s saving to.

But the drive itself and the OS could be affected that way.

Craig – please file a bug report on that, and include as much detail as you can.

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