Prefs and memory usage

SJ
Posted By
sandy_johnson
Nov 10, 2003
Views
327
Replies
5
Status
Closed
Running PS 7.01 on Win2000 Pro with 512mb RAM and one harddrive. Files stored on network so c: always has 10-15 gigs free space.

Prefs are constantly dropping and automatically reset, causing me to reset brushes, color sliders, etc. Get prompts to customize color settings again and warning about having scratch disk on another drive (only have one). I know I can save a good copy of the pref file to restore, but is there a patch to stop this from happening so often? It doesn’t appear the gamma for the monitor changes when the prefs drop, but should I run gamma again anyway?

Also, what is the recommended memory and image cache allocations for PS? I have cache on default 4 and have been told to max PS memory usage to 95%, though I’ve also heard otherwise. I have no performance problems other than losing prefs.
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MG
Miguel_Garcia
Nov 10, 2003
Are you using a profiling system at all with Win2K? What I mean is does you’re computer log into and out of a server that stores things like your Desktop settings and all of that…? Do you get any errors when trying to log out of Windows? Also, drop mem usage to 60-70%. 95% is way high. Also, check the folder where prefs are located…is the folder read-only? I know it sounds stupid but I’ve had worse things happen to me.
SJ
sandy_johnson
Nov 10, 2003
Yes, I log into a server with administrative privileges. It saves desktop settings for each user, like if I log into someone else’s system. I do not get errors logging out, though I rarely do, I just shut down. Non of the PS folders are read only. The other artists in the department have similar problems with the prefs, so I don’t think it’s machine-related. Maybe network-related? All PS software is installed on each c: drive, only files are on network.

Is there a thread relating to the reasoning for memory usage? The 95% info I had goes back to PS 2.0 when we only had 16 mgs of ram.
MG
Miguel_Garcia
Nov 10, 2003
Check the logs on the server. We had a problem with the Photoshop prefs file not transferring back to the server. I’ll get you some more info after I talk to my tech. I never use more than 70% of available memory for PS under Win2K. If the system uses up the available memory, the system gets unstable as Windows trys to deal with the pagefiles.
L
LenHewitt
Nov 11, 2003
Sandy,

95% is WAY to high with WIn2k and 512Mb – you will be ‘crowding’ the O/S, resulting in reduced performance. 65%-70% would be more appropriate.
SJ
sandy_johnson
Nov 11, 2003
Have changed to 70%. Will see if I can go more than a few days without losing prefs again.

Miguel, looking forward to any tech info you have. Our IT dept has no clue when it comes to graphics apps.

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