help needed improving ps c2 performance

U
Posted By
urbanman2004
Jan 15, 2007
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364
Replies
16
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Closed
photoshop launches fine but after its intro i try to open a file. thats when the problem starts… photoshop lags on me when click on "File" (it freezes and stays idle) for about 3-5 minutes but i have to move quick enough to open a file or it will do the same thing again and then with certain tools like the pen tool, ps cs2 will do that again but this time i cant see what position on the workspace i am in with that tool until it loads back. has anyone else had this problem in windows… help me out please.
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C
chrisjbirchall
Jan 15, 2007
The most common mistake is to set the amount of memory allocated to Photoshop too high!.

The 55% default is about right on a system with up to 2GB physical RAM and should be reduced if you have less. This is because too high a setting will deprive the rest of your system of resources (eg the OS, Bridge, your anti-virus apps, etc.).

Once the OS has to page out to virtual memory everything will slow to a crawl.

Check out these links:

<http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/332271.html>

<http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/320005.html>

Chris.

PS: Plus what Bob said whilst I was editing to add the links 😉
BL
Bob Levine
Jan 15, 2007
We can’t help you unless you give us more details. Start with whether or not you’re updated to 9.0.2 and your system specs.

Bob
MH
Mike Hyndman
Jan 15, 2007
"urbanman2004" wrote in message
photoshop launches fine but after its intro i try to open a file. thats when the problem starts… photoshop lags on me when click on "File" (it freezes and stays idle) for about 3-5 minutes but i have to move quick enough to open a file or it will do the same thing again and then with certain tools like the pen tool, ps cs2 will do that again but this time i cant see what position on the workspace i am in with that tool until it loads back. has anyone else had this problem in windows… help me out please.

PC specs? How much RAM? How much room on harddrive(s)? Processor? Spyware or virus activity?
Is this a recent problem or has it been like this all the time. If it is recent problem, try deleting your prefs file, hold down the control+shift and alt keys and start PS.
If you get the timing right you will be asked if you want to delete this file, you do. A new one is created at start up.
HTH
MH
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urbanman2004
Jan 15, 2007
updated to 9.0.2 and it was doing the same thing so i reinstalled ps c2 again with the update and its still acting up
H
Ho
Jan 15, 2007
Processor?
RAM?
%RAM allocated to CS2?
Video card?
Scratch space?
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urbanman2004
Jan 15, 2007
my system specs include:
microsoft win xp
home ed.
vers. 2002
service pck 2

emachines m5309
mobile amd athlon xp 2500+
1.86 ghz, 512 ram
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urbanman2004
Jan 15, 2007
have 33 gb of free on my system. i’m not sure how to allocate ram for photoshop
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Ho
Jan 15, 2007
You have a serious bottleneck with RAM&#8212;512MB is barely enough for XP without CS2. Further, your Pagefile and Scratch file (Windows virtual memory and Photoshop virtual memory) are residing on the same hard drive. That won’t matter too much if you have enough RAM, but you don’t.

I don’t know what your laptop allows you to add to it RAM-wise, but that’s the place to start. 2GB is a good target to shoot for, 1GB should be the minimum. If you decide to upgrade your memory, make sure you buy it from a merchant with a good return policy in case the results don’t meet your expectations.

If you’re serious about Photoshop for handling anything besides Web graphics, you may want to consider a new machine.
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urbanman2004
Jan 15, 2007
ho, where would i buy more memory for my laptop and what would you suggest for me to buy. thnx in advnc.
J
John
Jan 15, 2007
urbanman2004 wrote:
my system specs include:
microsoft win xp
home ed.
vers. 2002
service pck 2

emachines m5309
mobile amd athlon xp 2500+
1.86 ghz, 512 ram

512MB of RAM seems awfully low for XP and especially minuscule for PS CS2. When I built my computer last month, 2GB of DDR2 SDRAM cost only $200.

If you can’t buy any additional memory, then you want to be absolutely certain that you have no other unwanted software
(spyware/malware/parasites) running on your computer.

I’d also recommend turning off your anti-virus program since PS is constantly opening/closing files and the anti-virus program will check each instance which will further slow down your system. I disable connection to the Internet when I turn off the anti-virus program.

You should close all other programs while running PS to reduce competition for computer resources. How many processes are running on your computer? I have less than 32 processes running including Photoshop.

Bridge is another resource hog. Close it when you don’t need it. It’s constantly running.

Turn off indexing, Defender, themes, etc.
BL
Bob Levine
Jan 15, 2007
www.crucial.com.

Bob
U
urbanman2004
Jan 16, 2007
thnx bob… but my question is this: my computer is holding 512mb (double 256mb slots) right now and i want to install a single 512mb in place of one of my 256mb slots… that will equal 768mb. will that be efficient memory to use photoshop cs2.
C
chrisjbirchall
Jan 16, 2007
The usual advice is to install two matched sticks. I’d go with two good quality 512mb as a minimum.

Ho has a good point though. If you are contemplating some heavy Photoshop usage, a single HDD laptop is not really up to the task. 🙁
U
urbanman2004
Jan 16, 2007
have an external harddrive 120gb. my question is can i use an external with or without partitioning to use photoshop? if i need partitioning… how could i achieve this with my external.
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PECourtejoie
Jan 16, 2007
Urbanman2004, please use capital letters to begin your sentences, they’ll be more readable that way (and they won’t italicise if the line starts with an "i". If you really mean to say thanks, spell it out, it is more polite that way!

That said, you will only be able to use the external hard disk as a scratch disk if it is non removable (it is in the settings)

I’d concentrate on the memory first. But you might have to remove the existing memory sticks and replace them with bigger ones. Read your user manual to know their kind (DDR, DDR2, etc.)
U
urbanman2004
Jan 16, 2007
OK PE.

MacBook Pro 16” Mockups 🔥

– in 4 materials (clay versions included)

– 12 scenes

– 48 MacBook Pro 16″ mockups

– 6000 x 4500 px

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