Problem with scanning and memory usage

SC
Posted By
Steph_Cowley
Jul 3, 2008
Views
263
Replies
7
Status
Closed
I’m running PS CS3 on Vista Home Premium, 1.86Ghz Intel core 2 processor, and 4GB RAM. I realise Vista only sees 3.3GB of this RAM, and I know Vista uses about 1GB all the time.

Question:
While running PS, and only PS, with no files open, I have 2GB of RAM, why will PS not let me scan a file that it says will take up 300Mb?
200Mb is about the limit that it will let me scan, but even then, the actual end product ends up being less than 100Mb. (around 70mb in most cases)I’m using a Dell AIO A920, latest drivers etc, and PS is set to use all avaliable RAM.
Not only will it not let me scan, once a file I’ve opened has used up "x" amount of RAM, even if I then close that file, "x" amount of RAM will STILL be unavaliable. This means if I scan something, I have to save it, close PS, then open it again before I can scan anything else.
Surely this isn’t normal. Or am I being stupid and missing something obvious? I’ve also monitored the memory usage during scanning using task manager and various other things, it hardly goes up at all, then shoots up to 70-80% once the 70ishMb file is loaded. Something is up because if that were true, I’d actually only have 1Gb of RAM, and running Vista would be nearly impossible.
It’s not a Vista thing either as I had this problem when I had XP. In fact it was worse then, I could hardly scan anything, had to be very low resolution.

Thanks in advance for any help

MacBook Pro 16” Mockups 🔥

– in 4 materials (clay versions included)

– 12 scenes

– 48 MacBook Pro 16″ mockups

– 6000 x 4500 px

JJ
John Joslin
Jul 3, 2008
PS is set to use all avaliable RAM.

Wrong! 55% is the default. Other things need RAM too.

Work up from 55% till you hit the bad spot then wind it back a touch.

once a file I’ve opened has used up "x" amount of RAM, even if I then close that file, "x" amount of RAM will STILL be unavaliable.

Also wrong! PS will keep memory but will release it when other applications need it.
SC
Steph_Cowley
Jul 3, 2008
55%, it’s still 1.6Gb….there shouldn’t be a problem scanning something that it says will take up 300Mb, then actually only takes up 70Mb.

And not wrong, it obviously isn’t releasing the memory when other applications need it because it doesn’t, I have to close PS before it will release it. Yes, it probably is supposed to release it, but it isn’t.

Thank you for your answer (even if it did appear to me to be a bit rude/shouty, perhaps something more polite than "Wrong!" next time) but I’m sitting at my computer, and I can see what is using how much memory and when, you can’t.
I
ID._Awe
Jul 3, 2008
All I can assume is that the scanning software is creating the problem, not PS. PSCS2 releases memory very quickly upon closing an image.

"There is something else amiss I’m afraid."
JJ
John Joslin
Jul 3, 2008
Sorry Steph I don’t always have time for the niceties, and wrong is wrong however you dress it up! 🙂
SC
Steph_Cowley
Jul 3, 2008
Wrong may be wrong, but you could try something along the lines of "Sorry but that’s incorrect"

I looked in the scanning software for any memory settings but it seems a pretty basic program and the only settings are the usual resolution, remove newspaper/magazine patterns etc.

Suppose I should be thankful that with Vista PS only takes a couple of seconds to shutdown and startup rather than the several minutes it took on XP.

Still, if anyone does have a solution I’d love to hear it.
QP
Q_Photo
Jul 3, 2008
Steph,
John has nothing to be sorry about. He is trying to help you. Q
SC
Steph_Cowley
Jul 3, 2008
Apologies, I just took the tone of the message as being rather rude, if he didn’t mean it fair enough, I’m not looking for an apology.

How to Improve Photoshop Performance

Learn how to optimize Photoshop for maximum speed, troubleshoot common issues, and keep your projects organized so that you can work faster than ever before!

Related Discussion Topics

Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections