TechNote

Troubleshoot system errors or freezes in Photoshop CS3 on Windows Vista

What's covered

Beginning troubleshooting
Intermediate troubleshooting
Advanced troubleshooting

This document can help you to resolve system errors that occur while you use Adobe Photoshop CS3 on Windows Vista. System errors can manifest in many different ways, including (but not limited to) the following:

A blank or flickering dialog box
A frozen cursor or screen
A blue screen
An unexpected restart
An error such as one of the following:
"This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down. If the problem persists, contact the program vendor."
"Photoshop caused a General Protection Fault in module [filename]."
"Photoshop caused an Invalid Page Fault in module [filename]."
"Application Error."
"Unhandled exception detected. Application will be terminated."
"Illegal Instruction."
"Segment load failure in [filename]."
"Photoshop has encountered a problem and needs to close."
"Fatal System Error."
A STOP error

Many different factors can cause system errors, including conflicts among device drivers, applications, operating system settings, hardware, and corrupt elements in specific files. Although a system error may occur only when you work with Photoshop, Photoshop may not necessarily be the cause--it may be the only application that uses enough memory or processor cycles to expose the problem.

To benefit most from this document, perform the tasks in order. Keep track of the tasks that you perform and the results of each, including errors and other problems. Adobe Technical Support can use this information to better assist you if you need to call.

You must be logged on as an administrator to perform some of the procedures in this document.

Important: Some of the procedures in this document may initiate a User Access Control dialog that asks for your permission to continue. Read the details in the dialog to determine if you want to continue. If you choose to cancel the dialog, then you will not be able to continue with that troubleshooting step.

Note: The procedures in this document are based on the default interface of Windows Vista. If the interface is customized, then some procedures may vary. For example, a commonly encountered difference is the navigation to Control Panel from the Start menu: You may navigate Start > Settings > Control Panel instead of Start > Control Panel.

The steps in this document that refer to the Control Panel are in reference to the Classic view.

To switch to Classic View:

Choose Start > Control Panel.
Choose Classic View in the left pane.

Some of these procedures require you to locate hidden files and hidden folders. Some procedures require you to locate files by their full file names, which include extensions (for example, example_filename.ini). By default, Windows Explorer doesn't show hidden files, hidden folders, and file name extensions that it recognizes.

To show hidden files, hidden folders, and all file name extensions in Windows Explorer:

In Windows Explorer, choose Organize > Folder And Search Options.
Click the View tab in the Folder Options dialog box.
In Advanced Settings, select Show Hidden Files And Folders.
Deselect Hide Extensions For Known File Types.
Click OK.

Beginning troubleshooting

The tasks in this section can help you resolve the most common system errors. Before performing any of these tasks, back up all personal files (for example, Photoshop files you created). Always restart the computer after a system error occurs to refresh its memory. Continuing to work without restarting the computer may compound the problem.

1. Make sure that the system meets the minimum requirements for Photoshop.

Photoshop may not run correctly on a system that doesn't meet the following requirements:

Intel Pentium 4, Intel Centrino, Intel Xeon, or Intel Core Duo (or compatible) processor
Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise (certified for 32-bit editions)
512 MB of RAM
1 GB of available hard disk space (additional free space required during installation)
DVD-ROM drive
1024 x 768 monitor resolution with 16-bit or greater video card
Some 3D features in Photoshop CS3 Extended require a DirectX 9 capable graphics card with at least 64 MB of VRAM

To check basic system information, such as processor speed and how much RAM is installed, choose Start > Control Panel > System.

2. Install current Windows service packs and other updates.

Updates to the Windows operating system improve its performance and compatibility with applications. You can obtain Windows service packs and other updates from the Microsoft website at www.windowsupdate.com. For assistance installing service packs and other updates, contact Microsoft technical support.

Important: Before you install a system update, check the system requirements for Photoshop CS3 (and any third-party software or hardware you may use with Photoshop) to ensure compatibility. If the update isn't listed, then contact Adobe or the manufacturer of your third-party software or hardware.

3. Re-create the Photoshop preferences file.

Re-create the Photoshop preferences file to eliminate problems that a damaged preferences file might cause.

To re-create the Photoshop preferences files:

Quit Photoshop.
Rename the Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe Photoshop CS3\Adobe Photoshop CS3 Settings\Adobe Photoshop CS3 Prefs.psp file to Adobe Photoshop CS3 Prefs.old.
Start Photoshop. Photoshop creates a new Adobe Photoshop CS3 Prefs.psp file.

If the problem continues, then the Photoshop preferences files aren't the cause. To restore custom settings, quit Photoshop, then delete the new Adobe Photoshop CS3 Prefs.psp file and restore the original name of the previous Adobe Photoshop CS3 Prefs.psp file.

4. Run Photoshop while no other applications are running.

Some applications or services may cause system errors or freezes when running concurrently with Photoshop. Before starting Photoshop, disable other applications, including startup items and services (items that start automatically with Windows).

To disable startup items and non Microsoft services:

Quit all applications.
Choose Start, type msconfig in the Search text box, and press Enter.
Write down all unselected items under the Startup and Services tabs.
Click the General tab, and choose Selective Startup.
Click the Startup tab and select Disable All.
Select any startup items that are essential for testing the problem (for example, the problem occurs when working across applications). If you are unsure whether an item is essential, leave it deselected (disabled).
Click the Services tab, and check Hide All Microsoft Services.
Select Disable All then re-select FLEXnet Licensing Service (required to run Photoshop) and any other services that are essential for testing the problem (for example, the problem occurs when working across applications). If you are unsure whether an item is essential, leave it deselected (disabled).
Click Apply, and restart Windows for the changes to take effect.

Note: Upon restart, you'll be notified that the System Configuration utility has made changes to the way that Windows starts up. Click OK. When the System Configuration utility appears, click Cancel.
Right-click icons in the Notification Area and close or disable any startup items that are still active.

Then, try to re-create the problem:

If the problem no longer occurs, one of the startup items is the cause of the problem.
If the problem recurs, startup items are not the cause of the problem and you can re-enable them:
1. Choose Start, type msconfig in the Search text box, and press Enter.
2. Click the General tab, and choose Normal Startup.
3. Deselect any items that you wrote down in Step 3 of the previous section.
4. Click Apply, and restart Windows for the changes to take effect.

5. Troubleshoot third-party plug-ins.

Remove third-party plug-ins from the Photoshop plug-ins folder, and then restart Photoshop. If the problem recurs, then move the plug-ins back to the Photoshop plug-ins folder and proceed to the next section of this document, "Intermediate troubleshooting." If the problem doesn't recur, then identify and address conflicting plug-ins.

To identify and address conflicting plug-ins:

Move one third-party plug-in back to the Photoshop plug-ins folder, located at Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS3\Plug-Ins.
Restart Photoshop, and try to re-create the problem.
If the problem doesn't recur, then begin again at step 1. If the problem does recur, then contact the developer of the plug-in that you last moved, and inquire about an update.

Intermediate troubleshooting

If the tasks in the previous section don't solve the problem, then try the following intermediate troubleshooting tasks.

6. Install Photoshop CS3 in a simplified mode from the desktop.

Software and services that load automatically with Windows (for example, virus protection utilities) can conflict with the Photoshop CS3 installer and cause problems in Photoshop CS3. To prevent conflict, reinstall Photoshop CS3 while Windows is in simplified mode.

To start Windows Vista in a simplified mode:

Insert the Photoshop CS3 disc into the disc drive.
Copy the Adobe CS3 folder to the desktop.
Choose Start, type msconfig in the Search text box, and press Enter.
On the Startup tab, click Disable All.
On the Services tab, select Hide All Microsoft Services, click Disable All, re-select FLEXnet Licensing Service, and then click OK.
In the System Configuration dialog box, click Restart.
Start the Photoshop CS3 installer "Setup.exe" in the Adobe CS3 folder, and then follow the on-screen
instructions.

To reenable startup items and services:

Choose Start, type msconfig in the Search text box, and press Enter.
Choose Normal Startup on the General tab, click OK, and restart the computer.

7. Run Photoshop in a new user account.

Create a new user account that has the same permissions as the account that you use when the problem occurs. If the problem doesn't recur, then the original user account may be damaged. For instructions on creating a new user account, see "To add a new user to the computer" in Windows Help or contact your system administrator. 8. Set a local printer or document printer, or PostScript printer as the default Windows printer. To determine if the printer driver for the current default printer conflicts with Photoshop, install a local printer, a document printer (such as Adobe PDF) or a printer that uses a PostScript printer driver, and then set that printer as the default in Windows. (In Windows, you can install a printer that isn't a physical piece of hardware.) If the problem doesn't recur, then the printer driver that you were using previously conflicts with Photoshop; contact the printer manufacturer for an updated driver. In some cases, setting your default Windows printer as a local printer might resolve issues that occur when the default printer is a network printer. To install a local printer:

Choose Start > Control Panel > Printers.
Select Add a Printer > Add a Local Printer.
Select Use An Existing Port, and choose any of the LPT ports in the pop-up menu.
Choose an HP LaserJet PS printer from the list, such as the HP LaserJet 4050 Series PS printer.
When you confirm the printer, make sure Set As The Default Printer is checked. Click Finish and close the control panel.

If Adobe PDF is listed in your printer list in the Printers control panel, you can set that as the default (see below).

To install a printer that uses a PostScript printer driver:

Download the installer for the Adobe PostScript printer driver (AdobePS) from the Adobe website at www.adobe.com/support/downloads/#printer.
Double-click the installer file, and then follow the on-screen instructions.

To set a printer as the default:

Choose Start > Control Panel > Printers.
Right-click the printer, and then choose Set As Default Printer from the menu.

9. Disable UAC (User Access Control).

Important: This procedure involves disabling User Access Control. This feature is intended to prevent administrative accounts from performing undesired actions that may affect the system. Disabling UAC removes these notifications. You must restart your system after you disable or re-enable UAC.

For more information on UAC, see the Microsoft Windows Vista support site.

To disable UAC:

Choose Start > Control Panel.
Double click User Accounts.
Select Turn User Account Control On Or Off.
Deselect Use User Account Control (UAC) To Help Protect Your Computer and click OK.
Click Restart Now.

To re-enable UAC:

Choose Start > Control Panel.
Double click User Accounts.
Select Turn User Account Control On Or Off.
Select Use User Account Control (UAC) To Help Protect Your Computer and click OK.
Click Restart Now.

10. Update the video card driver.

Many video card manufacturers frequently update their software drivers. If you haven't recently updated the video card driver, contact the video card manufacturer for an updated driver, or download one from the manufacturer's website. (To determine the manufacturer of a video card, view the card's properties in Device Manager.)

11. Disable Windows Aero.

Aero is a new hardware-based graphical user interface in Windows Vista. It is intended to offer more advanced features than are available in the standard interface, including new transparencies and animations.

To disable Windows Aero:

Choose Start > Control Panel.
Double click Personalization and select Window Color and Appearance.
Click Open Classic Appearance Properties For More Color Options.
Select a Color Scheme other than Windows Aero and click OK.
Re-create the problem behavior, and then do one of the following:
- If the problem doesn't recur, then Aero is the cause.
- If the problem recurs, then Aero isn't the cause. Re-enable Aero.

To re-enable Aero:

Choose Start > Control Panel.
Double click Personalization and select Window Color And Appearance.
Choose Windows Aero from the Color Scheme menu and click OK.

12. Verify that other device drivers are compatible with Windows Vista.

If updating the video card driver doesn't resolve the problem, then verify that all other device drivers are compatible with Windows Vista. Device drivers are software files that allow Windows to communicate with devices such as scanners, mouse devices, and keyboards. Contact the device manufacturer to make sure that you are using the latest driver for it.

To check for device driver problems:

Choose Start > Control Panel.
Double click System.
Click Device Manager in the Tasks pane.
Click the plus sign (+) to the left of each device type.
If a device appears with a black exclamation mark (!) in a yellow circle, then right-click that device, and choose Properties from the menu.
Note the properties for the device:
- Check the Device Status field: If the device isn't working properly, information in this field can help you troubleshoot the problem.
- If the Properties dialog box has a Driver tab, then click it. If the Driver tab doesn't indicate the driver provider, then click Driver Details. If Microsoft is the provider, then a generic driver is probably installed; contact the device manufacturer to obtain the most recent driver that they provide

13. Check for font problems.

To determine whether a font causes the problem, reduce the number of active TrueType fonts by moving the font files to another location.

Note: Don't move the TrueType fonts installed by Windows.

Create a new folder (for example, C:\TrueType).
Open the Windows\Fonts folder.
Move TrueType font files--excluding those installed by Windows--from the Windows\Fonts folder to the folder you created in step 1.
Restart Windows.
Move some of the fonts moved in step 3 back to the Windows\Fonts folder.
Restart Windows.
Start Photoshop, and try to re-create the problem.
If the problem doesn't recur, then repeat steps 5-7, testing different fonts. If the problem recurs, then one of the fonts you moved in step 5 may be the cause. Remove those fonts from the Windows\Fonts folder, and repeat steps 4-6, this time adding only one font at a time. When the problem recurs, do one or more of the following:
- If you use a font utility other than the Windows Fonts folder (for example, Extensis Suitcase 9), then remove the fonts using that utility. For instructions, refer to the documentation for the utility.
- Remove the font and reinstall it from the original media.
- Contact the font manufacturer to obtain an updated version of the font.

14. Optimize handling of temporary files by Windows Vista.

Windows and applications store working data in temporary (.tmp) files that they create on the hard disk. Excessive or outdated temporary files can interfere with performance of Windows or applications.

Delete temporary files by using the Disk Cleanup utility included with Windows or by using the following instructions. Make sure that at least 750 MB of free space is available on the hard disk to which temporary files are written. To start Disk Cleanup, choose Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup. For information about Disk Cleanup, see Windows Help.

To manually delete temporary files:

Note: Windows deletes temporary files when Windows and applications close normally. However, when Windows or an application crashes, temporary files can accumulate on the hard disk. Windows may prevent you from deleting some temporary files as they may be in use. Delete as many temporary files as you possibly can, without deleting the files that are in use.

Quit all applications.
Choose Start and type %tmp% in the Search text box and press Enter.
Delete the contents of this folder.
Note the drive letter where this directory is located.

To ensure that at least 1 GB of free space is available on the hard disk to which temporary files are written:

Choose Start > My Computer.
Select the drive noted in step 4. Right click and select Properties.
Confirm the drive has at least 1 GB of free space.

15. Set the virtual memory paging file to the default size.

Virtual memory allows the system to use hard disk space to store information normally stored in RAM. Windows Vista manages virtual memory by using a paging file. You specify the minimum and maximum size of this file. If the size is different from the default in Windows Vista, applications may return errors. However, some applications may require a non-default size for the paging file. Change the size only if other applications aren't adversely affected.

To set the paging file to the default size:

Note: You must be logged on as an administrator to change the size of the paging file.

Quit all applications.
Choose Start > Control Panel.
Double click System and select Advanced system settings from the Tasks pane.
Click the Advanced tab, and then click Settings in the Performance area.
Click the Advanced tab, and then click Change in the Virtual Memory area.

Note: Before you proceed to the next step you may need to deselect the "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives" option.
From the Drive list, select a hard-disk partition that has free space equal to at least three times the amount of the computer's installed RAM. To determine the amount of space available on a hard-disk partition, click the drive letter; the amount of space available appears in the Paging File Size For Selected Drive area.
In the Initial Size box, enter a value equal to one and a half times the amount of the computer's installed RAM.
In the Maximum Size box, enter a value equal to twice the amount of the Initial Size value.
Click Set, and then click OK to close the Virtual Memory dialog box.
Click OK to the alert "The changes you have made require you to restart your computer."
Click OK to close the Performance Options dialog box, and then click OK to close the System Properties dialog box.
Click Restart Now to restart your system.

16. Optimize scratch disks.

When insufficient RAM is available for bitmap image editing, Photoshop uses a scratch disk file--temporary disk space used for storing data and performing computations. Photoshop can create 64 exabytes of scratch disk files on up to four hard disk partitions. An exabyte is 1.074 billion gigabytes.

The partitions you specify as the scratch disks should have enough free space to hold data several times the size of your image. A rule of thumb for good performance is to have free space at least equal to three to five times the size of the average image file. If disk space is insufficient, delete temporary files (see "Optimize handling of temporary files by Windows Vista" above) or remove other files from the hard disks.

To specify a scratch disk in Photoshop CS3, choose Edit > Preferences > Performance.

17. Repair and defragment hard disks.

System errors can occur if hard disks contain damaged sectors or fragmented files. Repair and defragment hard disks, either by using the Error-checking tool and Disk Defragmenter utility included with Windows or by using a third-party disk utility (for example, Symantec Norton Utilities). You should run such utilities on each hard disk or partition. More information about the Error-checking tool and Disk Defragmenter appears below; for more information about a third-party disk utility, refer to the documentation for the utility.

The Error-checking tool repairs bad sectors, lost allocation units and file fragments, cross-linked files, and invalid file names. To access the Error-checking tool, choose Start > Computer, right-click the desired hard disk, and choose Properties from the menu. In the Local Disk Properties dialog box, click the Tools tab, and then click Check Now in the Error-checking area.

Note: To prevent Disk Defragmenter from moving files to bad sectors of a disk, run the Error-checking tool before running Disk Defragmenter.

Disk Defragmenter rearranges the files and free space on your computer so that files are stored in contiguous units and free space is consolidated in one contiguous block. To access the Disk Defragmenter utility, choose Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter.

18. Scan the system for viruses.

Use current anti-virus software to check the system for viruses. Virus infections can damage software and cause system errors. For more information, see the documentation for the anti-virus software.

19. Identify the file that causes the problem.

If an error indicates which file causes the problem, then reinstall the application to which that file belongs. If that file is damaged and causes problems in Photoshop, then reinstalling the associated application can correct the problem.

If an error indicates a Windows file, then contact Microsoft for help replacing that file.

Advanced troubleshooting

If the tasks in the previous section don't resolve the problem, then you may be able to resolve the problem by reinstalling Windows Vista and Photoshop, reformatting your hard disk and reinstalling Windows Vista and Photoshop, or by determining if hardware is conflicting with Photoshop.

Disclaimer: Adobe doesn't support hardware and provides these procedures as a courtesy only. For further assistance, contact the hardware manufacturer or an authorized reseller. If you troubleshoot hardware problems yourself, then you may void the warranty for your computer.

Note: Before you remove or rearrange hardware, turn off and disconnect power to the computer and any peripheral devices.

20. Log in using the built-in Administrator account.

The built-in Administrator account has a higher access level to the system than a normal local administrator account. By default, the built-in Administrator account is disabled. For information about enabling and logging in to the built-in Administrator account, contact your system administrator. You can also refer to this support document on the Microsoft support website: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926183/en-us?spid=11737&sid=73.

21. Check for problems with RAM modules.

Ensure that the RAM modules are installed properly and are not the cause of your problem. Do one or both of the following:

Change the order of the installed modules.
Remove all but the minimum number of modules needed to run Windows and Photoshop, and test to see if the problem persists. If it does, replace the modules you removed and remove the others, testing again to see if the problem recurs. If it doesn't, then one or more of the removed modules are the cause. For assistance, contact the RAM manufacturer.

22. Contact Adobe Technical Support.

If none of the above steps has resolved the error or freeze that you are experiencing with Photoshop, then you need to contact Adobe Technical Support. You can find the support options at the Support Center.