TechNote

Troubleshoot damaged projects (Adobe Premiere Elements 4)

What's covered

Before you begin
Beginning troubleshooting
Intermediate troubleshooting
Advanced troubleshooting

This document can help you resolve system errors that occur while you use Adobe Premiere Elements 4. System errors can manifest themselves in many different ways, including (but not limited to) the following:

A project file does not open correctly.
An error occurs on opening Adobe Premiere Elements.
Items are missing when you open a project.

Different factors can cause system errors, including conflicts among device drivers, software, and hardware, and corrupt elements in specific files. Although a system error may occur only when you work with Adobe Premiere Elements, Adobe Premiere Elements may not necessarily be the cause--it may be the only application that is memory-intensive or processor-intensive enough to expose the problem.

Before you begin

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: If you are running Windows Vista, 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, with the exception of the Control Panel. The steps in this document that refer to the Control Panel are in reference to the Classic view. The Control Panel can be switched to the Classic view using the appropriate option located on the left side of the Control Panel.

Some of these procedures may require you to locate hidden files, hidden folders, or 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. For information on showing hidden files and folders in Windows, see document "Windows Tip - Show hidden files and folders (Windows XP, Vista)" (TechNote kb402324).

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, Adobe Premiere Elements 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.

Note: Before you begin, to prevent automatically saved projects from being overwritten during the troubleshooting process, choose Edit > Preferences > Auto Save, and then change the maximum Project Versions to 20.

1. Open your project from within Adobe Premiere Elements.

Open Adobe Premiere Elements, and then open your project from within Adobe Premiere Elements (rather than double-clicking the project file to launch the project and Adobe Premiere Elements.)

2. Test to see if the project is causing the problem.

Try to create a new project:

If the new project doesn't open or you are otherwise unable to create one, then continue with troubleshooting step 3.
If the new project opens, then the original project may be damaged and may need to be re-created. However, continue troubleshooting with steps 5 through 7 to try to resolve project-specific issues.

3. Delete the Application Preference File.

Close Adobe Premiere Elements.
Navigate to the following location:
- In Windows XP: Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Adobe\Premiere Elements\4.0
- In Windows Vista: Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Premiere Elements\4.0
Delete the Adobe Premiere Elements Prefs file.
Restart Adobe Premiere Elements.
Note: After you delete the preferences file, you must reset any custom preferences under Edit > Preferences (for example, scratch disks) that you may have set.

4. Re-create the Adobe Premiere Elements 4 PluginCache file.

The PluginCache is a Windows registry entry that contains information regarding the status of all native and third-party plug-ins used with Premiere Elements. To re-create the file, hold down the Shift key while choosing Start > All Programs > Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0. Release the key when the Select Initial Workspace window appears.

Note: Premiere Elements stores information about the viability of its plug-ins on the initial launch of the application. This information is stored in the Windows registry in order to allow Premiere Elements to open faster on all subsequent launches. By forcing Premiere Elements to discard and re-parse the existing plug-in data, any new conflicts between the plug-ins and newly installed software or hardware can be detected.

5. Make sure you have access to all the files you need.

Make sure that the project file and all associated files (that is, preview files and source files) are unlocked and on local disks to which you have both read and write access. You may also want to try logging into your system as an Administrator. Contact your network administrator for help.

Intermediate troubleshooting

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

6. Open an archived copy of the project file.

Try to open an archived copy of the project file. Adobe Premiere Elements automatically archives versions of a project file unless you disabled the archive feature in the Auto Save preferences.

To find the most recent archived version of your project, open the Project Archive folder in the following location:

In Windows XP: My Documents/Adobe/Premiere Elements/3.0/Adobe Premiere Elements Auto-Save.

Adobe Premiere Elements names the archived version of a project file the same as the project plus a number indicating the archived version (for example, Project1.prel). The filename containing the highest number is the most recently archived version of the project.

7. Test to see if individual media files are causing the problem.

Individual media files may cause the problem in your project. To determine if an individual file is causing the problem, unlink all of the files, and then relink them one at a time to see if one of them re-creates the problem.

To unlink media files:

Close your project.
Move your source files (video, audio, still files) to a different location on your hard drive.
Open your project. You will see a "Where is File [filename] ?" dialog box.
Click Skip All. If there is nothing wrong with the project file, then it will open with all the media in offline status.

To relink media files and determine if one of the files causes the problem:

Select a clip in the Media Panel.
Choose Edit > Locate Media.
Locate the associated file on your hard drive and click Select.
Play back the clip in the timeline to verify it is working correctly
Repeat this process with all of your media until you encounter a problem with one of the media files.
Close the project and reopen it. Click Skip All once again.
Choose File > Import to try to import the problem file. If it comes in, then the files is okay but the link to it was bad. If importing the file causes an error, crash, or freeze, then you need to re-create or rerender it and reimport it into the project using the Locate Media feature.
Note: The Locate Media feature is useful if you want to preserve the editing on the timeline.

8. Visit the Adobe User to User Forums.

You can see if other Adobe customers have a similar problem by visiting the User to User Forums at www.adobeforums.com. If other users have experienced the same problem, then Adobe Technical Support may be able duplicate and research the problem.

Advanced troubleshooting

If you have determined that Adobe Premiere Elements will not open any project, then try the following advanced troubleshooting task.

9. Remove and Reinstall Premiere Elements.

System errors or freezes may be caused by a bad installation of Adobe Premiere Elements. Removing the application and then reinstalling it may rectify the problem. If more than one version of Adobe Premiere Elements is installed, remove all versions, and then reinstall just the version you want to use.

Note: Removing Adobe Premiere Elements will delete any custom project and export presets you have saved to the default location. If you would like to retain your presets, move the contents of the following folders to the desktop:

Documents and Settings/[username]/Application Data/ Adobe/Premiere Elements/3.0/MediaIO/Presets/OTHERS
Documents and Settings/[username]/Application Data/ Adobe/Premiere Elements/3.0/Settings/Custom

After you have reinstalled the application, copy the contents of these folders back to their original locations.

To remove Adobe Premiere Elements:

Choose Start > Control Panel.
Double-click Add Or Remove Programs.
Locate the entry for Adobe Premiere Elements 4 (or previous versions, if they are installed) and click Remove.
Follow the on-screen instructions to remove the application.

Note: There is also an entry in the Add Or Remove Programs list for Adobe Premiere Elements 4 Templates. When you remove the application using the steps above, the templates will also be removed. However, the Add Or Remove Programs list does not refresh automatically, and the templates entry will still be there. Click the Remove button next to this entry, click Yes, and then click OK when you see the message "This option is only valid for currently installed applications."
Open My Computer and delete all Adobe Premiere Elements folders in the C:\Program Files\Adobe folder.
Empty the Recycle Bin, and then restart the computer.

To reinstall Adobe Premiere Elements:

Insert the Adobe Premiere Elements 4 DVD into the DVD drive.

Note: If the installation does not start automatically, go to Start > My Computer and double-click the DVD drive.
Choose the desired installation language and click OK.
Click Accept to accept the License Agreement.
Click Install Adobe Premiere Elements 4 and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.

10. Contact Adobe Technical Support.

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