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Creeping Crashes on CS4 cast a shadow
I’m exploring CS4 in SD on the low-spec systems I have to see if I should throw my future in the PPro camp with a pending hardware and software upgrade. (Had a bad experience with PPro 1.5 on two different systems quite a while ago, so testing general reliability now to measure brand improvement before any investment.)
The program is progressively less stable with use over a period of weeks despite other conditions remaining basically the same, and regardless of project size or complexity or codecs. Adobe support seems stymied (and they don’t point to the specs.) Tried all fixes suggested by tech support and found on forums. temp file and cache deletions. C and registry cleaning. Updating of everything on the system. Memory cleaning at various stages of use and crashing. It runs worse and worse until it stops being useable. (A familiar pattern with individual PPro 1.5 projects in Matrox mode – but in this case it’s the entire program without Matrox.)
Progressively more jerky playback, crashes on playback, and most of the time on quit. Sometimes when dormant. Sometimes accompanied by Import Process Server error message. Over a few weeks of use has become unproductive.
Reinstalling CS4 to solve a similar problem about a month ago failed until Zone Alarm was not only uninstalled, but until CS4 was installed from a new admin account from which ZA had never been installed.
Upgraded CS4 (could that be the culprit?) to current to install the Neoscene trial two weeks ago.
Dell Dimension Pentium 4, 3.0 ghz, 3 GB ram
7800 RPM sata drives 1 for system 1 for video
well defragmented. HDD’s with 50% free space.
XP Pro SP3
NVidia Geforce 880o Gt
Seldom used on net, scanned for malware before uninstalling security programs
Clean save for PPro, codecs, MSOffice, Cubase, VLC, system cleaning utilities, Midi keyboard driver; all of which were present when PPro was stable.The only variable aparrently contributing to program instability is the amount it’s been used – unless the CF installation has caused accumulating problems.
Would be great to be able to justify proceeding into the marvellous reports about CS5.5 on the reasonably-priced PC platform, but this experience offers little new encouragement about the brand despite an abundance of exciting features. I can’t risk future debacles.
Any suggestions?
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3 Replies
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CS4 Vs CS5 or CS5.5 is like comparing apples and oranges. You are talking 32-bit Vs 64-bit OS and Apps.
I’d highly recommend you test on someone elses system that you would consider purchasing. You could try to get some time on a resellers build to test the experience…
– JB
Jon Barrie
Adobe Video Solutions Consultant ANZ
Jon’s YouTube Tutorial Page
follow Jon with twitter -
I appreciate your superior experience, Jon. I also place hope in 64 bit and the new OS which we’ve heard about over the last few years.
Were I to arrange (not simple) to test such a system for the several weeks it has taken these earlier versions to fail, to proceed there after this one doesn’t work is to place more faith in the brand after accepting consistent failure despite about ten years between 1.5 and CS4 on the PC. To proceed after successful testing would be to overlook the ongoing untestable risk of instability against updates to OS, drivers, and the app itself, which accepting an unresolvable current situation would give me no reason to trust.
I do appreciate your comment.
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On the side of PPro:
https://library.creativecow.net/kobler_helmut/FCP-vs-Premiere-Pro/1
I wonder if PPro is better on a Mac.
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