[Jeff Hinkle]

It’s not drive space, it’s the file format. .PSD files top out at 2GB, I believe. If you need to save larger files than that, use Large Document Format (.PSB), but be aware that many applications won’t be able to open a file larger than 2GB in size.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

Can you post a screenshot of your timeline(s)? Might help to see what’s layered where.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

I’m assuming both your 16X9 and 4X3 are maintaining a square pixel aspect ratio? Instead of moving the 16×9 to a new image, just set up an action that opens the 16×9 and makes a layer out of it. Then create a new layer, fill with black, and move it below the image layer. Select the 16×9 layer, scale uniformly 57%, then set canvas size to 720×534. Add in a Save As… to your new folder in the batch process and you should be good to go.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

Are all of your source files uniform? Same number of rows, rows and separators the same height/position every time? Image dimensions constant? If so, you could set up a simple Action to select/copy/paste/move each row into position in a new document, then run a Batch Process to let Photoshop do all the work for you. I did a test run on your small sample image above and it worked out well. Maybe not the most elegant solution, but it’s quick and free.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

Do you have a spare monitor you can hook up and try, see if you get the same problem? That might at least help you narrow down the trouble area.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

If Far Cry isn’t killing it, that makes me less inclined to suspect the card.

Not sure if you’re on Mac or PC. We were able to check by opening the case and observing the fan on the card wasn’t spinning and it was blazing hot to the touch. Then it was a trip to the Apple Store to have them hardware test the card which came back as failed. We then installed the free Temperature Monitor to keep an eye on the fans and internal temp of the box overall just to make sure there were no other issues.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

We had a similar issue with one of our machines. Turned out the onboard fan on the graphics card was failing and not keeping the card cool enough, causing it to basically shut down and black the monitors. But we only had the problem when running graphics-heavy applications like Photoshop, Final Cut, etc. Might want to test your graphics card, and check the internal temperature of your machine.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

Glad I could help.

If you save as AI, there’s no need for an alpha as the object is its own alpha channel. That’s one of the benefits of using File>Place. I’m assuming you’re working with pure vector graphics and no background, correct?

If your colors are shifting, make sure you’re working in the same color space in both Illustrator and Photoshop and attaching profiles to the AI files when you save.

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It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

There are a couple different ways to do what you’re saying. For now, we’ll say the Photoshop layer with the Illustrator item you want to use as a mask is called Clipper.

Command/Ctl-click on Clipper’s thumbnail in the Layer palette. That will create a selection in the shape of the opaque pixels of the layer. Then choose the layer you want to mask and click the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the palette (looks like a white box with a dark circle in the center). That will create a mask on the new layer in the same shape as Clipper.

Orrrr… Place Clipper below the layer you want to mask. Hold down Option/Alt and place your cursor between the two layers. Your cursor will change to a box with a downward arrow. Click and you’ll create a clipping mask with the top layer only showing up where Clipper is opaque.

One final note: You might find more flexibility saving your Illustrator files as AI files, and then in Photoshop choosing File>Place… and placing the AI file. That creates a Smart Object that you can scale and manipulate with Photoshop re-rasterizing the source info to keep a constantly clean image. Plus you can change the Smart Object in Illustrator (in Photoshop, choose the object layer, right-click, and choose Edit Contents) and the changes will ripple back to Photoshop.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

First, I have to agree with Bill: eBay software is generally a bad idea.

That said, you might want to look into Photoshop Elements and see if it will do what you want. Since it sounds like your image editing needs are pretty modest, Elements may let you do what you want at a fraction of the cost of Photoshop, which will offer a ton of options/features you’ll never use. If nothing else, you can download a demo and see if it works for you.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.