Is my computer just too old????

[DeeZee]

HeLP! I finally got PSP8 for Christmas due to the great clearance sale that JASC/Corel had, and I finally got to install it after all our company left. And it's horrible.......... it takes forever to do anything. I tried to do the first layot tutorial and I couldn't get past putting texture on a background because it took me 25 minutes just to get that far!

I called the JASC people and they were definitely not helpful. The guy just told me that my 256 of RAM wasn't good enough and that he didn't run Windows ME so he couldn't help me further. He said that I could have a memory hog that is eating the RAM I had but that he couldn't help me find it. He was rude too.......

I already have an RMA to return this, but I"m sad. Hubby wants to put more RAM in to see if it helps, but I'm afraid that our computer is just too old and that we have too much to upgrade to make this work, and the tech support just left a bad taste in my mouth --- what happens when I upgrade RAM and upgrade Windows and it STILL doesn't work properly??? Will I get the same treatment from JASC??

Sigh. I was really looking forward to starting some digital scrapbooking. Now I'm just plain stuck.

[Emma]

Here's what the Jasc web site says:

Minimum System Requirements
300 MHz processor or faster
Microsoft® Windows® 98SE, 2000 (SP4), ME, XP
256 MB of RAM
500 MB of free hard drive space
16-bit color display adapter at 800x600 resolution
Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6.0 or later

Recommended System Configuration
1.0 GHz processor or faster
Microsoft® Windows® XP
512 MB of RAM
500 MB of free hard drive space
32-bit color display adapter at 1024x768 resolution
Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6.0 or later

But one thing that's left off is the memory on the VIDEO card! I was using an 8mb video card, and putting in a 64mb card made it go fast enough to save my sanity! I got an even nicer card, 128mb, but then my computer couldn't run the new card, so make sure you can a card that's compatible with your existing system. I decided to upgrade, and the new card required a new mother board, and while I was at it got 1gb of RAM. PSP is just as fast as PS now, and in some ways faster. BUT PS runs better on older systems than PSP if there's a lot of hard drive space it can substitute as memory (virtual memory, PSP doesn't use it).

So while the minimum requirements say 256 is enough to run it, if your video card is low, then that will make a big difference. One more note: I talked to Jasc when I was having slow issues too, and he was very polite and helpful, though didn't say anything about the video card.
Here's the thread about that issue, hopefully will help you:
http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=417

and my same plea a few months ago!
http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103

[DeeZee]

Sigh. The specs don't match the specs on the box at all. It's frustrating to think you have what you need and are set to go.......... and then have it all crash ....

Thanks for the links. I had already done a lot of that stuff -- cleaned up and defragged my hard drive etc. I didn't notice the pixels/cm thing so that was a huge help. It's still painstakingly slow but it's actually moving now.

I think my biggest beef was the way that this tech guy talked to me. He wanted to me to find a certain tab when I hit Ctrl-Alt-Del in order to figure out if any "processing program" I had was hogging my memory, and I explained that WindowsME didn't have the same options. He pretty much told me he didn't believe me and that I wasn't following his instructions (which I was). When I asked how I could do the same thing in ME, he had no idea and pretty much shrugged me off.

I ran PSP 7 on this computer with no problem and I had the trial version of 8 and it worked just fine as well (until it expired of course). I uninstalled all of that so I could have a clean version of 8.

[Lauren]

Ok first off make sure you download any patches from the jasc site - I seem to remember that v8 had some major memory issues when it was first released and this was patched to improve it somewhat - this maybe all you need to fix it - also make sure when you run any graphics programme that you close down other memory hungry programmes like OE and IE - both use quite a bit of ram.
I used psp8 on a computer with 256 ram in fact I think I ran it on less for a while - it was slow but not as slow as you are experiencing - I would definitely look for the patches first - if you still have issues come back here and we can try and help some more.
btw - my puter has integrated graphics - no external graphics card and I can run psp and ps with little bother!!!- more memory of course does help substantially

[mum2brakri]

I would definately make sure you have all the updates from the Jasc site ... that will probably make a huge difference. Also, more memory and a better graphics card can't hurt.

I hope you figure it out ... I just got PSP 9 but ran PSP8 for a long time before that and I just loved it!

[DeeZee]

I checked the website and it said there were no patches available. I know that a new computer is not in the works for a while, so I'm not sure what to do at this point.

How do I know what my graphics card is? I know that may sound silly but I have no idea.

I'm just so befuddled by this. Why would the trial work fine but the full version not?? Something must have changed on my system, but I can't figure out how to figure out what that is. The tech mumbled something about viruses that could eat up memory, but I scan with Norton daily so I'm sure this isn't the case. I do run Zone Alarm since I have an always on net connection and I feel like I need the firewall. Could this be it?

Does anyone know how I can tell what uses what in terms of memory? The tech said in Windows 2000 that I should be able to hit ctrl-alt-del and use some tab at the top that would show me how my system resources were being allocated, but I couldnt find the equivalent in ME.

[mum2brakri]

One thing that I had a problem with on my computer before was with Spyware ... different from Viruses, Norton won't pick them up. A program like Ad-Aware will. You can download a free copy of Adaware from http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html?part=69274&subj=dlpage&tag=button

I run mine once a week and it usually catches lots of spyware every time I run it. Worth a try since you don't want that junk on your computer anyways :)

I checked the website and it said there were no patches available. I know that a new computer is not in the works for a while, so I'm not sure what to do at this point.

How do I know what my graphics card is? I know that may sound silly but I have no idea.

I'm just so befuddled by this. Why would the trial work fine but the full version not?? Something must have changed on my system, but I can't figure out how to figure out what that is. The tech mumbled something about viruses that could eat up memory, but I scan with Norton daily so I'm sure this isn't the case. I do run Zone Alarm since I have an always on net connection and I feel like I need the firewall. Could this be it?

Does anyone know how I can tell what uses what in terms of memory? The tech said in Windows 2000 that I should be able to hit ctrl-alt-del and use some tab at the top that would show me how my system resources were being allocated, but I couldnt find the equivalent in ME.

[DeeZee]

I just ran Adaware right before I installed PSP -- that's why I'm so absolutely confused because it shouldn't be this hard :-) I *thought* I was doing some things right but ..... PSP doesn't think so...

And something even odder ... I have an evaluation copy of Photoshop, but because I can't afford the full Photoshop, I hadn't even tried it. So, out of frustration, I just did. And it works FINE. PSP won't move but I just did a whole first layout on Photoshop following the DGSP tutorials (which are GREAT!). Can you hear me screaming???

[Lauren]

I checked the website and it said there were no patches available. I know that a new computer is not in the works for a while, so I'm not sure what to do at this point.

How do I know what my graphics card is? I know that may sound silly but I have no idea.

I'm just so befuddled by this. Why would the trial work fine but the full version not?? Something must have changed on my system, but I can't figure out how to figure out what that is. The tech mumbled something about viruses that could eat up memory, but I scan with Norton daily so I'm sure this isn't the case. I do run Zone Alarm since I have an always on net connection and I feel like I need the firewall. Could this be it?

Does anyone know how I can tell what uses what in terms of memory? The tech said in Windows 2000 that I should be able to hit ctrl-alt-del and use some tab at the top that would show me how my system resources were being allocated, but I couldnt find the equivalent in ME.
Click the help button in psp and tell me which version number is quoted there - is it 8.0 or 8.1???

[Lauren]

I just thought of something else you could check ( what ppi are you using ( sometimes its set at cm not inches so you may have typed in 200 or 300 ppi thinking it was per inch and its actually per cm which would mean you would be working on a HUGE file.......
just a thought

[DeeZee]

ARGH!! Do you know that I checked this earlier and realized it WAS pixels/cm so I changed it......... but what I didn't notice was that it converted the pixels/cm equivalent to pixels/inch SO it was set to over 700 pixels per inch, which, as you point out, is a HUGE file......... and so was really really slow!!!!!!!

I wouldn't have even rechecked this had you not pointed this out again, so thank you, thank you, thank you!

(now to go unpack my return box ..... I think.... I'm still not happy about the tech support's attitude BUT at the same time, I have a cold and had crying children while I was trying to talk to him and he might just have been responding to my crabbiness too..... ever been at that point??)

Oh, and it is 8.1 that I have..........

[Lauren]

ARGH!! Do you know that I checked this earlier and realized it WAS pixels/cm so I changed it......... but what I didn't notice was that it converted the pixels/cm equivalent to pixels/inch SO it was set to over 700 pixels per inch, which, as you point out, is a HUGE file......... and so was really really slow!!!!!!!

I wouldn't have even rechecked this had you not pointed this out again, so thank you, thank you, thank you!

(now to go unpack my return box ..... I think.... I'm still not happy about the tech support's attitude BUT at the same time, I have a cold and had crying children while I was trying to talk to him and he might just have been responding to my crabbiness too..... ever been at that point??)

Oh, and it is 8.1 that I have..........


Ahhh Im so pleased you solved it - I hate a puzzle !!!- I have this urge to solve them!!!! I hope you are happier now and yes I can understand your unhappiness at the tech support - I would have felt the same . Im sure you will be happier now!!

[Emma]

I have never used Windows ME, but since older versions have a Task Manager then I'm sure it's in ME somewhere, just not accessed the same was as the tech support guy was trying to tell you.
I used to shut down everything to run PSP: I'd get offline, close down MSN Chat, and I had hidden applications like Spyware, Windows File Explorer, etc that I'd shut down too. Anything large that appeared in the Processes tab on the Task Manager, I'd turn off.
Now, it was a pain, yes, but that's the "price" we pay for running new software on older systems. And while getting a faster computer is expensive and ups the cost of the hobby, it applies to SOOOO many other things you can't really amortize all the expense to scrapping. Just think of all the money you're not spending on paper supplies :P
Anyway, let's try to find out what Processes you're running. I get to my Task Manager by right clicking on the bar at the bottom of the screen and choosing Task Manager. If your Processes aren't under the Task Manager, then they're somewhere!

[mum2brakri]

Oh I'm so glad you figured it out! Yay! I was completely stumped!

[DeeZee]

I googled to see if I could figure this out but didn't get very far. The closest I can figure is that when I go to task manager, I can see a list of what is running (through ctrl-alt-del) I have no idea what all of this stuff is though -- some of it is definitely windows related. I can shut down these programs from there, but I can't actually see anything about them.

I do want to keep my firewall and my norton running since my internet connection is high speed/always on. I think the only thing I could do is physically unplug the connection if I wanted to turn those off.

I dunno ....... I'm thinking that when the tax refund comes in, I might need a new computer for my business (I'm a Kindermusik teacher.... but I don't actually make any money at it since I teach military families for no tuition.....)

[DeeZee]

I feel kinda silly at this point ... I think the combination of the cold and the kids just made me a bit blind :-)

Thank you all for your help and patience. Now to figure out why Photo Album keeps crashing on me ........ :confused:

[Emma]

I can shut down these programs from there, but I can't actually see anything about them.Most of the processes, if not all, are in your Startup menu, so shutting them down isn't a problem: just reboot after using PSP to get them all running again.

I do want to keep my firewall and my norton running since my internet connection is high speed/always on. I think the only thing I could do is physically unplug the connection if I wanted to turn those off.
I have High Speed/always on connection too. To disconnect, simply right click on the monitors icon in your system tray at the bottom (next to the clock), and click Disable. Then you'll be offline and can close the Spyware, Firewall, and AdBlocker, etc. Some of these things didn't make any real difference to me when running PSP, some helped a lot. Just play around and see how much you can close down for added speed.

Good luck on a computer upgrade. A new video card is pretty cheap, you could get that now. And RAM is cheap too. The expensive part comes with a really nice video card, new motherboard, new monitor, that sort of thing.
If you have two RAM sticks that total 256 (128 each), then you could replace just one of them to save a little money. So you could buy a 512 stick and add it to the 128 stick that's already in there. Just depends on your hardware. Do you have a "geek" who can help you?
Your video card is probably only 8mb, so even a 64mb card would help a lot, and those aren't too expensive. Shop around and see what you can find! You can probably do it for well under $200...???

[DeeZee]

I don't have a monitors icon either -- I'm not sure if it's a Windows ME thing or a internet connection thing. We live in an itty bitty little town where the only high speed connection is via a wireless connection. There's no DSL or cable access here. I've tried to figure out what it IS exactly but have no clue at all. We have a rooftop antennae connected to our system via a wire, and there's a tower sometime in town here. I'm not even sure what the hardware is that was installed in our computer since I had to leave while they were installing it.

No geeks around here either, unfortunately. I'm the only geek wannabe :-) We priced a new Dell system yesterday and can get a decent one for about $500 with the military discount. If I upgrade memory, video card and Windows, I'm thinking I would spend close to that. I dunno...........

[Lauren]

Be careful about ram upgrades and video card upgrades - make sure you get some advice from people who know what system you have - some RAM must be in pairs so changing one stick will render it useless - also some systems come with integrated graphics rather than a separate graphics card - these may not work well with a separate card although Im not an expert on this -
Im pleased you found your psp problem -- task manager is where I discovered what running processes are on the computer in ME - and going to the run menu and typing msconfig and then going to the start up tab you can see lots of programmes that are starting up when windows starts up - some are obvious - others arent - I did a google search and found most of them - its simple to uncheck the boxes there and if you find that something doesnt work right you can always go back in and recheck the box again later - dont delete the item - just uncheck or check the box .
( this is for windows ME which I used for a couple of years) - ME did have some compatibility issues with some programmes from memory but i vaguely remember running photo album 4 with it ( actually now I prefer picasa which is free and you can download it from www.picasa.com ( it doesnt support pngs that well but its great for photos and does most of what photo album does - quicker !!

[Lauren]

Oh one more thing - to really help you along - work at 200 ppi rather than 300 - we all do here at DSP - it is a big help speed wise and if you check all our info on this subject we have done decent research to suggest that there is very little if any visible difference between printed layouts from 300 ppi to 200!!

[Emma]

Good advice, Lauren. 200ppi is pretty much essential in PSP unless you have a race car system!
And the need for some good geeky advice is a must when upgrading. Issues like integrated video, double RAM sticks, SDRAM, amount of mb needed, compatibility of current hardware with upgraded hardware...I had no idea when I bought my video card that it wouldn't work with my motherboard!
So you get the point: CompUSA or something is a good place to get info, or find a geeky friend. We have several of them around here too :) Just holler and they'll crawl out of the woodwork to help you.

[DeeZee]

Thanks for all the advice -- I have only vague notions that there could be trouble with things but no real idea what to look out for. Since we live in such a remote area (we're 100 miles from any real stores and probably more from a CompUSA!), I have to rely on internet shopping a lot. Seems like it would be easier just to get a new system :-)

I'm going to play with the processes stuff now and see if I can figure it out. I usually don't learn about computers until they break .... and then I learn tons so I guess I should be grateful for problems that I have.

Photo Album was an upgrade that the Jasc folks talked my hubby into buying for me. Don't think I would have chosen it myself, but I have it now......

[DeeZee]

Hooray, NOW I see how to access the programs that are starting!! It was exactly where you said it was........ Now I'm trying to figure out what I don't really need. Tons of stuff there that I'm sure I don't need to start automatically!! THANKS!

Oh, and hubby is SO impressed that we gals figured this all out. He tried going to his buddys at work who didn't find the right answers :rolleyes:

[Emma]

Oh, and hubby is SO impressed that we gals figured this all out. He tried going to his buddys at work who didn't find the right answers :rolleyes:Tee-hee! Look what necessity breeds :) I've learned mor about computers this past year than I ever knew before, and I thought I knew something before!
Hope you can get it tolerably well-running. Have you made any layouts yet? Did you see the First Page tutorial for PSP? Or perhaps the PSP class starting soon?

[DeeZee]

I did the first page tutorial in PS but not in PSP yet. I got caught up in trying to make Photo Album work first but not making any progress on it at the moment.

I'm wanting to take the PSP class but we're going to be away for a big chunk of it for January, so I'm going to just do some online "freebies" from around the web until February. All the grandparents gave us a ski trip for Christmas so we're going to "hit the slopes" for the very first time. Can't wait to scrap those pictures.