just installed my Production Suite Premium on the following System (fresh install, clean System, no other versions of Photoshop):
Intel E8500 Dualcore
Nvidia Geforce 9800 GX2 (Driver Version 178.24)
3 GB RAM
Windows XP Professionel SP3
Photoshop has it's own Scratchdisk assigned with at least 50 GB free Space.
I know that the 9800 GX2 is considered to be a "Gaming-Card" but as a freelance artist i work für the game-industry on many occasions and i need a decent gaming hardware to test what i am working on. As far as i know, the card meets all requirements for CS4 and Nvidia tells me, that their GPU's are perfect for CS4. (wasn't a problem with any version before, i use Photoshop AND Nvidia-Cards since Photoshop 4)
Here are the things that bug me:
- Photoshop disables the OpenGL Features on random occasions, stating, that it has encountered a problem. This happens either in Two GPU-Mode or One-GPU-Mode.
There's no obvious reason for any errormessage, because IF Open GL is activated it seems to work pretty good, zooming and rotating works quite well and fast. I notced, that the deactivating of the OpenGl Features happens either after saving my file or when i open photoshop.
- Photoshop crashed on several occasions mostly concerning heavy transforming of multiple layers. It simply didn't respond anymore in the midst of the transormation-process.
My guess is, that this is also linked to the GPU/Driver. System-Memory is checked, GPU works like a charm in all other applications. CS3 has not once crashed in one year, so i guess it has to do with the changes made in CS4.
Strange thing is, that even with open GL deactivated, the above written problems occur. I would have thought, that with OpenGl dectivated, Photoshop would somehow become kind of CS3 again, but it seems, there had been to much changes to simply disconnect photoshop from it's new OpenGL interface.
Apart from these two Problems, Photoshop CS4 is doing ok. It feels kind of sluggish compared to older versions, but that might also change with some new drivers.
Sad thing is, that the rotate canvas feature and the extended moverange for images, the main reasons why i upgraded to CS4, are only working with
OpenGL activated. I really hope there will be a fix in the near future.
There are other questions concerning PS CS4's usability:
- The Scale-Brush Feature uses alt + right mouse buttons, what seems kind of strange when using a stylus (Even more when using a stylus without buttons like the wacom layout-marker).
I would prefer a comination of keyboard shortcuts plus stylus movement ctrl + alt for example. so far i have not found a way to remap the keys. Am i missing something? Or is this impossible?
- Is there a way to get window behaviour back the way it was in CS3? The new way of handling windows is ok, but i liked the old one better. If i disable "floating windows docking" there's no way to maximize a window INSIDE the photoshop workspace. The maximize button on top of every window is right now completely useless because it maximizes the window AND gets rid of all the menus and palettes. I don't see why i want to do that.
That's it. I hope this is useful either for the guys at adobe or for other users. Every new Photoshop-Version has had its problems, i hope that these will just be dealt with like the ones before.
All the best,
Pickman
I had my first crash today...really annoying as I lost 45 minutes of PAID work ( oh well! ).
I too was doing an intensive free transform ( 120 x 60 ins image @ 300ppi with 7 layers ) when Vista popped up with a 'Photoshop has stopped working'....no way out except to close the app....never had transform issues before.
I suspect patches will resolve the worst of the issues.
Me too. I've had two crashes in three days, and I've NEVER seen a Photoshop crash before. InDesign yes, but Photoshop never.
Both times running memory-intensive filters in CS4. I'm not pointing fimgers yet. Getting ready for a BIOS update and then reformat.
The latter has me thinking about whether the RAM on Videocards is able to process very high res and intensive textures / images. As most cards, well the 8800, is really a gaming card - a shot in the dark I must admit.
David
That one got me around two months ago....eek.
Chris
Photoshop keeps deactivating the OpenGl Feature. This happens even without the obligatory error-message. I start working with my Document, OpenGl activated, everything working normal, rotation, zooming smooth and crisp.
After saving my file, the rotation tool stops working and PS tells me, that this only works with OpenGL activated documents.
Strange thing is, when i check my preferences, the GPU Settings are normal, my Card is recognized and the Box "Enable OpenGL Drawing" is checked.
If i close the application, start again and reopen my document, everything is fine again.
So what is the problem here? Still waiting for an updated driver version from Nvidia.
I have enabled the "Force Bilinear Interpolation" Option in the advanced tab of the performance-settings.
No Crash since then. Might be a workaround, or I might have been lucky:)
I also changed the settings in my Nvidia Driver to "Performance Mode Single-GPU" but the Driver does not remember this setting permanently but keeps changing it to "Compatibility-Performance Mode" every time, the machine is restarted.
Still no official driver update from Nvidia.
Although I didn't had another crash yet, Photoshop keeps bugging me with the random deactivation of the OpenGL GPU-Settings.
There's no error message, I just can't rotate anymore, zooming is no longer smooth.
I save, close app. open image again, everything's back to normal, until it deactivates again, eventually.
Apart from this, there are several redraw problems in Photoshop and in Bridge. Sometimes overlapping windows will show in underlaying images, even if the above window is moved somewhere else. In Bridge the Preview window shows just empty space until i resize the application window.
That's all for now.
... only 16 OpenGL Documents are possible and that OpenGL is deactivated
for the rest of them.
The amount of RAM on your video card dictates how many documents will be OpenGL enabled.
Not quite sure if this OpenGL-thing was such a good idea....
Nor am I. Seems to me there are too many hidden "gotchas".
I bought a new WD 150GB Velociraptor and am in the process of doing a clean install of XP Pro. (I would sooner have weasels rip my flesh.) Nothing like having your workflow come to a complete halt! HA HA!
So, I will have basically eliminated bad HDD sectors (assuming that the brand new HDD is functioning correctly), corrupted XP installation and out-of-date video drivers (I check the ATI site daily). Wonder what Adobe will blame next?
Wonder what Adobe will blame next?
gremlins!
I should add that CS3 was running smooth like a baby's butt, so I'm guessing
that the HDD and OS are not the problem.
hi nick, can't you continue to use cs3 until the gremlins kinks get worked out?
You one smart cookie!
nah, just the timing this year saved me. issues this time seem a little more entrenched than they've been for the past couple of releases. i have no doubt they'll be fixed soon, but i'll just wait on the wings to see what happens.
i have no doubt they'll be fixed soon, but i'll just wait on the wings
to see what happens.
I wish I had your optimism. IMO, Adobe has gone into another realm (gaming-dependent), and I've said this in other threads.
Think about it: ATI and nvidea are mostly concerned with making games run right. Percentage-wise, how many of their users are concerned with CS4?
You might have noticed that it's been a while since we heard from Adam or Chris. Me, I'm stuck with CS4 since I toughed it out beyond 30 days.
As you can see, I am not amused.
You might have noticed that it's been a while since we heard from Adam
or Chris.
i've noticed, but i expect (hope!) they're busy!
Between Adam and Chris, I'd much rather hear from Adam. Over the years, I've noticed that Chris seems to be more ego-involved with this stuff. I can't count the times that he has told people (maybe not in so many words) that their system is hosed. This time, he's banking on "update your video drivers" or "contact your video card manufacturer".
Adam, on the other hand, seems actually interested in helping people solve problems, and has said that he has been able to reproduce problems that people are seeing.
Chris typically looks down his nose at Windows systems. IMO, he should either go to charm school or stay off of this board.
OK, end of rant. I've had a few and it's best that I either go to charm school or go to bed. I choose one more drink, then bed to watch TV. Hey, TV works much better for me than CS4!
Ranting and pointing fingers does not bring you one millimeter closer to a solution. On the contrary - it locks up your mind and prevents you from seeing possible solutions.
BTW anybody read "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" by Robert Pirsig? It's about...well, zen and motorcycles, but it's just as relevant for computers.
With remarks like yours it is no wonder they stay out of here between releases. They are not required to give any input here and the fact that they do is a bonus whatever the style and content.
So don't kill the goose that laid the golden egg!
... or, as some less civilised than me might say, STFU!
My take on this is that there is no smoke without fire. I would really like to be able to up my ram from the 6G I have at present to the 18G or so the MB would take, however not until I can be pretty certain that I will not be wasting my time with this latest version of PS.
For the potential gain in speed working in 64bit, it would seem that I will have to change from the XP64 I run to Vista, also I will have to discard my Matrox card and buy an expensive gaming card. If it does not work, then I'm faced like some of you guys with hours of non productive and frustrating fault finding, non of which I feel inclined to do!
Cheers
Richard Kenward
I've got an G8600GT with 256 megs of video RAM. Very inexpensive and it
works beautifully with Photoshop.
Bob
It seems, that the reason for Photoshop to deactivate my OpenGL settings is Bridge.....
I noticed that this happens quite often after i save an image in Photoshop while Bridge is open in the background. Could have something to do with Brigde redrawing the saved image thus deactivating OpenGL in Photoshop.
Sounds quite strange, but it doesn't seem to happen if Bridge is closed or minimized.
Can someone confirm this?
I have experienced so many problems with this "feature", that it is impossible for me to work with CS4 as long as OpenGL is activated. Newest adition to my pantheon of crappness is the sudden death of the Brush-Tool. For no particular reason the brush does no longer produce any lines, right in the middle of some painting.
Sad thing is, that one of the main reasons for upgrading from CS3 for me was the possibility to rotate the canvas, which is bound to OpenGL.
Right now, my system is up to date, latest drivers from wacom, NVIDIA, DirectX. I use no third party plug-ins, CS4 was a fresh install on a new system.
I will go on working without OpenGL until the next driver-versions or a patch from adobe is out...
Without initiating a debate on the virtues of Mac vs. Windows, it is clear that one advantage Mac has concerns hardware and software/driver compatibility. They have effectively created a monopoly, which can be seen as both good or bad depending upon your inclination.
But the plethora of mobo's, processors, video cards, etc., etc. available for Windows is both a blessing and a curse. Throw in the recent legal situation concerning supposed Vista compatibility/ready hardware issues and it is easy to see the complexity of the situation.
It would therefore be helpful if Adobe or an approved third party would maintain a credible hardware/driver testing program (including notorius printer drivers!) for each new release of the Windows version of Photoshop so we would know up front just how much an upgrade would really cost us. I suspect it would help Adobe avoid many headaches and product returns, as well.
it is clear that one advantage Mac has concerns hardware and software/driver
compatibility.
This I think is absolutely true (no, no plans to convert to OS X...but their machines are nice).
But as for testing hardware combinations - whew, that's a few GC (Giga-combinations).
Let the fiasco begin, oh wait, it has. Check out the Mac forums.
In my case, I started experiencing unexplained crashed with CS3 in July (see below) but it was only when Adobe admitted that they could be partly to blame that I posted my experiences (elsewhere) on this forum.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I have installed Photoshop CS4 on a newly reformatted HDD containing a fresh clean installation of Windows XP/SP3, fully patched, with everything working hunky dory, and no legacy installations of Photoshop or other CS software to worry about. All the same PS CS4 keeps crashing. The symptoms are unexplained total freeze ups occurring at random. I may get several hours use, sometimes a lot less, before I am forced to reboot and start all over again. Certainly the ability to do any useful work is severely compromised, and yes, the first inclination is to blame the hardware or system installation.
The thing is I had been chasing a similar, probably related, problem with CS3 (possibly caused by cloning my system drive, see <http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.59b6bd8d/> ) while Photoshop was still activated, so I have had several months head start over anyone who may now be experiencing similar problems with CS4. As a result, Dell, whose support has been great throughout, have replaced just about every component under the hood of my PC, certainly everything that could be causing a problem. (GPU, CPU, memory, MB, PSU, disk controller, disk cables...). As a result, I am running a virtually brand new computer. Hardware and system problems have been all but eliminated. I have all the latest drivers for everything. It is virtually a brand new computer!
Yet PS/CS4 keeps crashing for no reason that can be established. Adobe have given me lots of homework to do to try to find out what affects it or remedies there are. It is all very tedious, but so far, nothing...
I am coming to the conclusion that there must be something intrinsically wrong with PS/CS4 that makes it incompatible with some systems and software installations, but not necessarily because of any fault with the latter. I have to say that, after initially trying to push me away, Adobe are being very helpful and clearly want (need?) to get to the bottom of this. The trouble is that when the system locks up, it is completely and utterly paralysed, so any diagnostic and error reporting systems are inoperative. This suggests something beneath or beyond Windows, and, if it is not hardware, this points the finger of blame squarely at the activation software, which uses rootkit technology. (Would this be the same on a Mac, I wonder?)
For the record, my system is a Dell Precision 370 desktop with Dell/Phoenix BIOS A08, 3.2GHz Pentium 4 CPU, Intel 925X chipset, 2MB ECC SDRAM, Nvidia Quadro FX3450 graphics, 2x Seagate 146MB Cheetah 5.5k disks (SCSI) in non-RAID configuration. From the limited experience I have had, it seems perfectly capable of running the software (apart from when it crashes, of course.)
and yes, the first inclination is to blame the hardware or system installation.
...is where you're refreshingly different from a lot of other people we see around here.
They would say, yes, the first inclination is to blame Adobe.
nevermind...
that's probably for the best FA. ;)
happy thanksgiving everyone! :)
146 mb hard drives?
Yikes..........
Happy turkey day!!
A minor mental aberration on my part, brought on no doubt by recent trials and tribulations with Adobe software. (It was probably very late at night (in this timezone).)
Did anyone spare a thought for the turkeys?
Did anyone spare a thought for the turkeys?
i'm installing the cs4 trial and trying my 1st run right now. does that count? :)
Na, I knew but just couldn't resist....
Good luck!
Thank-you
Kirstin.
I have an issue with the 'load files into stack' script. If I have/use the images opened it works. If I browse to the images it appears to be loading the files but only results in one layer.
Now you have no fall-back if you get any problems with CS4 (and some people have problems).
It is normal to keep the earlier version at least until you are satisfied with the new one. Different versions are installed in separate directories and can co-exist quite happily.
If you do need CS3 now, you would have to uninstall CS4 first – or so I am led to understand.
My brushes wouldn't work. Clone, stamp etc.
After crying on my hands and knees for 2 days. Here's what worked for me:
Logitech Set point or any Logitech mouse drivers are very badnews - uninstall. I use Wacom Intuos 2 and 3 tablets and both my Vista PC's had issues with the CS4/Intuos/Logitech compatibility.
I know have everything working sweet - thanks to the removal of all the Logitech. I also had to reinstal the Intuos drivers and then go into my control panel/device settings/Human interface - and disable the pen and pad? This was because a French man from Wacom told me to...
It worked.
Now on to why everything is printing magenta.. someone give me a million pounds and i can blow my studio up and go abroad.
Strange.
Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT, latest drivers.
Is there a way to get window behavior back the way it was in CS3? If i
disable "floating windows docking" there's no way to maximize a window
INSIDE the photoshop workspace. The maximize button on top of every window
is right now completely useless because it maximizes the window AND gets
rid of all the menus and palettes. I don't see why i want to do that.
Is there a fix for this?
I don't want the tabs (drag layers from one picture to another very often) and I do want a maximized window WITH all the palettes and menus to work with...
ACTUAL PIXELS FIT SCREEN FILL SCREEN PRINT SIZE
The fill screen button seems to do exactly what you want.
Anthony.
PS. the use of CTRL+1 and CTRL+0 do the same things
I have not intensely tested it yet, but so far none of the problems i had before remain.
In addition with the newest nvidia-driver and the newest wacom-driver (that sadly is of no use for the brandnew painter 11), all of the above mentioned strange phenomenons have vanished.
So far, OpenGL features stay active, rotating, smooth zooming works without error, the ghost-menu that appeared before is gone.
I will continue to work with CS4 and keep this thread updated but as far as i can confirm now, the patch is a huge improvement for me.
Thanks to Chris Cox and the other Adobe engineers for their work.
PS: There's one thing that I miss. Before the patch i could change brush size via pressing strg + shift an moving the pen. This is now bound to Brush hardness. Is there a way to change it back to Brushsize?
Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT, latest drivers.
Set your NVIDIA 3D settings to Performance rather than Quality and set
"Multi-display/mixed-GPU acceleration" to "Compatibility performance mode".
I am running a GeForce 7300 GS and OpenGL behaves OK on my machine.
I would be happy if I were able to do what I could in CS3, along with being able to use some of the improvements it offers (have open GL disabled)without some of the improvements needed by more advanced (3D), etc artists. I do not have CS4 Extended--don't need it.
I use NIK filters for my photographs, and those were the first I installed--having downloaded all the latest versions from the NIK site (all fully compatible with CS4) and installed them directly into CS4 and they appear in my filters list. Whenever I try to use, PS becomes unresponsive and I have to use my task manager to close it. Happens each time. I have not installed any other plug-ins, and won't until I get these to work.
I have a powerful work station with 4GB of memory.
Has anyone used NIK filters successfully in CS4? Does anyone have any advice on working the problem out (NIK doesn't, since they are all considered compatible with CS4)?
Have to say that the interface of CS4 is absolutely beautiful and provides a wonderful visual work environment--now if only I could get it to work properly.
My NIK (at least Sharpener 3.0) filters are working in the 32 bit version. (NIK has not yet entered the 64 bit world).
Clone stamp is not working today - CS4 is messaging a program error. Help. I really do not want to part with my cordless Logitech keyboard and mouse - but if it is the problem....
Also - what is a reasonable RAM to get good effect from CS4 64 bit running on Vista Ultimate 64 bit - I have 4 gigs and know that this is not enough.
Has anyone used NIK filters successfully in CS4?
I've been using them right along.
I always install my plug-ins into a separate folder on my root drive. That way I can troubleshoot/update more easily if need be.
I just create a "plug-ins" folder on my root (C) drive. I install all my third party plug-ins into that folder. A few may complain or not offer the option as to where exactly you wish to install, those I usually manually move there.
Then in PS I set the plug-in preference in the "additional plug-ins" option to point to that folder.
One other benefit is that these independently installed plug-ins can be shared between any app that recognizes PS format plug-ins. I've used the same ones for PS CS3, and various other image editing apps over the years.
If you simply copied the plug-ins folder from PS CS3 to PS CS4, you'd be very likely to have problems with some. Some plug-ins install system files or even program files in other locations and if the paths are changed you'd have an issue.
You could have simply used the preferences option to point to the plug-in folder of PS CS3. I've done that in the past, seems to me the only issue was that I would occasionally get duplicate PS plug-ins. But it would have been a quick way to test them.
I did post a blog about the new features I use just today though...find it here:
Good for you, Richard--in the past I've been one of the lucky ones with no problems but not this time. Will check on your blog in order to learn from it.
I appreciate the generosity of you kind people who post here--so thank you!
why didn't I think of using the option to point to CS3?
That is not what Harold said!
I have a Nvidia 7300GT video card. I have noticed that Adobe has posted a note that says that due to technical difficulties Advanced Drawing and 3D Acceleration are grayed out and inoperable.
Does anyone know specifically what kinds of operations within Photoshop these settings will affect. Apparently with my card they are enabling OpenGL. Maybe it's not a problem?
Thanks,
John Arnold
Thanks for the encouraging message. It appears that new drivers and updates have fixed many of the bugs.
I don't normally work with 3D either. In the tech note where they talked about "animated drawing" and "3D acceleration" being disabled in preferences, I didn't know specifically what that was referring to. Maybe someone can elaborate on that.
Have you noticed that the new features like rotate view and the animated zoom features are working OK?
John