CS4 bug - Selection tool yields random boxes

[Mar...@adobeforums.com]

Anyone else experiencing this bug in CS4 - when starting a new selection (Marquee Tool), random sized boxes will appear BEFORE dragging and releasing the mouse button to define a selection. The boxes will often extend from the first mouse click to an image edge, but it's unpredictable. I need to release the mouse button, deselect (left click), and then start over again. Once this behavior begins, it can recur repeatedly, making marquee selections VERY frustrating. I have to shut down Photoshop and restart, but eventually the bug will return (typically after 10-20 minutes of use).

This same "random selection" can occur with other tools, such as Zoom (a single mouse click will zoom to a random magnification, just as if I made a selection).

My video driver is current (Nvidia 8600GT, OpenGL compatible), and I've swapped the mouse (and associated driver) with no improvement. I'm running Vista (32-bit) on a fairly new PC (9 months old) with 4GB RAM and fast (RAID0) drives. Photoshop CS3 (from which I upgraded to CS4 but left installed) doesn't exhibit this bug. (BTW, I'm an experienced Photoshop user, going all the way back to PS 3.0)

[Chri...@adobeforums.com]

That sounds like the mouse or some related driver is returning multiple clicks - and some of those clicks are off the screen.

[Mar...@adobeforums.com]

Well, the mouse or driver was my first thought too, but as I mentioned it happens even when I swap in an entirely different mouse and driver. And, neither mouse exhibits this problem in CS3.

[Chri...@adobeforums.com]

In that case, you might want to check your system for any setting or utility that might interfere with mouse clicks/motion.

[xrd...@adobeforums.com]

In that case, you might want to check your system for any setting or utility
that might interfere with mouse clicks/motion

Quite a tall order. Any suggestions as to where to begin? I've wondered whether the problem I'm having with my Wacom tablet/pen in CS4 and in LR2 might be some misinterpretation of tap/clicks but with hundreds of apps on the machine I don't know where to start looking. Then again CS4 and LR2 are the only ones misbehaving. CS3, LR1, Capture NX2, Silkypix, Office and the browsers etc have no trouble.

[Ryan]

I get this also. Sometimes it goes away but it happens. In fact if I
put my mouse near guides and transform edges i have to move it off a
specific distance before it changes the mouse pointer. ... But...
when i bought this yesterday, it didn't happen. Something changed
when I started using it.

[Mike_C...@adobeforums.com]

I'm having the exact same issue... I have a brand new computer that I just installed CS4 on... The only other installation I've done is OpenOffice. Now randomly the marquee tool will select a box of a random size in a random location on the image. It is a very big issue, and I have no idea where to start to solve it.

[Mike_C...@adobeforums.com]

I'm reinstalling my mouse driver... Will let you know if that helps.

[dave_...@adobeforums.com]

I'm reinstalling my mouse driver... Will let you know if that helps.

try UNinstalling all mouse drivers and let the os handle it. and check the mouse settings in the control panel.

[Oliver...@adobeforums.com]

I have exactly the same problem. Never had anything like this in ANY other program, not even Adobe programs. It doesn't happen in Illustrator or Dreamweaver or anything, only in Photoshop.
This has to be fixed ASAP, it's just crazy.

[Chri...@adobeforums.com]

Turn off OpenGL drawing, or update your video card driver.

[Brian...@adobeforums.com]

I'm having this issue also! turned OpenGL features off seems to be a little better than before, but still happens.

Dell Studio 17 laptop with Radeon HD 3650 video card

[Mike_C...@adobeforums.com]

Brian, I wish I could tell you I had found a solution... I'm still suffering from it, but it seems to have become less frequent. If you search for the thread "Photoshop CS4 is a disaster" and look for the posts from Hugh Hansard, he gives some good information about managing conflict between Photoshop and your graphics card. I'm going to try it, but haven't yet.

[FootballF...@adobeforums.com]

Hi,

Mark, i don't think it hasn't got anything to do with your mouse, we (web designers for a publishing company) are experincing the same thing. that's how we found this thread after, doing a such for the same bug. I'm sure the more and more users buy the product the more posts will appear on the net.

Out of interest we're running x64 machines, what bit you running?

[Mike_C...@adobeforums.com]

Hey, I just wanted to give an update... This problem has disappeared for me (knock on wood). I am on an Asus M50VM with Vista 16 and an NVIDIA 9600 GS, 4G of RAM, 200G of HD with a couple of external drives.

I believe the best fix I did was to open the NVIDIA control panel and set it to performance mode. The problem had decreased slightly before that, and hasn't happened a single time since I made that change.

Give it a try, let me know if it helps...

-MC

[janet_sch...@adobeforums.com]

I have what I think is the same problem. My marquee selections are often started somewhere other than where I click with the mouse. Also, when I try to erase or draw, the wrong pixels are affected.

Video: <http://digitalmighty.com/random/PSD-CS4-Problem.swf>

I'm curious about NVIDIA settings and how to adjust them. I'm baffled by the options since I know nothing about graphics cards and the like- I just want my CS4 to work properly.

[Mike_C...@adobeforums.com]

Hey Janet...

If you go into Control Panels there's an NVIDIA control panel. Under 3d Settings > Adjust Image Settings with Preview, drag the selector from Quality toward Performance. Mine is set in the middle. This seemed to fix the problem for me. But again, if you need to adjust your settings further, Hugh Hansard in the other thread I mentioned in a previous post gave a lot more specific directions.

-MC

[Thoma...@adobeforums.com]

I'm having a similar problem, although with an ATI video card. I see this thread hasn't had an update in a while - any resolution?

[Mike_C...@adobeforums.com]

Hey Thomas... I wish I had a resolution to tell you about. Eventually the problem disappeared. I installed the newest update about a week ago and had the problem come back for about a half day, then it disappeared again. I really am not sure what I did to fix it, I just used Photoshop normally and adjusted the things I listed above.

I would start by making sure you have the most recent Adobe updates installed and then checking to make sure you have the most recent driver installed for your video card. Maybe try turning off OpenGL and see if that helps.

Sorry I don't have any more specific info from my own horrible experience with this problem.