Adobe Community: Major problem with Dell Optiplex 990

Currently Being Moderated

1. Bill Hunt,

Nov 9, 2011 8:23 AM in reply to Michael Walton

Report

Michael,

Have you tuned up the new Dell? Most non-custom computers come with tons of bloatware, and much of that can really bring, even a stout computer, to its knees.

Also, it is likely that your Win7 is not adequately tuned either.

I would look into both cleaning, and then tuning.

Good luck,

Hunt

|

Mark as:

Currently Being Moderated

2. John T Smith,

Nov 9, 2011 8:30 AM in reply to Michael Walton

Report

Here Win7 Tuning Help & Tips

Be sure you have the default hard drive indexing OFF for all drives and folders!!!

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/220753/windows_7_godmode _tips_tricks_tweaks.html

Temp/Cookie Cleaner http://www.mixesoft.com/

http://forums.adobe.com/thread/789809?tstart=0

Win7 Toolbar http://WindowsSecrets.com/comp/110210

More Win7 Tips http://windowssecrets.com/comp/110127

Utilities http://windowssecrets.com/comp/110106 (Startup Solutions)

Win7 Help http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/w7itpro/

Win7 Configuration Article http://windowssecrets.com:80/comp/100218

Win7 Monitor http://windowssecrets.com:80/comp/100304

Win7 Optimizing http://www.blackviper.com/Windows_7/servicecfg.htm

Win7 Virtual XP http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/

More on Virtual XP http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=5607&tag=col1;post-5607

Win7 Adobe Notes http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/508/cpsid_50853.html#tech

Win7 Adobe Update Server Problem http://forums.adobe.com/thread/586346?tstart=0

An Adobe Win7 FAQ http://forums.adobe.com/thread/511916?tstart=0

More Win7 Tips/FAQ http://forums.adobe.com/thread/513640?tstart=0

Processes http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

Compatibility http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/windows-7/en-us/Default .aspx

Win7 God Mode http://forums.adobe.com/thread/595255?tstart=0

CS5 Install Error http://forums.adobe.com/thread/629281?tstart=0

CS5 Help Problem http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/842/cpsid_84215.html

Win7 and Firewire http://forums.adobe.com/thread/521842?tstart=0

http://lifehacker.com/5634978/top-10-things-to-do-with-a-new-windows-7 -system

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/05/29/7-free-windows-7-tweaking-util ities/

Win7 64bit Crashing and "a" fix http://forums.adobe.com/thread/580435?tstart=0

http://prodesigntools.com/if-any-problems-downloading-or-installing-cs 5.html

Harm's Tools http://forums.adobe.com/thread/504907

Also http://www.tune-up.com/products/tuneup-utilities/

Also http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/ecleane.htm

Optimizing Hard Drive http://www.video2brain.com/en/videos-5353.htm

Win7 Reinstall http://windowssecrets.com/newsletter/win7s-no-reformat-nondestructive- reinstall/

Anti-Malware Tools http://windowssecrets.com/newsletter/the-advanced-system-recover-toolk it/

Free Optimizer http://www.iobit.com/advancedsystemcareper.html

Repair AVI http://forums.adobe.com/thread/888268?tstart=0

Tune Vista & Win7 64bit http://forums.adobe.com/thread/436139

|

Mark as:

Currently Being Moderated

3. Michael Walton,

Nov 9, 2011 9:30 AM in reply to John T Smith

Report

Thanks both for your assistance on this.

I have a few quick follow-ups. My Alienware runs great with Win 7 and CS4 and never have had a problem. The old one that cranks out stuff is XP and works fine but just needs more RAM.

The new one is also Win 7. Any comments on all of this?

Also, the new one runs on network shell software installed by the company IT department.

Thanks - Mike

|

Mark as:

Currently Being Moderated

4. John T Smith,

Nov 9, 2011 10:25 AM in reply to Michael Walton

Report

>new one runs on network shell software

Not knowing what that means, I may only post these previous discussions

Win Server is NOT supported http://forums.adobe.com/thread/851602?tstart=0

Not in a Network environment http://forums.adobe.com/thread/771151?tstart=0

-and not on a "domain" http://forums.adobe.com/thread/858977?tstart=0

|

Mark as:

Currently Being Moderated

5. Michael Walton,

Nov 9, 2011 10:32 AM in reply to John T Smith

Report

My apologies. What I meant was, this computer and my old one have various virtual drives. The only real hard drive I have and use is that external drive. So I didn't describe it correctly.

Anyway, I'm reading through all of the links above and I'm just ill about all of this because I honestly don't even know where to start? Should I try the virual XP mode? So much information. This is the first time this has now happened. I've read other posts where folks have complained about SW that didn't work or the PC didn't work and I was always like thank god I don't have to deal with this. Now I do...

Sorry if I'm wimping out here - haha. All I wanna do is crank video out (smile)

|

Mark as:

Currently Being Moderated

6. Michael Walton,

Nov 9, 2011 12:43 PM in reply to Michael Walton

Report

What I just can't understand about this is:

Win XP Optiplex 3 GB RAM - CS4 PP works fine

Alienware Aurora Win 7 12 GB RAM - CS4 PP [different SN] works fine

Win 7 Optiplex 16 GB RAM - CS4 PP same copy as first one [de-activated on first one] does not work

The new Optiplex does not have much on it. It was taken out of the box and then IT hooked up the virtual shared drivs; the external hard drive is then plugged in.

Horrible stuttering, freezing, and so on. All other master collection sw (PSD, Flash etc.) appears to work.

|

Mark as:

Currently Being Moderated

7. John T Smith,

Nov 9, 2011 12:50 PM in reply to Michael Walton

Report

If you have Win7 64bit PRO (or Ultimate) you MIGHT be able to get CS4 to work with the Win7 Virtual XP module

http://windowssecrets.com/newsletter/using-windows-7s-xp-mode-step-by- step/

But, the point of the links in my last message, is that PPro is simply not designed to be run on a network... and often does not

PPro wants a LOCAL computer, with LOCAL (not virtual) drives and the user must be an Administrator for everything to work

As well as the boot drive for Windows and all software, you need AT LEAST one more 7200rpm hard drive for your video data files... internal is best, external eSata should also work http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-BlacX-eSATA-Docking-Station/dp/B001A 4HAFS/ref=cm_cmu_pg_t

An external USB drive may or may not work... depending on your exact hardware and the type of file you edit

|

Mark as:

Currently Being Moderated

8. Michael Walton,

Nov 9, 2011 4:02 PM in reply to John T Smith

Report

John - thanks for the links and comments. I plan to pass this on to my IT person and see if we can figure out the virtual XP thing. Maybe that will fix it.

But one thing I'm still puzzled about is the Alienware is not a virtual machine. I have an internal HD that SW runs on, and then I have one extrernal HD via USB. And it runs fine.

Meanwhile, the older OPTIPLEX runs on the exact same virtual network as the new one. The old works fine but does slow down once in a while, but I can still crank things out.

Now, the new one, with 16 GB RAM and Win 7, is the one that won't work at all. So if one works fine and the other doesn't, and they both use the same virtual and external HD (of course I disconnect the ext HD to and from before using them) then it just sems to be a Win 7 issue.

I also plan to check out the admin thing too. On my old one, I'm pretty sure I have full admin rights, where on the new one, when I tried to do a simple function like changing the icon image for a shortcut, I got a prompt that said "you do not have admin rights to do this function." So that may be telling as well.

Mike

|

Mark as:

Currently Being Moderated

9. Jim Simon,

Nov 9, 2011 8:12 PM in reply to Michael Walton

Report

It was taken out of the box and then IT hooked up the virtual shared drivs

You skipped a few steps there.

1. Wipe the C: drive to get rid of all Dell installed junk.

2. Reinstall Windows from scratch

3. Install only necessary and up to date drivers.

4. Update Windows

5. Reinstall your editing software.

|

Mark as:

Currently Being Moderated

10. Michael Walton,

Nov 10, 2011 2:10 PM in reply to Jim Simon

Report

All - I just wanted to post this to update my PC situation to see if there are more tips from anyone.

IT guy told me that when the new PC came in, he wiped the HD clean, did a new install of Win 7.

He then went in and clicked the check that said "Run Premiere as an Admin"

He told me that the software is not on a virtual drive but on the PC's own C:\ local drive

I still, of course, have the fast external HD connected - the same one that works well with my Alienware and the older XP computer

I then gave him a demo of the problem, opening up Premiere CS4. One thing that is noticed immediately - when a project is open, the program monitor in upper right does not load right away. It takes like a good minute to load. When it does, then I just barely try to scrub timeline, and it seizes up. He understood then what problem is.

When none of above steps helped, he uninstalled Adobe CS4 master collection and is doing a new re-install.

I left the office while that was happening. I guess I'll find out if that helped when I return to office.

Any additional comments are appreciated.

|

Mark as:

Currently Being Moderated

11. l1n,

Nov 16, 2011 12:35 PM in reply to Michael Walton

Report

I had similar problems with the same model of Dell and Same OS however with differnt software ( tax lacerte). After enabling .net 3+ via add remote programs under windows featuers it seemed to fix the problem temporaraily however the problem came back to haunt me. I then updated all of the chipset drivers and the machine is working normally for now (ill let you know if that changes) but give that a shot and make sure to update all your drivers and dont use the dell driver update utility because its broken,

|

Mark as:

Currently Being Moderated

12. l1n,

Nov 16, 2011 1:05 PM in reply to l1n

Report

I also ran itno and Adobe Context Menu problem that would Crash explore.exe whenever I right clicked on anything. Once I disabled it I it was working normally

|

Mark as:

Currently Being Moderated

13. l1n,

Nov 16, 2011 1:06 PM in reply to Michael Walton

Report

my 990 is still giving me problems... its so inconsistanly crashes random applications im oging to call dell..

|

Mark as:

Currently Being Moderated

14. l1n,

Nov 16, 2011 1:47 PM in reply to l1n

Report

try updating the Video driver

|

Mark as:

Currently Being Moderated

15. l1n,

Nov 17, 2011 7:03 AM in reply to l1n

Report

yeah it was the video card drivers... so far so good ( I actually used windows updates to update the vid driver and it was more up to date than dells site and usualy drivers from win updates tend to break PCs. go figure)

|

Mark as:

Currently Being Moderated

16. able123,

Nov 17, 2011 11:35 AM in reply to l1n

Report

hi..I think John posted something about the ext hd connection (usb etc ?? ) ...that was my first thought...

you said..

============

I put all oy my projects on a high-end external drive.

============

but you didnt give info about that ( or else I missed it ). I dont know if you're using usb or firewire800 or esata for that Hd... but that makes a huge difference in performance and response... for example...lets say the program monitor window is trying to get loaded to the GUI ( windows program using API ).. the user interface that you "see" on screen .... and is waiting for a response from ext HD re: source video of timeline etc...( a kind of handshake between HD and program ) ... and the connection between HD and computer isnt very good...you may run into major problems...

Sometimes using firewire800 etc for ext stuff.. you need to limit externals to one external per "chip" on the firewire connection...

But I dont know what you're using... I think it might be worth checking out what your HD connection is, whether it is sharing too many other peripherals on same "hub" or "chip" etc...

??

good luck

ps.. make sure "properties" of ext hd are same on both machines I guess ( indexing off on both etc etc )

|

Mark as:

Currently Being Moderated

17. Michael Walton,

Nov 17, 2011 4:36 PM in reply to able123

Report

Hi All,

Thanks for all of your replies. Here's what I did - I downloaded all of the Adobe CS4 updates. When I did, it seems to work now! However, I've been out of town and when I return, I will see if PPro is in fact working like it should.

I will let you know and again thanks for all of your help.

Mike W.

|

Mark as:

Premiere Pro CS4 & Earlier

Major problem with Dell Optiplex 990

Nov 9, 2011 7:59 AM

More Like This

Bookmarked By (0)

Answers + Points = Status