Thanks for your response, the programs I am using are Photoshop and Bridge, but I am confused that the solution is that I have to go to the expense of upgrading my OS to 64bit and then look forward to further issues. I searched the packaging to see if 64bit was a requirement and was directed to check Adobe website.  In the online product specs, Adobe indicates 2GB of RAM (3GB recommended) for 32 bit. I have 4G RAM.  So it seems to me that I should not need to go to this expense. Hungry or not, according to Adobe, its application should work on my system, but I get the RAM error messages within 10 minutes of using the programs.  I am actually wondering if something may be wrong with my version, but how do I determine this?  I tried again to speak to someone at Adobe, this time listening to the elevator music for 2.5 hours, but I was just left hanging. Do you have any idea how I get in contact with Adobe?  I am not sure how this discussion group works, but I think you are a power user responding out of the kindess of your heart, where I think I need an Adobe IT person as I seem to have their published system requirements and the programs are not working ??

thanks

Joanne

Thanks for following up.  While I am using Photoshop, I also use Bridge, which is what I have been doing for years with no problem. So those are the only two programs open.  When I started getting RAM messages, I ensured no other program was open, including Netscape or Outlook.  I do have the usual background processess in use such as the antivirus program, Brother control centre for scanning,etc., MS upload centre, the audio volume control.  I have 869GB of free space on my C drive.  Since my last post I have spent a hours on the phone with various Adobe people, changed all sorts of preferences, opened new accounts on my desktop, uninstalled, reinstalled, whatever they told me to do, and I am still getting RAM error messages and cannot work with this program.  In fact with all the things they made me change I started getting more problems.I will not have the time to call them again till next week, but as far as I am concerned this situation is unacceptable.

Thanks Pat, I understand the point about upgrading to 64 bit, but my point is, that if that is the case, why does Adobe indicate in the system requirements that this suite of products can be used on a 32 bit with 2 GB RAM?  I just took my computer into the shop to increase the size of my C drive, so I really do not want to go back and spend more money to change the size of my operating system, especially when I do not know if that is the problem?  If I have to upgrade to a 64 bit OS, by the time I am finished I would have added $1,000 to the cost of Photoshop!  I am not a corporation. The amount of time I have spent waiting on the line for Adobe and being passed around from one person to the next and all making me do the same thing to my computer over and over again and still not resolving the issue or replacing this disc, is really frustrating me. Then on the weekends they don't work. In all the years of using PhotoShop and Bridge, I have never had these problems.  And they started right away.  I get the memory messages and the problem with files not opening within 4-5 minutes of working, so it's not to say I can work at least a little bit each day.  I am totally unable to work on this program and an older version is unable to open my Nikon D800 raw files. 

Now that that rant is over - I do not know much about playing around with Virtural Memory - I checked and see that the system is automatically managing the paging file size for all my drives and only the C drive is allocated memory.  The Minimum allocated is 3326 MB, the Recommended is 4989 MB, and the Minimum allowed is 16 MB.  Should I make changes to these settings?

Thanks

Joanne

Thanks for the follow up Pat.  I cannot figure out how to check the memory usage - too many numbers jumping around the place in my task manager.  And anyway the fact remains I am not able to use the product.  It is not after a while that I get the RAM error message, it is after only moments of opening.  And now since I uninstalled and reinstalled as was the last piece of advice given by Adobe, i get the RAM message as well as a program error message now.  But even more frustrating than not being able to use the program is the utter waste of my time trying to connect with Adobe help - I am currently holding on the phone now for 1-1/2 hours, having been "upgraded" to technical support from customer support one more time.  Every single time I have to go through this ridiculous time wasting process - they have given me a bunch of numbers that all lead down the same ridiculous time wasting indifferent path.  The lack of respect for the customer and the customer's time is sickening.

Thanks for your help - i am not doing any more testing - I have tested it to death - i want this program out of here.