Can Anyone help???

[John 2]

I use PS CS6. Bridge has gone awry to the extent that it is causing the dreaded blue screen. I need to rebuild PS but does anyone know if I can just carry out a repair using my backup disk or do I need to reload the whole software set. I ask because given the number of plugins I have loaded, a total rebuild will be a lengthy process. Grateful for any advice.

[Shadowman]

Before you rebuild, try to backtrack to see if you can get to the point where the error occurs, meaning when did it start happening, was there a recent plug-in added, have you tried the troubleshooting steps from Adobe website?

[chauncey]

If your a windows guy...You might try using "system restore" which is in Windows.
Run a search of your system for it.

[Colin Southern]

The usual fix for things like this is to just reset the preferences file - have you tried that?

[John 2]

Thanks for your suggestions.

John, haven't added anything new recently but occasionally the auto updates from MS and for my security software have cause hiccups so it could be that.

Wm, things have been a bit flaky for a while. Coincidently, I have just deleted a whole raft of Windows backup files to make room on my backup disk and I suspect that the last backup that I kept will have the roots of the problem built in.

Colin, yes I tried that and purging the cache which the system is having trouble reading. It can't see any sub folders although they are still there and readable in Windows Explorer thank goodness.

Looks like I will have to bite the bullet this weekend. It's like losing an arm.

[Mark von Kanel]

Bridge gone awry.... Colin im keeping my mouth shut....

Seriously though John my hart goes out to you. good luck

[Colin Southern]

Bridge gone awry.... Colin im keeping my mouth shut....

At least there's ZERO danger to the images -- unlike that other program by default!

[Colin Southern]

John,

Just wondering if your PC is possibly having wider issues. Have you run a full disk check? RAM check? Checked the event logs?

[John 2]

That's a thought Colin. It's a fairly high spec home built machine and it goes like a train but it does have the occasional niggle. e.g just recently, once or twice it didn't make the hard wired Ethernet connection to the modem because the Ethernet adapter was disabled at switch on. Easily cured and it has stopped happening of its own accord. IE 11 also stops working occasionally and restarts itself then reloads the web site it's connected to. It's almost as if there is a cyclic glitch. The trouble with the event logs is that they don't mean much to me. I don't have the software to check the memory but the boot check comes up clean. However a Disk check would be worth while. Thanks for that.

[Colin Southern]

That's a thought Colin. It's a fairly high spec home built machine and it goes like a train but it does have the occasional niggle. e.g just recently, once or twice it didn't make the hard wired Ethernet connection to the modem because the Ethernet adapter was disabled at switch on. Easily cured and it has stopped happening of its own accord. IE 11 also stops working occasionally and restarts itself then reloads the web site it's connected to. It's almost as if there is a cyclic glitch. The trouble with the event logs is that they don't mean much to me. I don't have the software to check the memory but the boot check comes up clean. However a Disk check would be worth while. Thanks for that.

Hi John,

It's sounding more and more like a RAM problem. Testing RAM is easy - just pop along to http://www.memtest86.com/ - download the .ISO - burn it to a CD or DVD - and boot from it. it's very VERY V E R Y thorough. The longer you can leave it the better though - preferably at least overnight.

[John 2]

Thanks Colin. Disk check showed no problems and so I will do that but things are getting stranger. I can't delete Ps CS6 because it isn't listed in my W7 Control Panel programme delete listing. That's a new one on me. It is present in the list of programme and PS (as opposed to Bridge) works normally provided I open up images from Window explorer. Very strange and troubling. Looks like I might need a total rebuild. BTW, do I need the pro edition of Memtest or will the free edition be enough?

[Colin Southern]

Hi John,

With an PC installation you need to make sure that the hardware is stable before worrying about the software because flaky hardware can and (eventually) will screw up your software installation - so my suggestion is to get on to that first.

After your hardware has passed the RAM test, it sounds like a clean install might be needed - just be sure to de-activate any Adobe paid products first or you run the risk of them not activating (they used to write a key to the engineering track on the hard drive that survives even a full format, but not sure if they still do it that way - and wouldn't want to risk it). You could also run a registry checker over your system and/or restore it a month or so (doesn't effect data) - that's probably you best chance of getting an in-tact registry.

Often with things like this you just have to make a decision and run with it - I've wasted days trying to sort systems and then had to reload them from scratch anyway - so these days on the rare occasions I have to do it, I tend to make the call "earlier" rather than "later".

Free edition is all you need.

[John 2]

Thanks Colin. The memory check is on its third run (I'm on a tablet at the moment). 256 errors so far but I don't know whether that is normal or not. I built the machine from a bundled MB that included an over clocked i7 processor. I don't need that and I'm wondering if it is the cause of some instability. Thanks for all of your input. I feel a rebuild coming on.

[NigelD]

I find that Revo is good software for installing and uninstalling programmes and it removes traces leftover as well.

[Colin Southern]

Thanks Colin. The memory check is on its third run (I'm on a tablet at the moment). 256 errors so far but I don't know whether that is normal or not. I built the machine from a bundled MB that included an over clocked i7 processor. I don't need that and I'm wondering if it is the cause of some instability. Thanks for all of your input. I feel a rebuild coming on.

Anything other than ZERO errors is completely unacceptable.

Sounds like you've found the source of the problem.

[Colin Southern]

Update: Just a wee bit on over-clocking ...

You can over-clock a number of system components, but often you don't get much improvement in practice (it's more of a "numbers on a test result" kinda thing).

Over-clocking processors: Generally there's little to be gained unless you're in to things like water / refrigerated cooling - at which point you MIGHT get it going 50% faster. With air cooling - basically - the gains you make are just eating up the safety margin - and when you get warmer days and/or cooling fins get a bit blocked from dust, then you end up with issues that can corrupt a system. An i7 (especially in a system with 8GB or more of RAM and an SSD drive) is plenty fast for most things.

Over-clocking RAM: Again, generally the gains are minimal - and you often have to increase the voltage slightly - which increases heat - which in-turn decreases stability and/or you need specific cooling on the RAM.

System Buses: It just ain't worth it.

Video Cards: Again, not really worth it unless you're into high-end games.

If you're getting any memory errors on the test then I'd be inclined to try and identify which stick and go from there. If anything is over-clocked then resetting the BIOS to it's defaults might help. 256 memory errors is a "bingo" moment.

Hope this helps.

[John 2]

Nigel, thanks. I seem to have two problems, probably from the same root cause. Photoshop will need to be removed and Revo might be the only way to do it. With Colin's help. I seem to have uncovered the root cause as being some bad memory.

Colin, thanks for the further info. At the end of an eight hour run, the check had registered 1382 errors. I have 16GB of RAM in four sticks. I'm now trying to decide whether to retest them in pairs to locate the problem stick(s) or just upgrade the system with new memory. It's 800Mhz DDR3 My local supplier doesn't sell anything that slow anymore and so replacing like with like would be a problem. I might just run with 8GB or12GB, depending on what I find. I won't re-clock the CPU until all else is working properly. Thanks again for all of your input. One day I will hopefully get back to posting a few images.