Photoshop CS3 problems on a mac

Belruel

Like the title says, my copy of photoshop acts up periodically, then starts behaving again later.

what happens is i am trying to draw, and the whole program lags. i can't click menu buttons, i can't draw, i can't click around anywhere on anything in photoshop. a minute or so later (sometimes about 5 minutes) it all catches up really quickly, if i have clicked out of the program by this time the actions happen as though i had just clicked around on my current page. highlighting text if i had been drawing, clicking where i had clicked earlier, only now on my current window.

i can then go back into photoshop when i have been able to tell it caught up, and draw for a minute or two before it happens again. if i keep going on one continual stroke it won't happen until i lift my pen and try to do anything else.

computer:macbook pro, running mac os X
processor: 2.2 GHz Intel Core Duo
memory: 4GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

i have googled this to death every time it happens, i have tried resetting my photoshop preferences to default by clicking the dock icon while holding option+shift+command, and it worked the first time, but i don't think it was the cause of the ultimate fix, because it hasn't worked to fix it this time or the last time this happened.

i repaired permissions earlier today, reset the computer multiple times, and reinstalled my wacom drivers. my mac's software updates are all up to date, as are my photoshop updates.

any other ideas to try would be fantastic, thanks.

Szechuanosaurus

Have you tried optimizing your Performance Settings?

My gut is telling me the most likely culprit may be your scratch disk. As you're using a macbook, I presume your scratch disk is the same drive as everything else is running of - OS, Photoshop, any other programs that are open. If it's having to fulfill multiple tasks concurrently it'll slow photoshopping down, if it's not got enough room or space allocated to photoshop to store the tasks you're performing it'll slow photoshopping down.

Also check your document settings. If you are trying to do natural drawing on a document 2m square at 1200dpi then...good luck, basically. Larger canvas/resolution = more data for the computer to process and transfer to/from the scratch disk every time you make a stroke with your wacom. Check that the document resolution is DPI and not DPCM. 300dpcm is A LOT bigger than 300dpi.

Belruel

when i doodle i use 72dpi, when i am doing something more serious the highest i go to is 300dpi

i'll mess with the scratch disk, i never quite understood what it was all about, but you put it rather plainly and that makes sense, thanks so much for the link and advice, i hope it works.

Belruel

hmm, would the scratch disk issue explain how this problem in photoshop only happens sometimes, for clumps of time, then goes away for a while?

i have tried shutting down everything except for photoshop, and the error still happens

edit- played around with some settings, no luck yet. i really hope it isn't the scratch disk, but if it is, would i be able to use the same external hard drive that i backup my laptop on as photoshop's scratch disk?

i am getting one of those western digital 'my passport's for christmas. it wouldn't be too much of a bother to just make sure to have it plugged in when i am drawing in photoshop

Szechuanosaurus

Maybe downloading software updates in the background? OSX will do that.

Belruel

does it do that constantly for days?

i also made sure that all my software was up to date when the problem started, i was hoping it was just a problem with updates or drivers

Szechuanosaurus

Probably not. It's just something that has happened to me frequently in the past. Usually for an hour or two in the morning with me banging my head against the desk before a pop-up explaining that the cause of my frustration has been auto-update cheekily downloading stuff in the background.

An external HDD should work as a scratch disk, not sure how well they perform with the lower data rate speeds.

How much room is actually left on your hard drive? Sometimes it's just the disk getting too full.

Belruel

hmm

capacity: 112.88 GB
available: 20.93 GB

Szechuanosaurus

Eh, that seems ok. I think they generally say don't let your hard drive get below 10% capacity or something.

It could of course be completely unrelated to the scratch disk. That's just the first stop when you are having performance issues with Photoshop. Does it only happen with the Wacom pad or does it happen if the pad is unplugged and you're doing stuff with the mouse? Are there other USB devices plugged in while you use it? Are you plugged in directly to the macbooks USB port or are you goign through a hub?

Belruel

directly into the mac

and actually, i can't tell you if it happens with my trackpad because when i went to test it right now, the problem is no longer there. after nearly three days of pulling my hair out, it fixed itself again somehow. it was giving me no lag, with my trackpad, so i grabbed my tablet and plugged it in, scribbled for a good few minutes, started a basic drawing, and nothing.

things i have changed since testing it just a few hours ago: nothing. i browsed the internet, didn't restart my computer, didn't delete or install anything.

i am glad it is not being fussy right now, but god damn i wish i knew how to fix it when it goes all bitchy without waiting for an act of god.