Photoshop CS4 Disassociation Issue

I know others have reported Photoshop CS4 having issues when working with 3D files and the .psb file becoming disassociated. Generally, just closing the file and reopening fixes the connection, but more and more often when I reopen the file it's still not connecting. Many times I start getting this big white block where I try to draw instead of the mark I was trying to make. See Pic:



I've had times where I can't get the files to reconnect at all no matter what I try, and the only fix is to copy everything over to a new file. Is anyone else having this problem? If so, have you found a better fix for it?

Sorry to hear of your troubles, Betty. I've never seen that white block problem, although I did have plenty if disassociation issues before I upgraded my OS to 64-bit. I haven't had any since (although to be fair, I also haven't done a whole lot of 3D painting in the last few weeks).

From my observations, and from talking with colleagues, the general consensus seems to be that in a 32-bit environment, PS CS4 is pretty unstable. But in a 64-bit environment with 4GB of RAM or more, it's very solid. If your hardware is capable, my best advice would be to upgrade to a 64-bit OS if you're currently running a 32-bit one. If you're already using 64-bit, and you already have more than 4GB of RAM, and you're still having this problem, then I'm not sure what else to suggest.

Sorry I don't have an easier answer.


ETA: The white block thing might be a graphics driver issue. What graphics card do you have, and what driver version are you running?

Thanks for your response, Chosen. I should have specified that I'm on an iMac, which has an ATI,RadeonHD2600 video card, so 64-bit isn't an option. I only have 2GB of RAM right now and have been planning on upgrading to 4GB -- I need to go ahead and do that. I'm not sure of the driver version. I see I do have a firmware update to install, and I *think* they come bundled with that. I'll try that now.

Well, I've been working all morning and only one disconnection so far and none of the evil white block, won't reconnect ones, so... Yay!! *knocks on wood* Hopefully, once I get the memory up to 4GB, it'll get rid of the disconnection issue all together. So, if anyone else is having the issue... try updating your firmware.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't iMac's been shipping with Leopard installed for some time now? Leopard is a 64-bit OS, as far as I know.

In any case, the video card itself couldn't prevent you from going 64-bit, unless there are no 64-bit drivers available for it. I don't use Apple or ATI products, so
I don't know what's available for what off hand, but a quick Google search just led me to this: http://www.opendrivers.com/driver/241867/apple-mac-pro-ati-radeon-hd-2600-xt-firmware-update-20080310-mac-os-x-10.5.2-or-later-free-download.html , which appears to be for the HD 2600 with Leopard.

What would prevent you from using a 64-bit OS would be if your CPU and/or chipset don't support it. What have you got for those?



Glad to hear things are going better.



One quick FYI for you. If you're using a 32-bit OS, you wont' be able to use all 4GB of your system RAM. Typically, the usable maximum is somewhere between 3 and 3.5GB. The reason is that all 32-bit operating systems, by definition, have a limit of 4GB of memory, which includes video memory, system RAM, and any other device memory, all combined. Whatever is being used by your video card and any other devices that require memory gets addressed first, and then whatever is left over out of the 4GB cap will be available for system RAM.

So if you've got a 256MB video card, you'll be able to use a maximum of 3.75GB of system RAM, assuming no other devices are using any memory. That's obviously way better than just the 2 you've got now, so there's no reason not to install the 4. I just didn't want you to be surprised if it reads as less than 4 by your system.

To use all 4GB of system RAM, you'll need to go with a 64-bit OS. Again, I don't pretend to know all that much about Mac's, but from what I've read, if you're running Leopard, you're already there. (Hopefully someone more knowledgeable on that will correct me if I'm wrong.)

Oh..it's not the OS that prevents the 64-bit.... Photoshop CS4 wasn't released in 64-bit for Macs. My OS is 10.5.5, which is the latest release.

http://www.macworld.com/article/132810/2008/04/photoshop64.html

OK, we were talking about two different things.

Yes, I know the 64-bit version of PS is Windows-only (at least until CS5), but even the 32-bit version of the program should still be more stable in a 64-bit environment than in a 32-bit environment, since more resources can potentially be available. Upgrade to 4GB of RAM or more, and it should fly for you. The only thing you won't be able to do that Windows users can is to work with files that are larger than 4GB each, which you'll probably never do anyway, at least not for SL stuff.

ahhhh.... ok. Thanks! I didn't realize that there was a benefit to 32-bit programs running under a 64-bit OS besides the increased RAM allowance. Good to know. It's already running tons better with the firmware update. Just gotta get that memory ordered.