# Photoshop 4.0 memory HELP! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 16, 2007, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869 "2007-08-16T23:02:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/1 "2007-08-16T23:02:15Z")
Photoshop was crashing, 'cause we only had .25G. So I went out and bought an additional 1G. Installed it. OS sees it, says I now have 1.25G. Try to start PhotoShop, it says “Not enough RAM”. What?!? VeryCoolSpouse must put together postcards for the new art show. Today. Now. ASAP. Thank you for your kind support. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/2 "2007-08-16T23:10:42Z")
What OS? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/3 "2007-08-16T23:35:17Z")
Don’t know if this will work, but try taking out the .25 and leaving only the 1G in. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/4 "2007-08-16T23:50:04Z")
Jeepers, you can tell I had a long day. This is Windows XP. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/5 "2007-08-16T23:52:31Z")
[QUOTE=NoCoolUserName] Jeepers, you can tell I had a long day. This is Windows XP. [/QUOTE] Then I will be of absolutely no help 😃 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2007, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/6 "2007-08-16T23:55:11Z")
Wow. Windows XP and Photoshop on 1GB of RAM? Can’t say as I’m surprised it’s not working right. Is this _Photoshop_ Photoshop, or Photoshop Elements? ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/7 "2007-08-17T00:02:06Z")
Well, I’d check the Help/About but the darned thing won’t start! 🙂 Regular Photoshop. Version 4.0. Windows XP Home Edition, Version 2002, SP 2. Removing the 256K card didn’t help. I put the 1G card in the “1st” slot (where the 256 used to be). Dunno if that is relevant. PS used to run, if badly, with just the 256 card in. It would crash if you opened a big pic, even with a large scratch disk, but it would darned well start. Now it won’t. The exact message is (stops to check): > [@](#): > > There is not enough memory (RAM) to launch Photoshop. I’ll try moving the memory sticks around to see if that helps. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/8 "2007-08-17T00:05:12Z")
Worst case scenario, would **VeryCoolSpouse** consider switching to [The Gimp](http://www.gimp.org/) (which, IIRC, has much gentler minimum requirements) until you can get Photoshop back up and running? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/9 "2007-08-17T00:05:38Z")
Maybe this will help? [http://forum.networktechs.com/showthread.php?t=324](http://forum.networktechs.com/showthread.php?t=324) And here’s another thread: [http://forums.techguy.org/all-other-software/128902-photoshop-launch-problem.html](http://forums.techguy.org/all-other-software/128902-photoshop-launch-problem.html) Photoshop 4 seems to be pretty old and may have memory issues with XP. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/10 "2007-08-17T00:11:42Z")
[QUOTE=Reply] …Photoshop 4 seems to be pretty old and may have memory issues with XP. [/QUOTE] Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner in the “understatement of the week” competition! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/11 "2007-08-17T00:13:25Z")
Tried the 1/4G in the "first"slot with 1G in the other, still no joy. VeryCoolSpouse is not very comfortable in the “new software” department, but we are short of options at this point. I’m downloading now. Thanks everyone for the advice–I’d be happy to hear more if anyone has any. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/12 "2007-08-17T00:16:06Z")
Oh, I see now what y’all mean. I didn’t realize that Photoshop 4 was not concurrent with Photoshop Elements 4, which is what I use. Are you using the software configuration dealy that XP gives you to tweak performance on old Win95 programs? ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/13 "2007-08-17T00:22:58Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Oh, I see now what y’all mean. I didn’t realize that Photoshop 4 was not concurrent with Photoshop Elements 4, which is what I use. Are you using the software configuration dealy that XP gives you to tweak performance on old Win95 programs? [/QUOTE] Not sure what dealy you mean here. I tried tweeking the properties of the shortcut that opens PS, and no joy there no matter which option I chose. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/14 "2007-08-17T00:24:40Z")
Tried opening the PSP file with Gimp, and it errored out. \ Some days it’s not worth getting out of bed. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/15 "2007-08-17T00:27:36Z")
[QUOTE=NoCoolUserName] Not sure what dealy you mean here. [/QUOTE] [Run Older Programs on Windows XP](http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/appcompat.mspx) Disclaimer: I haven’t tried it, don’t know for sure what it does or how. I still have a PC that dual boots Win3.1 and Win98 just exactly so I don’t have to deal with this kind of problem. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/16 "2007-08-17T00:37:13Z")
[QUOTE=NoCoolUserName] PSP file [/QUOTE] Wait … Paint Shop Pro now? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/17 "2007-08-17T01:18:30Z")
1. Many of the older graphics programs have a setting under options where you can assign hard drive space as a cache for the program. 2. They also often had a setting for how much ram they could use. Check that there isn’t some low amount of ram specified. 3. Check your system cache and be sure it’s not limiting the size of your XP cache. Low hard drive space can also limit the cache. Both these have happened to me in the past, and the graphics program told me I didn’t have enough memory. 4. Older graphics programs can also have an issue with photos over 2G and 4G in size. Most people don’t have files that large, but see what size your’s are. Check the first three before the last is checked. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/18 "2007-08-17T01:43:29Z")
My confusion comes over how it worked with 1/4 Gig, but now that we’re over 1 G it’s complaining about memory. Where do I check the size of the XP cache? I tried the Compatibility Mode stuff. Didn’t work. Thanks anyway. I’ll get back on that one and post further detail in a few minutes. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/19 "2007-08-17T02:09:30Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Wow. Windows XP and Photoshop on 1GB of RAM? Can’t say as I’m surprised it’s not working right. Is this _Photoshop_ Photoshop, or Photoshop Elements? [/QUOTE] It isn’t _that_ bad. I run CS2 on XP with 512MB of RAM. I, uh, can’t really do much else with it open, but if it is the only thing I keep focus on the program itself runs speedy nice. Reinstall Photoshop before going around and panicking. Often a reinstall makes everything all better. 🙂 And if it is actually a PSP file and your wife often makes them, I would suggest switching to Paint Shop Pro permanently because it has a much, much smaller memory footprint. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869/20 "2007-08-17T02:14:30Z")
PSD file. PSD! Sheesh, one typo and they’re all over ya. > [@](#): > > GIMP errored out Error: Can’t convert PSD mode to to GIMP base imagetype [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/photoshop-4-0-memory-help/415869.md?page=2)