Troubleshooting

Please read all of this information, and post answers to the questions in the "Finally" section if you were directed here as a result of having asked a "lacking information" question in a forum.

Troubleshooting is a process of ellimination. It can be tedious, but it is the only way to zero in on the problem. If you do not work methodically then you are prolonging the time it takes to arrive at a solution.

Quick Tips

 * Remove all Adobe beta software installed on your computer. For CS4 see here. For CS3 see here.


 * Ensure your OS is set to display at least 32bit color. Lower display settings are known to cause proble   ms.


 * If you are using more than one monitor, switch to using only one monitor while troubleshooting.


 * Open Premiere pro and load a default workspace, for example Window &gt; Workspace &gt; Edit. Then choos e Window  &gt; Workspace &gt; Reset workspace name, where workspace name is the name of the workspace you loaded.


 * Check your scratch disk settings, especially the Media Cache. If Premiere Pro is trying to use a disk that is no longer accessible, or a directory (folder) that is read-only, it causes strange problems. Do not use network drives.


 * Check that you have more than 20% of free disk space remaining on every hard drive.


 * Check your settings in your Audio hardware preferences.


 * If the Adobe Media Encoder does not launch, try deleting the AME preferences from C:\users\username\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Media Encoder\4.0


 * For MS Windows users:
 * If you are using the /3GB switch in your boot.ini then remove it while troubleshooting.
 * Close Premiere Pro and rename the folder "C:\Documents and Settings\your_user_name\Application Data\Adobe\Premiere Pro\x.x", where "x.x" is the version of Premiere Pro you're using. You may need to show hidden files.
 * If you have more than one CPU (or hyperthreading) set the Premiere Pro process affinity to the primary processor. See Managing processor affinity on multiprocessor systems for instructions.
 * Hold down the SHIFT key while starting Premiere Pro (CS3 and earlier) until you reach the welcome screen.
 * Change Control Panel → Display Settings → Settings → Advanced → General → DPI Setting: Normal size (96 DPI)
 * Change Control Panel → Display Settings → Appearance → Font size: Normal
 * Right-click on the Premiere Pro shortcut (or the Premiere Pro executable itself) and select "Properties" from the pop-up menu. Click on the "Compatibility" tab and check the "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings" option.

General

 * Apply all available updates.


 * For installation and startup issues see:
 * kb328850: Troubleshoot installation problems (Adobe Production Studio on Windows)
 * kb329132: Troubleshoot installation and startup (Adobe Premiere Pro 1.x)
 * kb332224: Troubleshoot installation and startup (Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0)
 * kb332850: Adobe Production Studio freezes during installation of Common files
 * kb332888: Freeze or crash when you start on a system with Realtek HD Audio (Premiere Pro)
 * kb401521: Adobe Creative Suite 3 application installer closes with error code 2739 (Windows Vista)
 * kb402173: Troubleshoot Installation and Startup (Premiere Pro CS3 on Mac OS X)
 * kb402177: Troubleshooting installation and startup issues (Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 on Windows XP)
 * kb403969: "Error 1935. An error occurred during the installation of assembly component 'Microsoft.VC80.CRT"


 * For video problems see:
 * kb407928: Troubleshoot problems with AVI, MOV, MPEG, and other kinds of video files (Premiere Pro CS4 on Windows)
 * kb406449 Troubleshoot problems with AVI, MOV, MPEG, and other kinds of video files (Premiere Pro CS3 on Windows)


 * For audio problems see:
 * kb407927: No sound during playback of video or audio clips (Premiere Pro CS4 on Windows)
 * kb406448: No sound during playback of video or audio clips (Premiere Pro CS3 on Windows)


 * For system problems see:
 * kb405950: Troubleshoot system errors or freezes in Premiere Pro CS4 (Windows XP and Vista)


 * If you have clips with spaces or punctuation in the filename, offline them and rename them using only letters and numbers, then online the clips.


 * Review interface problems in Premiere Pro User Interface


 * It takes only one unexpectedly corrupt clip to cause endless problems. Make a list of all of your media clips. Play each one in an external media player and check off each one that is successful.


 * Comprehensively work your way through each of your hardware devices and visit the manufacturer's Web site to download and install the latest drivers. Video card and audio card drivers are the primary causes of problems, but drivers for other pieces of hardware often cause problems too.
 * Right click on the screen, select properties, select settings, advanced, troubleshoot and decrease hardware acceleration.
 * Sometimes it may be better to revert to a previous version of your video or audio driver if the latest version causes problems.


 * Temporarily disable everything that runs in background that isn't absolutely necessary. For example:
 * virus checkers
 * instant messengers
 * skinning software
 * power/temperature monitoring software
 * automatic updates
 * drive monitors/auto-defragmenters.


 * If you have more than one audio device, change the selected device for "Sound Playback" and "Sound Recording" in the "Sounds and Audio Devices" section of the Windows Control Panel. Then choose the same device in your Premiere Pro preferences.


 * Check the Windows Device Manager for hardware items listed twice that should only be there once. It has been reported that Microsoft IntelliType can appear twice for a Microsoft wireless device which causes display issues.


 * Turn off your computer.
 * Disconnect everything from your computer except for the power cable, monitor cable, speaker cable, mouse and keyboard.
 * You can even remove unneeded expansion cards from your computer until you have identified the problem. At most you need a video card and an audio card. Take everything else out.


 * Start your computer and watch carefully for any error or warning messages.


 * Create a new administrator account and log in with it.


 * Review all the Windows Event Logs  for clues to problems with your computer.


 * Use the free memory test utility from MemTest.org to test your RAM.


 * If you have four sticks of memory, remove two of them. If the problem persists then replace the two left with the two you removed. If the problem persists then chances are good it is not bad RAM.


 * Follow the instructions in the following Adobe Technical Support Documents to optimize your editing workstation:
 * kb322683 Optimize Windows XP for Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0
 * kb329147 Optimize Windows XP
 * kb402168 Optimize performance in Premiere Pro CS3 on Mac OS
 * kb402169 Optimize Windows Vista for Adobe Premiere Pro CS3
 * kb402172 Optimize Windows XP for Premiere Pro CS3
 * kb405455 Optimize Mac OS X for Adobe Premiere Pro CS4
 * kb405744 Optimize Windows Vista for Adobe Premiere Pro CS4
 * kb405749 Optimize Windows XP for Adobe Premiere Pro CS4


 * Use a utility like SHERLOCK to identify missing or corrupt codecs.


 * Defragment all of your drives and run error checking on them.


 * Create a new project and import two short (less than a minute) clips into it. Now try to reproduce the problem. If you can reproduce the problem, put the project file and the two clips into a single ZIP file and upload it to this site. Then let others know so they can download the project and test it.


 * Use the free HDtach utility to test that each and every drive is performing properly.


 * Check the temperature of CPU, hard disks and GPU. The most common problem is that cooling is problematic. Use something like the free Speedfan to check whether you do not have cooling problems.


 * Check your power supply. It may be underpowered and cause numerous instability problems. You can use Speedfan to check the voltage on the various rails, but you can also use this free Calculator to check whether your power supply is up to it's task.


 * Check your video card, often the hottest component in your system. You can use HWMonitor to check your GPU temperature.
 * Reduce the fancy capabilities of your video and audio cards step-by-step until you eliminate the crashes.


 * Check your Premiere Pro audio preferences to be sure that the selected sound device is one that is actually installed in your computer.


 * In each program that is crashing, reduce the amount of graphics and audio processing that is handled by your video and audio cards, and give more of the computing effort to the CPU. Preference selections with names like "Safe Mode", "GDI Only" or "Compatible" will perform this function.


 * SysInternals (owned by Microsoft) has many utilities to check what is going on in your Windows based computer. Well worth using!

Titler

 * See the Titler page for troubleshooting title problems.

Devices

 * For Windows XP and Vista, use these instructions to automatically test your drivers.
 * Try to find the point of failure by swapping out piece by piece each item in the chain, testing thoroughly after making each change.
 * For example, if it is a camera problem then (1) try a different firewire cable, (2) then try a different camera, (3) then try a different computer.
 * If it is a software problem, try different software that performs the same function.
 * Learn from reports of other people's experiences.
 * Be sure you have your device set/configured correctly. There are many settings that can make a device behave one way when you are expecting it to behave another way. Read the owner's manual thoroughly.

Finally

 * If you cannot get to the bottom of your problem then by all means create one new thread in an applicable public forum with the following details:
 * 1) The codecs used in your source clips (use the FREE GSpot or MediaInfo to determine the codec)
 * 2) Premiere Pro
 * 3) Version number
 * 4) Installation language
 * 5) Updates applied
 * 6) Project/sequence settings
 * 7) Operating System
 * 8) Name
 * 9) Update/patch level
 * 10) Installed language
 * 11) Display resolution and color depth.
 * 12) CPU type and speed
 * 13) Amount of memory (RAM)
 * 14) Video card
 * 15) Manufacturer
 * 16) Model
 * 17) Driver version
 * 18) Number of monitors (displays) in use
 * 19) Audio card
 * 20) Manufacturer
 * 21) Model
 * 22) Driver version
 * 23) Each hard drive's capacity and space remaining
 * 24) Disk setup (partitions used, raid configuration, what is where for OS/projects/media/scratch/audio)
 * 25) Hardware capture device
 * 26) Manufacturer
 * 27) Model
 * 28) Driver version number
 * 29) Capture software
 * 30) Name
 * 31) Company
 * 32) Version
 * 33) Comprehensive list of third-party plug-ins you installed.
 * 34) Exact text of any error messages
 * 35) Explain clearly what you want to do, what you are doing and what the result is
 * 36) Be sure to mention if it is something that worked before using the same procedure
 * 37) Very importantly: Post details of troubleshooting you have already done to avoid "did that" reponses to questions people ask when trying to help.