Vista - Photoshop Elements 6 and Boot problems with Vista 64 bit.

I have a new computer with Vista Home Premium 64. I installed the software I had been using on my old XP machine, and discovered difficulty with booting up Vista. I found I had to power off and re-power two or three times before it would even get far enough to do a start-up repair. Sometimes even this was not enough to get it to boot up, and I had to switch off and power up again, doing a second start-up repair. Having done the repair, it would then boot up fine, and work normally until shut-down. Next time it was switched on, the same trouble would occur again.

So I restored it to factory settings, then reinstalled all the software, only to find the identical problem.

I restored to factory settings again, and installed my various bits of software, item by item, shutting down the computer and then powering up again after each install.

Everything went fine until I installed Photoshop Elements 6 from the original installation disk. I shut down the computer as with previous installations of software, only to find it would not boot up when I switched it on again.

Did a start-up repair, which did a system restore and removed Elements. I powered down again, restarted the computer without problems - which seems tome to confirm that it's Elements which is the source of the trouble. Might have to use GimpShop instead :-(

Other software I have installed includes the Canon 40D utilities, Panasonic FZ18 utilities, Quicken 2006, Lotus Smart Suite Millennium Edition, and Open Office.

Am I the only one with this problem? Does anyone have a fix for someone who is computer literate, but by no means a Geek?

First off, since that is a new computer, I would have it looked at to see if there are issues that need to be tended to.

As far as Adobe Photoshop Elements 6, according to Window Vista Compatibility Center, Windows Vista Compatibility Adobe Adobe Photoshop Elements, (click the 64-bit tab) it is NOT compatible with Vista x64! You'll need to upgrade.

Good luck

Thanks, sygnus21. This computer was customised for me by the supplier specially so that I could handle photomanipulation!! I shall have to get back to them. It's no use upgrading to Elements 7, because that isn't compatible with Vista 64 either - nor is JASC Paint Shop Pro. Whatever use is 64 bit Vista? I cannot use my Canon scanner any more either, nor can I use Sygate Personal Firewall - and several other applications I have wanted will not work with 64 bit Vista.

I'm sorry to hear you're having such compatibility issues with Vista x64. I always advise people to investigate whether their software or hardware is compatible before moving to a 64-bit OS. Most people think of the upgraded memory and never even think about compatiblity issues. It's one of the most overlooked pitfalls to moving to Vista x64.

And to be honest, I'm surprised you can't use any version of Photoshop Elements with Vista 64. I'm equally surprised about Paint Shop Pro. Have you checked the latest versions?

As far as your Canon Scanner, you could try VueScan Scanning Software Their software incorporates many 64-bit drivers for various scanners. I use it so that I can us my Nikon Scanner with Vista 64.

There are plenty of 64-bit compatible programs out there, you just need to look around.

Other than that, unless you have more than a 4gig memory requirement, I would advise you to move to a 32-bit OS.

64-bit is the way of the future, it's just that some vendors are still moving a bit slow on the 64-bit support. Vista pushed 64 out there, hopefully Windows 7 will push further.

Good luck on whatever decision you make.

Many many thanks, Sygnus21.

My computer seems to have spat out something nasty and has suddenly started behaving like a grown up computer. I've powered down and rebooted about a dozen times with no problem, reinstalled PSE 6, powered down a couple more times and rebooted without problems. Considering this follows two weeks of anguished struggle, you can imagine my feelings of relief. And yes, I've installed Vuescan and got my Canon scanner working again.

Many thanks for all your help.

John