Elements 18 and RAM Help, please: Have used Elements 10 for years in my HP Pavilion dv6-21-2155dx - bought E 18 and it won't make a collage due to not enough RAM, or so it says. Been...

one shot Loc: Pisgah Forest NC

Have used Elements 10 for years in my HP Pavilion dv6-21-2155dx - bought E 18 and it won't make a collage due to not enough RAM, or so it says. Been swimming in Microsoft and Adobe all day and don't get answers. Has anyone returned Elements 18 or bought RAM to solve the problem?
Thanks for helping! I'm not a technogeek!

rwilson1942 Loc: Houston, TX

According to the specs I saw, the HP Pavilion dv6-21-2155dx only cam with 4Gb of RAM.
The specs for E 18 call for a minimum of 8Gb RAM.
According to Amazon you can get 8Gb for ~$55.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Elements 2018 only requires four GB Ram:

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop-elements/system-requirements.html

But, note the several other requirements also mentioned in that link. In PSE under "preferences/performance" there is a "memory allocation" slider that you might try adjusting. If you move the slider to allocate a little more, then also be sure to keep other programs closed - including going offline and pausing any virus protection.

Were you able to speak with someone directly, or were you looking at online articles? Hopefully, you can find someone to guide you through a checklist of potential issues.

As for returning the program, check the return policy for opened (or downloaded) software where you purchased.

rwilson1942 Loc: Houston, TX

Linda From Maine wrote:

Elements 2018 only requires four GB Ram:

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop-elements/system-requirements.html

But, note the several other requirements mentioned in that link. Were you able to speak with someone directly, or just looking at online articles? As for returning the program, where did you purchase and what is their return policy for opened software?

Interesting, when I did a search earlier I found specs that said 8Gb but it doesn't turn up now.
I would still consider 8Gb a minimum for running any post processing software.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

rwilson1942 wrote:

Interesting, when I did a search earlier I found specs that said 8Gb but it doesn't turn up now.
I would still consider 8Gb a minimum for running any post processing software.

I agree, but processor speed and other considerations (graphics cards?) all seem to conspire in making computers obsolete after just a few years when you want to purchase new software

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Linda From Maine wrote:

Elements 2018 only requires four GB Ram: br br ht... (show quote)

That may be, but (and it's a big one) system RAM is not 100% available for applications. Right click on the Taskbar, choose Task Manager. Click on the Performance tab and Open Resource Monitor. You will want to see how much memory is available over and above Hardware Reserve + In Use.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

rgrenaderphoto wrote:

That may be, but (and it's a big one) system RAM is not 100% available for applications. Right click on the Taskbar, choose Task Manager. Click on the Performance tab and Open Resource Monitor. You will want to see how much memory is available over and above Hardware Reserve + In Use.

Good advice - look at memory (and CPU) usage while the ap is running, but even without knowing the results, I would say that as a general rule, depending on what OS you’re running, 4GB is not adequate to process imagery unless you’re a VERY patient man. 4GB will barely run a Windows 10 OS and a web browser, much less an image processing ap. Best advice - buy 4GB more memory (minimum) - you’ll find it’s a big improvement in many circumstances, not just running PSE. If you have inadequate RAM, then your system will be constantly paging to and from disk, and that’s the ultimate performance killer.

one shot Loc: Pisgah Forest NC

rwilson1942 wrote:

According to the specs I saw, the HP Pavilion dv6-21-2155dx only cam with 4Gb of RAM.
The specs for E 18 call for a minimum of 8Gb RAM.
According to Amazon you can get 8Gb for ~$55.

Thanks for the info. Does the brand of RAM matter? I assume more than one manufacturer.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

one shot wrote:

Thanks for the info. Does the brand of RAM matter? I assume more than one manufacturer.

Not the brand, but the type (DDR3,4 etc) number of pins, parity/non parity and speed does matter - best to match what you have. If you can either look at the existing memory, check the manual or pull up control panel, go to system, device manager and look at the memory specs, one of those will tell you. Also, if you Google the specs on the machine, then it should be there under memory. If you feel uncomfortable ordering or installing (touch the case to ground yourself before handling and do not touch the pins), then get a local computer shop to do the upgrade.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

rgrenader and triX made excellent points my pea brain didn't consider. Just to put another thing into perspective for the OP also, PSE 10 only had a requirement of 1 GB ram. And don't forget to check those other requirements, including available hard disk space!

one shot Loc: Pisgah Forest NC

Linda From Maine wrote:

Elements 2018 only requires four GB Ram: br br ht... (show quote)

Don't trust myself to do much with the computers "innards". No, I didn't speak to anyone. I bought the program online. After trying to do the collage in E18, I put the pictures in E10 and made the collage.

One other thing - can't get the computer to defrag although it says it's 100% fragmented.

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

one shot wrote:

Have used Elements 10 for years in my HP Pavilion dv6-21-2155dx - bought E 18 and it won't make a collage due to not enough RAM, or so it says. Been swimming in Microsoft and Adobe all day and don't get answers. Has anyone returned Elements 18 or bought RAM to solve the problem?
Thanks for helping! I'm not a technogeek!

I got rid of Elements 8 many years ago, because if was eating up too much ram, switched to full size PS (it uses a lot less) and things went a lot smoother!

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

one shot wrote:

Don't trust myself to do much with the computers "innards". No, I didn't speak to anyone. I bought the program online. After trying to do the collage in E18, I put the pictures in E10 and made the collage.

One other thing - can't get the computer to defrag although it says it's 100% fragmented.

Perhaps you don’t have enough free disk space to do the defrag - the operation needs free disk space to relocate files during the operation. How large is your hard disk and how much is used? If it’s 90+ % full, then (a) you need a bigger HD. If so, when you get the memory installed, have them install another drive, preferably an SSD, which will dramatically speed up the computer, or (b) free up some disk space by emptying your recycle bin, deleting some unused files or applications.

one shot Loc: Pisgah Forest NC

TriX wrote:

Good advice - look at memory (and CPU) usage while... (show quote)

Thanks for your input. This is the first time I've had trouble running anything. I run Lightroom and Elements 10 with no problems.

one shot Loc: Pisgah Forest NC

speters wrote:

I got rid of Elements 8 many years ago, because if was eating up too much ram, switched to full size PS (it uses a lot less) and things went a lot smoother!

Thank you for taking time to comment.