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doroth2 · 03-13-2016, 08:53 PM

I have only recently acquired Lightroom and am enjoying learning the program tremendously. My computer, however, has taken to crashing regularly while Lightroom is open. If the computer itself doesn't crash, the program does, though not every time. I am using an ancient (like late 2006 or 2007) MacBook Pro (given to me by my mother when I realized that my own, even more ancient, MacBook Pro (the first one made) could no longer support the newest OS or most software updates). I have the latest Mac OS, and all my software is up to date. Could this be a computer problem or something else (the computer hasn't crashed while using any other program)?

I would love to purchase a new computer, but I don't think that will be in the budget anytime soon. I just can't justify the price of a new Mac when all I use if for is photos, music, email, and looking online. I really don't want a PC! (Never thought I would be a Mac person!)

If it is a computer problem and I need to figure out how to get a new machine, does anyone have any tips on how to find them cheaper? I am open to refurbished, but even those are often crazy expensive.

Any advice is welcome. Thank you!

stevebrot · 03-13-2016, 09:05 PM

Memory?

Lightroom, as with all photo editing software, is memory hungry. If you can add more memory, that might help, though maybe not.

Steve

doroth2 · 03-13-2016, 09:13 PM

I'm maxed out on Ram. And have recently replaced the hard drive with a much larger one. Maybe it's time to start deleting unnecessary files.

**jatrax** · 03-13-2016, 09:16 PM

I cannot help with a Mac, but I suspect trying to run current Lightroom on a 10 year old computer is the problem. Here is the Adobe requirements page: https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/system-requirements.html You might check to see if your computer is even supposed to be able to run LR.

One solution might be to get a cheap PC just to run Lightroom and leave all your other needs on the Mac. A refurbished PC, or one off a business lease can be very cheap.

doroth2 · 03-13-2016, 09:19 PM

Thanks jatrax, that's not a bad idea to get pc for photo needs only. I'm pretty sure running Lightroom on the old computer is fine. Well, supposedly. The OS and all other programs are current. I'm not a computer buff at all though. You could definitely be right.

---------- Post added 03-14-16 at 04:21 AM ----------

(And thank you for the link.)

**jatrax** · 03-13-2016, 10:06 PM

One other thought, depending on your Lightroom version. Lightroom CC, version 6 has limited support for graphics cards. This has not always worked well, depending on the card and the drivers. You might want to try running it with the graphics card turned off. Go to preferences and look under the performance tab. If you see a check box for "use graphics processor" uncheck it, restart Lightroom and see if that changes anything.

On my PC it was terrible until I updated the video card drivers. Though it was just slow, not crashing.

doroth2 · 03-13-2016, 10:08 PM

Would it make a difference that I am using version 6, not CC?

**jatrax** · 03-13-2016, 10:16 PM

Originally posted by doroth2

Would it make a difference that I am using version 6, not CC?

Not sure, to be honest. Check and see if you have that setting. If not forget I mentioned it. I run CC so not sure what is included in v6 and what is not. If you have that setting, test it and see what happens, if you don't then 'nevermind

"

**Alex645** · 03-13-2016, 10:31 PM

It definitely sounds like you're low on memory for LR and since you're maxed out on RAM, here are a few suggestions that may help.
a) Close (quit) all other apps while running LR.
b) Do you have at least 15% free space on your hard drive? When the computer runs out of RAM, it will use the HD as a scratch disk to temporarily help out. If your HD is almost maxed out, memory hungry apps like LR will start crashing. For fairly cheap you can buy an external hard drive and in system preferences, set it as the scratch disk.
c) Zap your PRAM:
Here’s how to reset your PRAM:
Shut down your machine. Yes, all the way down, not sleep or logging out.
Press the power button and then press command-option-p-r. You have to make sure you get those keys pressed before the gray screen comes up or it won’t work.
Hold those keys down until your Mac reboots again and you here the startup chime.
Let go of the keys and let your Mac reboot normally.
d) I assume you have a legal paid version of LR6 that no one else may have registered? Adobe is very sensitive about that, and once upon a time, you could get around it by going off line while using a "pre-owned" copy.

If none of that helps, it is probably a compatibility bug between your older OS and LR6. There may be a patch online, or you may be forced to get a newer OS. Please share with us what works in the end!

David&karen · 03-13-2016, 11:00 PM

Hi. We had the crashing Lightroom 6 issje also, and it was due to using the graphics card for acceleration in Lightroom. Try going to prefrences and see if the checkmark for graphocs acceleration is checked or not, and if it is uncheck it. And how much ram do yoj have?

David

jawsy · 03-14-2016, 01:42 AM

Originally posted by jatrax

I cannot help with a Mac, but I suspect trying to run current Lightroom on a 10 year old computer is the problem.

I'd laydown a carton on this being the issue. I had the same dramas myself, particularly with slightly larger images. At the time I had this problem most advice I received suggested it was the PC's RAM capacity and in my case they were correct.

**pepperberry farm** · 03-14-2016, 03:15 AM

I'd suspect the older machine running a memory-intensive application is the root of the trouble here...

KiloHotelphoto · 03-14-2016, 05:30 AM - **1 Like**

I'm running Lightroom on a mid 2010 MacBook Pro and it runs very slow at times. I thought about going the cheap pc way just to run Lightroom but then I deal with my work computer running Windows and I realize a iMac is the way to go.

**boriscleto** · 03-14-2016, 06:23 AM

I run Lightroom on an early 2009 Mac mini w/ 8 GB RAM. No issues to speak of, but I do have the graphics acceleration turned off. It doesn't work with the Nvidia 9400M anyway...

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/kb/lightroom-gpu-faq.html

Blacknight659 · 03-14-2016, 08:27 AM

If you can launch the application, check under preferences and hardware acceleration. Turn off the check box for "use GPU" something like that. The restart.

If this doesn't work, call Adobe support. They should help you figure out the problem.

03-13-2016, 08:53 PM	#1
doroth2 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Houston, TX Photos: Albums Posts: 185	Computer crashing while using Lightroom I have only recently acquired Lightroom and am enjoying learning the program tremendously. My computer, however, has taken to crashing regularly while Lightroom is open. If the computer itself doesn't crash, the program does, though not every time. I am using an ancient (like late 2006 or 2007) MacBook Pro (given to me by my mother when I realized that my own, even more ancient, MacBook Pro (the first one made) could no longer support the newest OS or most software updates). I have the latest Mac OS, and all my software is up to date. Could this be a computer problem or something else (the computer hasn't crashed while using any other program)? I would love to purchase a new computer, but I don't think that will be in the budget anytime soon. I just can't justify the price of a new Mac when all I use if for is photos, music, email, and looking online. I really don't want a PC! (Never thought I would be a Mac person!) If it is a computer problem and I need to figure out how to get a new machine, does anyone have any tips on how to find them cheaper? I am open to refurbished, but even those are often crazy expensive. Any advice is welcome. Thank you!

03-13-2016, 10:16 PM	#8
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,992	Originally posted by doroth2 Would it make a difference that I am using version 6, not CC? Not sure, to be honest. Check and see if you have that setting. If not forget I mentioned it. I run CC so not sure what is included in v6 and what is not. If you have that setting, test it and see what happens, if you don't then 'nevermind"

03-14-2016, 06:23 AM	#14
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,477	I run Lightroom on an early 2009 Mac mini w/ 8 GB RAM. No issues to speak of, but I do have the graphics acceleration turned off. It doesn't work with the Nvidia 9400M anyway... https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/kb/lightroom-gpu-faq.html Last edited by boriscleto; 03-14-2016 at 07:11 AM.

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03-13-2016, 09:05 PM	#2
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Memory? Lightroom, as with all photo editing software, is memory hungry. If you can add more memory, that might help, though maybe not. Steve

03-13-2016, 09:13 PM	#3
doroth2 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Houston, TX Photos: Albums Posts: 185 Original Poster	I'm maxed out on Ram. And have recently replaced the hard drive with a much larger one. Maybe it's time to start deleting unnecessary files.

03-13-2016, 09:16 PM	#4
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,992	I cannot help with a Mac, but I suspect trying to run current Lightroom on a 10 year old computer is the problem. Here is the Adobe requirements page: https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/system-requirements.html You might check to see if your computer is even supposed to be able to run LR. One solution might be to get a cheap PC just to run Lightroom and leave all your other needs on the Mac. A refurbished PC, or one off a business lease can be very cheap.

03-13-2016, 09:19 PM	#5
doroth2 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Houston, TX Photos: Albums Posts: 185 Original Poster	Thanks jatrax, that's not a bad idea to get pc for photo needs only. I'm pretty sure running Lightroom on the old computer is fine. Well, supposedly. The OS and all other programs are current. I'm not a computer buff at all though. You could definitely be right. ---------- Post added 03-14-16 at 04:21 AM ---------- (And thank you for the link.)

03-13-2016, 10:06 PM	#6
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,992	One other thought, depending on your Lightroom version. Lightroom CC, version 6 has limited support for graphics cards. This has not always worked well, depending on the card and the drivers. You might want to try running it with the graphics card turned off. Go to preferences and look under the performance tab. If you see a check box for "use graphics processor" uncheck it, restart Lightroom and see if that changes anything. On my PC it was terrible until I updated the video card drivers. Though it was just slow, not crashing.

03-13-2016, 10:08 PM	#7
doroth2 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Houston, TX Photos: Albums Posts: 185 Original Poster	Would it make a difference that I am using version 6, not CC?

03-13-2016, 10:31 PM	#9
Alex645 Site Supporter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Kaneohe, HI Photos: Albums Posts: 3,527	It definitely sounds like you're low on memory for LR and since you're maxed out on RAM, here are a few suggestions that may help. a) Close (quit) all other apps while running LR. b) Do you have at least 15% free space on your hard drive? When the computer runs out of RAM, it will use the HD as a scratch disk to temporarily help out. If your HD is almost maxed out, memory hungry apps like LR will start crashing. For fairly cheap you can buy an external hard drive and in system preferences, set it as the scratch disk. c) Zap your PRAM: Here’s how to reset your PRAM: Shut down your machine. Yes, all the way down, not sleep or logging out. Press the power button and then press command-option-p-r. You have to make sure you get those keys pressed before the gray screen comes up or it won’t work. Hold those keys down until your Mac reboots again and you here the startup chime. Let go of the keys and let your Mac reboot normally. d) I assume you have a legal paid version of LR6 that no one else may have registered? Adobe is very sensitive about that, and once upon a time, you could get around it by going off line while using a "pre-owned" copy. If none of that helps, it is probably a compatibility bug between your older OS and LR6. There may be a patch online, or you may be forced to get a newer OS. Please share with us what works in the end!

03-13-2016, 11:00 PM	#10
David&karen Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 327	Hi. We had the crashing Lightroom 6 issje also, and it was due to using the graphics card for acceleration in Lightroom. Try going to prefrences and see if the checkmark for graphocs acceleration is checked or not, and if it is uncheck it. And how much ram do yoj have? David

03-14-2016, 01:42 AM	#11
jawsy Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 422	Originally posted by jatrax I cannot help with a Mac, but I suspect trying to run current Lightroom on a 10 year old computer is the problem. I'd laydown a carton on this being the issue. I had the same dramas myself, particularly with slightly larger images. At the time I had this problem most advice I received suggested it was the PC's RAM capacity and in my case they were correct.

03-14-2016, 03:15 AM	#12
pepperberry farm amateur dirt farmer Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: probably out in a field somewhere... Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 41,797	I'd suspect the older machine running a memory-intensive application is the root of the trouble here...

03-14-2016, 05:30 AM - 1 Like	#13
KiloHotelphoto Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Glen Mills, PA Photos: Albums Posts: 1,030	I'm running Lightroom on a mid 2010 MacBook Pro and it runs very slow at times. I thought about going the cheap pc way just to run Lightroom but then I deal with my work computer running Windows and I realize a iMac is the way to go.

03-14-2016, 08:27 AM	#15
Blacknight659 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 731	If you can launch the application, check under preferences and hardware acceleration. Turn off the check box for "use GPU" something like that. The restart. If this doesn't work, call Adobe support. They should help you figure out the problem.

Computer crashing while using Lightroom

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