While working up a composite of the last lunar eclipse, I evolved a working file of a little over 1 gig. I've had larger working files on this computer and never had much of a problem--of course, things get a little slow--but this time things got SLOOOOOOOOWWWWWW.
I turned off everything I didn't need (startup programs, network, etc) and re-started the computer. Same thing. Moving a layer took minutes. Finally, I tried to crop the stacked, layered image and eventually got a "Cannot complete request: Scratch disks are full" message--and then PS locked up.
I have a dual-core AMD Athlon 4400+ running at 2.2 gHz, 3 gigs fast RAM, and four drives--one a 34 gig Raptor dedicated to the PSCS scratch disks (with 10 gig partitioned for a compressed C: backup). I have all four PS scratch disks running on this drive.
Whassup? Is it time for a complete wipe and re-install of my C: drive (oh, please, say it ain't so!)? Yeah, I ran all available virus and spyware scans, and checked the health of my scratch disk HDD and RAM....
your primary sctratch should be 40-50GB. The Raptor is good for most files, but the 1GB composite will be a bit much. Remember, history states are versions of the file so its very fast to fill 24GB or even 34GB with many versions of a 1GB file. No doubt the primary scratch got full...the others may just need to be defragged. I have had such errors in the past. The availble blocks are too scrattered and PS can't use the drive until you clean it up.
Several drives with several partitions is OK, ideally one drive with one huge partition...a 150GB Raptor is fast. 2 74GB Raptors in a RAID1 is as fast as you can get.
I guess for now I'll use a hot-swap HDD for my C: back up and bag the partition on the 34 gig Raptor. And maybe consider reducing the number of history states from 100 when working big composites. That's pretty much an artifact from the bad old days when I couldn't just use layers and layer masks for everything, anyway.
Getting on towards time for a new build, but I'd like to eke another year or two out of this three year old build....
Well, Duncan, I'll give that a look--right now. Nope, not the problem. In fact, I'm not sure where that setting is. I use the regular crop tool, not set to any particular size. I use the Marquee tool for any defined aspect ratio cropping, and never resize with either.
I haven't had time to see if formatting the scratch disk helped--I'm up to my neck in printing right now. Which, BTW, is working just fine.
kenji wrote:
similar question:
is this the ideal hard discs combo for a MacPro
1: OS+app.
2+3: 100GB each in raid 1 for fast scratch access.
4: 1TB for storage
thanks in advance
That looks OK if you are limited to 4 bays except that I think you mean Raid0 for 2+3. Raid1 is mirrored which is pointless for a scratch drive. Raid0 is striped and gives you faster R/W access.
Also worth considering is a single faster (10k) drive for scratch which will free up a bay for a Raid1 setup for (1) or (4).
If you have more than 4 bays I suggest:
1 + 2: Raid1 for OS + app. 320Gb each is plenty. (if you have ever had to restore a system drive you will know the "restore from original CD" strategy is a crock)
3(+4): 200Gb raptor or 2x1 100 7k drives in Raid0 (I often use 1Gb+ files and find that 200Gb is useful).
4/5 + 6: Raid0 for data files (~1tb each)
6/7 + 8: Raid0 for data files configured in Raid1 with (4/5 + 6) above
thanks for you inputs.
my configuration again. plz critique, Sorry, i am not a pro in computer stuffs.
1+2: 320GB each in raid 1for OS and APP.<--use mac software raid
3 200GB raptor<--is that a brand, I have seen so many people mentioned it.
4 1TB for storage.
and also, i am getting 4*2 GB of ram, I will have 10GB of ram in total
I agree with Duncan, check your crop size. Look in the Options bar, just below the Menu bar.... it should read 800 px and not 800 in, etc. This problem arises particularly when your default unit of measurement is set to inches rather than pixels....that can be changed in the Preferences menu.
One more time: Crop size is only relevant if I was cropping to a defined size or re-sizing with the crop tool. I was doing neither--I simply use the crop tool to draw a rectangle and crop to it, which changes neither image size nor resolution. Yes, I checked again in case something accidentally got changed.
I'm pulling up the full-size, layered composite to see if I gained anything by re-formatting my scratch drive.
kenji wrote:
thanks for you inputs.
my configuration again. plz critique, Sorry, i am not a pro in computer stuffs.
1+2: 320GB each in raid 1for OS and APP.<--use mac software raid
3 200GB raptor<--is that a brand, I have seen so many people mentioned it.
4 1TB for storage.
and also, i am getting 4*2 GB of ram, I will have 10GB of ram in total
thanks again
1 + 2 for OS and apps are fine, 3 for your Photoshop scratch drive is fine. However for 4, although 1 Tb might be enough there is no redundancy there. The ideal here in my view is 4 1Tb drives - two pairs of Raid0 which gives you performance and then configure those pairs in Raid1 which give you redundancy. This setup gives you 2Tb of storage which should suffice for some time. You will need at least 7 HDD bays in your enclosure though.
You will then need external back-up and I suggest an external removable hard drive that you can back up your data to and keep it away from your computer between backups.
Well, I opened the file--about 900 megs worth--and tried to simply crop it. Since I hadn't done anything but open it, I would assume that the History states would not be clogging up my scratch disks and no memory leakage should have occurred.
The crop worked, but it still took three minutes--way out of line for a file this size and this machine. I guess it's time for a format and clean install of my OS and programs. Good thing they're isolated on their own drive!
This should keep me off the streets for the next week or so....
BTW, here's a screenshot to settle the question of resizing during crop:
can anyone tell me What is the point of buying more memory if scratch disc can do the job?
i mean why should i invest for 8GB of ram if i have a raptor 150G hard disc for $175
kenji wrote:
can anyone tell me What is the point of buying more memory if scratch disc can do the job?
i mean why should i invest for 8GB of ram if i have a raptor 150G hard disc for $175
Memory is faster than disk - any disk. So if you have a 32 bit system and less than 3 Gb of RAM, then more RAM will make a difference. If you have a 64 bit system and less than 4 Gb, then more RAM will make a difference.
Another reason is to make a primary scratch disk out of RAM and leave your raptor as a secondary scratch. Once again that will be a lot faster than just a Raptor scratch disk. However you will need 8-16 Gb of RAM to make a real difference and that will probably mean a new mother board.
my macpro has 2GB or ram, i am planning to upgrade, i don't know if i should get 4GB more or 8GB more.
8GB is now $290 at transintl.com. hard to pass up. 4 DIMMS (2GBx4) is the best configuration as well. So sell the 2GB and drop in the 8GB from TransIntl and have a much faster machine.
