Adobe Bridge is crippling my computer

April 13, 2021 7:13 AM

I work on a iMAc 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 with 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 memory, ( late 2013 model ). I use Adobe Photoshop CC 2021 and Bridge 2021 every day. Recently Bridge has been been unusable. When I try to launch, it takes many minutes to open and seems to struggle with every step of the preview process. It's festival of spinning colored wheels. When I try to open a folder of large files it basically freezes and is overwhelmed to the point that I have to force quit.

I've tried disabling scripts, increasing memory, compacting/deleting cache, and lowering the resolution of the thumbnails but nothing makes it function well when it comes to previewing those large files.. they're not even that large- 50 megs or so.

Photoshop has been slow too but still usable for the most part.

Everything on my computer got slowed down and screwed by the last OS update to Catalina. And now I'm wondering if my computer is just too outdated to handle everything. I appreciate any advice.

posted by Liquidwolf to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

My Adobe suite wigged out a couple of weeks ago, as a result of Adobe’s decision to create a new library directory in my freakin’ users documents directory instead of the Adobe directory that already exists in that location or any other more normal location they have available to them. Apparently, they’ve walked this back. Try uninstalling/reinstalling the CC app.
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 7:36 AM on April 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

This could be a hardware issue, insufficient RAM, or some wacky third party software interfering.

There is a program called Activity Monitor, in the Applications/Utilities folder. Launch that program and play around with CPU tag and Memory tag while trying your workflow. Sort (by clicking on the titles of the columns) by %CPU or Memory. Do you see anything that stands out as unusual?

some reasons for slowdowns

* Adobe upgrades aren't always the best. See the above comment by Rube R Nekker

* unexpected additional software
You might try downloading and running MalwareBytes. It does a good job of finding viruses, adware, and other software you don't want.

* hardware failure or degradation
Try running the built-in Apple Hardware Test. It should report any significant hardware issues with your iMac.

* You need more RAM for your increased workflow
I'm not sure which 2013 iMac you have (probably this one), but you can try a memory upgrade. OWC/MacSales is a known and reliable source for memory upgrades. You probably have one of the models where it's as simple as unscrewing a plate and popping in new RAM sticks. OWC will have details. (Apple also made some iMacs extremely difficult to upgrade the RAM, but I think your description matches one of the iMacs which isn't difficult.)

The CPU speed of a 2013 i7 processor isn't going to be significantly improved in later machines. The pieces that have changed and improve performance are adding RAM or moving to SSD. Adding RAM should be easy. Upgrading to SSD storage will require a technician.


Upgrading to Catalina, by itself, isn't known for causing big slowdowns. (It has other issues, like lack of 32 bit application support, but not slowdowns per se.)
posted by blob at 7:41 AM on April 13, 2021 [3 favorites]

8GB of RAM is pretty low these days, especially if your computer has a hard drive instead of an SSD.
posted by primethyme at 7:42 AM on April 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

If your iMac still has a mechanical hard drive then there's your problem. Software tends to assume you're on an SSD nowadays. This probably explains a lot of your Catalina trouble as well.

(it's possible to swap the drive on those iMacs, but it's a bit involved since you have to remove the glass and display unit to get at it.)
posted by neckro23 at 7:57 AM on April 13, 2021 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks, these are all helpful answers.
posted by Liquidwolf at 9:48 AM on April 13, 2021