Premiere Pro CS4 Maintenance

[Cole]

Is there any type of daily/weekly maintenance that can be done to optimize NLE software, specifically Premiere Pro CS4?

How often do you Defrag? Do you do it even if the analyzer says you don't need it?

Are there folders that can be cleared (temp files?) that keep things from getting bogged down?

At what point is a hard drive too full to operate efficiently?

CS4 has its share of issues but how much of them can be avoided or minimized by proper maintenance?

I am just curious what the rest of you do.

Thanks,

Cole

[HankCastello]

Is there any type of daily/weekly maintenance that can be done to optimize NLE software, specifically Premiere Pro CS4?

There is software to optimize the windows operating system - Iola Software is one company, but I don't really recommend any of them, so the answer I guess is, "No".

How often do you Defrag? Do you do it even if the analyzer says you don't need it?

Don't believe the analyzer!  Defrag every few days, if you've been editing and for sure, defrag everytime you remove an old project (and don't forget to remove the temp files!!)

Are there folders that can be cleared (temp files?) that keep things from getting bogged down?

Yes, check your project preferences and know where your temp files are being stored.  I got slack on this once and found temp files from a year back taking up many gigabytes of space.

At what point is a hard drive too full to operate efficiently?

Well, this answer is from my own experience, but I've found it's best to keep a drive from going much over 50% full.

CS4 has its share of issues but how much of them can be avoided or minimized by proper maintenance?

I guess this depends on where you draw the line between "CS4's issues" and "System issues".  It's important to keep all drivers up to date and be aware of any compatibility issues.  This requires logging into Adobe's support forums and your video card's support section from time to time and it requires checking every week for updates.

Also, at the current price of computers, it pays to have a dedicated video editing system with no other software than your editing, capture, effects software.  Office, games, email, etc. should not be on this system - period.

I have been running CS4 pretty smoothly that past several weeks - even After Effects has run for me.

[Superfly]

Cole,

Oddly, although not everything is working on my CS4 it is serviceable and I send everything to external drives.

I have 2 1TB drives on my computer.  1 is for the operating system, 1 is for current projects, then I have 4 external 1TB drives hooked up for storage.

I have since bought a $40 Startech SATA hard drive dock for bare drives and I back up to those + DVD.  I back up the entire project so I can go back and edit someday and it costs me about $30 per wedding to do that.

I rarely defrag only because I forget but I don't have many lockup problems and I think the trick is just a slamming computer.  We discussed the Dell I am using at $1000 and you could build your own and use a better video card.

I think fighting a computer that's on the edge will cause your hair to go gray.  Sure took a year off my life.

Defragging is definitely a good idea and definitely under 75% on the drives.  Less on the C drive.

Best, of luck!

Todd

[Cole]

Thanks for the follow up Todd.

I am ever so close to upgrading the PC. I am still considering the Dell you picked up but I may build one instead. Right now things are flowing nicely. I had the one HD job which ended up being just over 13 minutes long. The p2 footage was easy to work with. Previews were a bit choppy on high quality but good enough in draft. I am currently cutting a wedding and then 3 corporate jobs so I will need some storage. I was thinking about an E-Sata hard drive dock for speedy transfers. At this point I don't mind opening it up and plugging in a drive just for storage but I will definitely be looking for more room in the next case.

Cole

[HankCastello]

Be sure and choose a motherboard with plenty of SATA connections; extra RAM slots; and just to be able to have a maximum # of harddrives + four IDE drives (unless you use a separate computer for burning) - I'd want two IDE connectors also (allowing for four ide devices).

You may also want to get a motherboard that allows two video cards.  Be careful to choose a board that doesn't have "issues" with the video card you choose.

[Cole]

OK. I have come to the conclusion that the only maintenance that Premiere Pro CS4 deserves is an exorcism. I think that Adobe should face assault charges for this latest update.

There, I have said my piece. I feel much better. I will go back to work now (And to Costco for that Dell in the AM).

[HankCastello]

Shh! Don't let my CS4 install hear that.  It's been working pretty well for months now.  Have you gotten all the updates?

[Cole]

The last Premiere update is what is driving me batty. Out of the frying pan and into another frying pan.

I might be able to hold out until Friday to see if any good deals are to be had. But I tend to think the machine I need will not be found in the sales adds. I also checked into the Costco PCs and they seemed to have changed the (DELL) inverntory a little. A couple of Core I5s and one I7. It is getting down to crunch time on this for me due to a very heavy workload so I may pick one from Costco and if it feels shaky I have a few months to return it and get something a little more customized. All I know is that my current rig is on its last legs.

[osbornes5]

I know this topic hasn't been hit in a while but thought I would throw this in. I defrag very regularly and have oodles of hard drive space. I was having problems trying to get PP to capture. Ultimately what seems to have solved the problem in one swoop was running the cleaner and registry cleaner in CCleaner. I have seen quite a few people reccommend CCleaner and have always been pretty happy with it. I reccomend it plus it's free! Here's the link: http://www.ccleaner.com/