How to run Photoshop CS5 in 32-bit mode

Posted | 1 comment

All professional photographers are using photoshop, Therefore, it is important to know whether they are using/getting The most out of photoshop ( I mean performance wise).

To get the peak performance, there are some settings which has to be considered/right, ie Scratch disk and RAM.

1. The HD (Hard Drive) you are using for the photoshop Memory.

2. Whether to use photoshop in 32 bit or 64?

3. What is the benefit of using 64bit?

How to run Photoshop CS5 in 32-bit mode:

Normally, you’ll want to run Photoshop CS5 as a 64-bit application to get the best performance. Unless you have a plug-in that doesn’t work in 64-bit. Then you can relaunch and “dumb it down” a bit.

To run Photoshop CS5 on Mac OS as a 32-bit application:

Select the Adobe Photoshop CS5 application file, installed by default in the Applications/Adobe Photoshop CS5 folder.

Choose File > Get Info, and select Open in 32 Bit Mode

Deselect this option to run Photoshop CS5 in 64-bit mode.

To run Photoshop CS5 in Windows as a 32-bit application:

Close Photoshop CS5 if running then Navigate to the Program Files (x86) > Adobe > Adobe Photoshop CS5 folder.. Double-click the Adobe Photoshop CS5.exe file.

To run Photoshop CS5 in Windows as a 64-bit application:

Close Photoshop CS5 then Navigate to the Program Files > Adobe > Adobe Photoshop CS5 folder.. Double-click the Adobe Photoshop CS5.exe file.

Let’s see how to set the RAM in photoshop:

Navigate by short cut Command/Control and K or Photoshop > Preferences > Performance then adjust by moving the slider. (please refer attachment – photoshop preferences)

You will only see full available/installed RAM if the photoshop is running in 64 bit or else it will be around 2GB regardless how big RAM you have installed in your computer. (this is One of the benefit of using 64 bit)
Also remember in PC the system you are running/installed is compatible to 64bit. Photoshop will run faster in 64 bit then 32, though there will be an issue of plugins compatibility.

Regarding Scratch disk, Is highly recommend that you don’t use the same HD for the Scratch disk as you are running for the computer/Operating system as it will slow down both the photoshop as well as any other program opened.

Recommendation:

For maximum performance, use separate dedicated physical drive for start up, data and scratch drives. All drives should be fast and regularly defragmented (please refer attachment – Efficiency performance).

Allocate your Scratch disk correctly:

Open preferences as shown in attachment then, in the Scratch Disk Section of the panel select the drive that has the most free space (not your System or Start up Drive) if you have other drives listed, you can also allocate these as extra Scratch disk/drive. Photoshop will use the drive listed first until it is full and then move to the next drive available/listed if even more memory is needed. You can change the order in which the drives will be used by selecting a drive and then using the Up or Down arrow key to change it’s position in the list. Place your System or Start up drive in the last position. The performance of systems whos efficiency result displayed (please refer attachment) will be 100% .