How to Prevent Adobe Premiere Pro 2018 from Crashing Your Computer

Adobe Premiere Pro 2018 can significantly enhance your video editing experience, but unfortunately, crashes can be quite frustrating. If your computer is crashing while working with Adobe Premiere Pro 2018, there are several steps you can take to troubleshoot and potentially resolve the issue. This guide will walk you through the necessary steps to ensure smooth video editing.

Step 1: Update Software

Ensure that both Adobe Premiere Pro and your operating system are up to date. Staying on top of software updates can help prevent compatibility issues and performance problems.

Update Adobe Premiere Pro 2018: Go to the Adobe Creative Cloud app and check for the latest updates. Update Your Operating System: Make sure your computer is running the latest version of Windows or macOS to ensure optimal performance.

Step 2: Check System Requirements

Verify that your computer meets the minimum system requirements for Adobe Premiere Pro 2018. Insufficient hardware can lead to performance issues, which can result in crashes.

Minimum Hardware Requirements: RAM: 8 GB (16 GB recommended) Processor: Intel Core i5-2400 or equivalent Storage: 150 GB of available hard disk space

Step 3: Update Drivers

Outdated video and audio drivers can cause compatibility issues and instability. Ensure that your graphics and other drivers are up to date.

Update GPU Drivers: Go to the manufacturer's website (e.g., NVIDIA or AMD) and download the latest drivers. Update Other Drivers: Check and update your audio, chipset, and other critical drivers.

Step 4: Clear Media Cache

Corrupted cache files can cause crashes. Clearing the media cache can help resolve these issues.

Open Adobe Premiere Pro 2018. Navigate to Edit Preferences Media Cache. Click on the Clear Cache button to delete the files.

Step 5: Disable Hardware Acceleration

Some users report hardware acceleration issues, which can cause system crashes. Try disabling hardware acceleration to see if the problem persists.

Open Adobe Premiere Pro 2018. Navigate to File Project Settings General. Set the Renderer to Mercury Playback Engine Software Only.

Step 6: Check Plugins and Extensions

Third-party plugins and extensions can add functionality but also introduce instability. Disable or uninstall any plugins that might be causing issues.

Open Adobe Premiere Pro 2018. Navigate to Window Resolver Plugin Manager. Disable or remove any problematic plugins.

Step 7: Reduce Project Load

Large projects can strain system resources and cause crashes. Try working with fewer clips or effects to see if the issue is resolved.

Open Adobe Premiere Pro 2018. Review your project and remove unnecessary clips and effects. Save your changes and try editing again.

Step 8: Check for Background Applications

Other applications running in the background can consume system resources and cause instability. Ensure that no other heavy applications are running while editing video.

Task Manager: Use the task manager (Windows) or activity monitor (macOS) to check for high resource usage by other applications.

Step 9: Increase Virtual Memory

Increasing virtual memory can improve performance by allocating more space for RAM usage.

Right-click on Computer or This PC and select Properties. Click on Advanced system settings. Under the Advanced tab, click on the Settings button under Performance. Go to the Advanced tab, and under Virtual memory, click on Change. Select Custom size and set initial and maximum sizes to a value that optimizes your system. Click Set and then OK.

Step 10: Reinstall Premiere Pro

Uninstalling and reinstalling Adobe Premiere Pro can resolve issues caused by corrupted files or settings.

Go to Control Panel Programs Programs and Features. Find Adobe Premiere Pro 2018 and Uninstall it. Reinstall Premier Pro by downloading it from the Adobe Creative Cloud app.

Step 11: Monitor System Health

Use monitoring tools to check CPU, RAM, and GPU usage. High usage levels can indicate a bottleneck.

Windows: Use Task Manager to monitor CPU and RAM usage. macOS: Use Activity Monitor to monitor all system activity.

Step 12: Check for Malware

Run a malware scan to ensure that your system isn’t infected. Malware can cause instability and performance issues.

Use a reputable antivirus software to scan your system. Follow any prompts to remove detected threats.

Step 13: Consult Adobe Support

If the problem persists, consider reaching out to Adobe support or checking their forums for similar issues.

By following these steps, you should be able to mitigate the crashing issues with Adobe Premiere Pro 2018. If problems continue, it may be worth considering an upgrade to a newer version of Premiere Pro as newer versions often come with bug fixes and improved stability.