Photoshop Elements and Windows Vista 64 bits
I get asked a lot if Photoshop Elements works with Windows Vista , the 64bits version
First I wish people that don’t need a 64 bit system would stop getting it. THERE IS NO ADVANTAGE TO IT, but for the use of more memory (the 32 bit version is limited to 3GB of RAM, 64bit version is not). Only if you have a program that absolutely needs you to have a 64 bit OS, say away from it! there are a LOT of things that won’t work with it, not just Photoshop Elements.
Photoshop Elements does work (i have version 7 running on a Windows Vista 64 bit laoptop) but I am one of the lucky few that did not have any problems installing it.
There are a number of considerations when deciding whether to run PSE on Vista 64:
- Many people have reported on the Adobe forums and Elements Village that PSE 5.0.2, PSE 6, and PSE 7 run fine on Vista 64.
- Adobe does not provide customer support for PSE 6 and earlier versions on Vista 64:
http://www.adobe.com/go/kb403403
- Adobe has a distribution agreement with Dell to sell PSE 7 preloaded on Dell XPS desktops that have Vista 64 only, implying that Adobe supports PSE 7 on Vista 64, at least on Dells.
- As of 3/7/2009, Adobe doesn’t explicitly state whether it provides customer support for PSE 7 on Vista 64. The System Requirements now state “Certified for 32-bit version of Windows”, which vaguely implies they don’t support Vista 64 (but why don’t they just say that?). There are some tech notes that mention Vista 64 without saying that it is unsupported, and the Read Me explicitly mentions one minor issue with Vista 64 without saying that it is unsupported. So someone buying PSE could reasonably assume that Adobe supports PSE 7 on Vista. However, at least one person has reported that Adobe Technical Support told them that PSE 7 is unsupported on Vista 64.
- There’s no advantage to Vista 64 unless you have more than 3 GB of memory.
- You’ll need a new set of drivers for your peripherals, and some vendors still don’t provide 64-bit drivers. For example, Nikon doesn’t provide Vista 64 drivers for its Coolscan scanners.
- Vista 64 does a very good job of running programs developed for 32-bit Windows XP and Vista, but it isn’t perfect. You should research the compatibility of your favorite programs.
- A program developed for 32-bit Windows will be limited on Vista 64 to using no more than 2 GB of memory (infrequently, it can use 3 GB), the same as on Vista 32. There is still some advantage to having Vista 64 if you want to run other memory-intensive programs concurrently, since together they may be using more than 3 GB.
- Of Adobe programs, PSE is 32-bit only, while Photoshop and Lightroom have 64-bit versions. I don’t know about Premier Pro or Elements.
- If you’re editing “normal” sized photos, an Adobe Lightroom blog says to expect only modest 10% speed improvements from Vista 64. I’d guess that you should expect similar modest improvements with PSE, but I haven’t read anything authoritative.
My answer would be if you are runnign 64bits , run at your own risk.
