Premiere crashes when I place a video file in the sequence timeline

Conditions:
OS: High Sierra 10.13.4
Processor: Intel Core i5
Memory: 8GB
4TB External G DRIVE (USB 3.0)

Adobe Premiere CC version 12.1.1

Project Setup:
I’ve placed all project assets in a folder on the external G Drive
Main Project folder called “VFM” with 3 sub folders: Links | Layouts | Outputs
In the Links folder I have 3 sub folders: Panasonic | Canon | Audio
In the Layouts Folder I have the Adobe premiere project file and video previews in a subfolder.
The file types are .mp4 for the Panasonic, .mov for the Canon, .wav for Audio.

Error Report:
I open Adobe Premiere and create a new project.
I name the project VFM and change the location to the Layouts folder.
The renderer is set to Software only.
I then import the 3 folders and their content. Panasonic | Canon | Audio
This is where the problem starts. I drop the video file into the timeline and the cursor turns into the loading symbol. The cursor continues with no change and the application no longer responds so I have to force quit the program.

Attempted fixes: 
- Restart Adobe Premiere

- Restart the computer

- Create a new premiere project

- Create a new premiere project located on internal HD instead of External HD

- Install an older version of Premiere CC
-Uninstall and reinstall the latest version of Premiere CC

- Use media encoder to change all video files to a .mp4 format ( I was able to add to timeline but 1^st color edit crashed the program.)

Please help me.

--
Patrick McGill
[Personal contact info removed - Mod]