Photoshop Elements 2018 memory problems - unable to edit and save files

I have a reasonably powerful computer (Intel I7-4790K 4Ghz, 32Gb RAM, a minimum of 165 Gb of free disk space on each of my three drives, and Win 10 Pro 64 bit v1709_16299.19), I am working 100% ok with a range of programs (including other photo apps) so I don't believe the problem is with my computer.

Photoshop Elements 2018 is currently completely unusable as I am unable to edit and save files (eg raw and jpgs).

Example 1:  I can open a canon raw file in ACR and make the desired adjustments, I then click open image to transfer to photoshop.  Very often I'm content with the raw development and just want to save the file as a psd or jpg.  For PSD > I do file save as, type a name, click save, and get an error pop-up box "Could not save as path\xxxx because there is not enough memory (RAM)".  The xmp sidecar file is created.   For JPG > I enter the name and get the "jpg option" box, I select max quality / lowest compression and get an error pop-up box "Photoshop Elements 2018 Editor has stopped working. A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available".  I click OK, the msg box disappears, and Win 10 shows no notifications.

Example 2:  I open a jpg file, make a few adjustments (eg levels, contrast, haze removal) and do file save as, and get the error pop-up box "Could not save as \...\xxxx.jpg because there is not enough memory (RAM)".  Even trying to save as a jpg with the lowest quality throws up the same error msg box.  I have to do OK to the error msg box and close the file without saving.  Viewing task manager whilst the program is running (with a 3.2 Mb jpg open) shows that 108.6 Mb RAM is used by PhotoshopElementsEditor.exe, with only 13% of the total available RAM used by all running processes. 

I suspect the problem is to do with the PS Elements 2018 memory settings - particularly RAM, however I am unable to access the preferences > performance section to make any changes.

I can open and adjust every "preferences" section (apart from performance) and the program remains responsive - General, Saving files, Scratch disks, Display & cursors, Transparency, Units & rulers, Guides & grid, Pug-ins, Adobe partner services, Application updates, Type, Country/region selection.

However as soon as I click the performance section I get a msg box "An integer between 50 and 8 is required. Closest value inserted".  I then click OK to close it (it pops up twice each time), and from then on I can no longer access the other preferences sections as the same msg keeps popping up.  I have to close and re-open the preferences box to access the other areas.

So how can I amend the performance settings and hopefully get the program working correctly?  If I can't use the built-in tools is there a way of manually editing a file that stores the performance settings?  Where is the preferences file located?  As a test I could make a change in one of the other preferences sections and see whether the file updates (ie are the write/edit permissions ok etc).

So far I have:

1. Uninstalled, rebooted and re-installed the program 

2. I did ctrl+alt+shift when starting Photoshop to delete the settings file

3. I deleted the folder C:\Users\UserID\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Photoshop Elements and rebooted

4. I have run from an admin command prompt - c:\Windows\System32>sfc /scannow - with no problems, and the event logs show "Windows has scanned the file system and found no problems. No further action is required".

5. I have used Adobe application manager to check for updates and my system is up-to-date.  I have updated to Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw v10.0.0.827.

None of the above actions resolved the problem and I am still unable to open the performance settings, and cannot edit and save files.

My PC, the OS and all other programs are working correctly without any problems.  I believe the problem lies with Adobe Photoshop Elements 2018.  Re-installing the OS and all other programs is not an option for me - I would like Adobe to fix the product by releasing an update, or assist me to make a fix and get my paid for software working.

Doing a search on the internet and the Adobe site shows that I am not the only person experiencing this type of problem.

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Adobe system info:

Adobe Photoshop Elements Version: 16.0 (20170902.m.113423)  x64

Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit

Version: 10 or greater

System architecture: Intel CPU Family:6, Model:12, Stepping:3 with MMX, SSE Integer, SSE FP, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, AVX2, HyperThreading

Physical processor count: 4

Logical processor count: 8

Processor speed: 4000 MHz

Built-in memory: 32646 MB

Free memory: 29986 MB

Memory available to Photoshop Elements: 8 MB

Memory used by Photoshop Elements: 100 %

Image tile size: 128K

Image cache levels: 6

Font Preview: Medium

TextComposer: Latin

Display: 1

Display Bounds: top=0, left=0, bottom=1200, right=1920

OpenGL Drawing: Disabled.

License Type: Perpetual

Serial number: 91550146063418215532

Feature::Dummy Feature: OFF

Application folder: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 2018\

Temporary file path: C:\Users\UserID\AppData\Local\Temp\

Photoshop Elements scratch has async I/O enabled

Scratch volume(s):

  Startup, 300.1G, 262.1G free

Required Plug-ins folder: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 2018\Required\Plug-Ins\

Primary Plug-ins folder: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Elements 2018\Plug-Ins\

Additional Plug-ins folder: not set

Installed components:

   ACE.dll   ACE 2017/04/18-17:59:35   79.581797   79.581797

   AdbePM.dll   PatchMatch 0000/00/00-00:00:00   1.   1.

   AdobeLinguistic.dll   Adobe Linguisitc Library   10.0.0  

   AdobeOLS.dll   Adobe Online Services   5.0  

   AdobeOwl.dll   Adobe Owl   5.2.9  

   AdobePDFL.dll   PDFL 2017/01/06-01:09:52   79.211776   79.211776

   AdobePIP.dll   Adobe Product Improvement Program   7.4.1.63.45453  

   AdobeXMP.dll   Adobe XMP Core 2017/03/02-16:59:38   79.160302   79.160302

   AdobeXMPFiles.dll   Adobe XMP Files 2017/03/02-16:59:38   79.160302   79.160302

   adobe_caps.dll   Adobe CAPS   10,0,0,8  

   AGM.dll   AGM 2017/04/18-17:59:35   79.581797   79.581797

   ahclient.dll    AdobeHelp Dynamic Link Library   2.2.0.1  

   amtlib.dll   AMTLib (64 Bit)   10.0.0.214 BuildVersion: 10.0; BuildDate: Tue Jun 13 2017 8:28:8)   1.000000

   ARE.dll   ARE 2017/04/18-17:59:35   79.581797   79.581797

   AutoSelection.dll   Adobe Photoshop Editor   16.0  

   AXE8SharedExpat.dll   AXE8SharedExpat 2017/02/24-17:53:28   79.580410   79.580410

   AXEDOMCore.dll   AXEDOMCore 2017/02/24-17:53:28   79.580410   79.580410

   Bib.dll   BIB 2017/04/18-17:59:35   79.581797   79.581797

   BIBUtils.dll   BIBUtils 2017/04/18-17:59:35   79.581797   79.581797

   boost_date_time.dll   photoshopdva   8.0.0  

   boost_signals.dll   photoshopdva   8.0.0  

   boost_system.dll   photoshopdva   8.0.0  

   boost_threads.dll   photoshopdva   8.0.0  

   cast_api.dll   Cast   1.0  

   cg.dll   NVIDIA Cg Runtime   3.0.00007  

   cgGL.dll   NVIDIA Cg Runtime   3.0.00007  

   CITThreading.dll   Adobe CITThreading   2.1.0.1   2.1.0.1

   CoolType.dll   CoolType 2017/04/18-17:59:35   79.581797   79.581797

   dvaaudiodevice.dll   photoshopdva   8.0.0  

   dvacore.dll   photoshopdva   8.0.0  

   dvamarshal.dll   photoshopdva   8.0.0  

   dvamediatypes.dll   photoshopdva   8.0.0  

   dvametadata.dll   photoshopdva   8.0.0  

   dvametadataapi.dll   photoshopdva   8.0.0  

   dvametadataui.dll   photoshopdva   8.0.0  

   dvaplayer.dll   photoshopdva   8.0.0  

   dvatransport.dll   photoshopdva   8.0.0  

   dvaui.dll   photoshopdva   8.0.0  

   dvaunittesting.dll   photoshopdva   8.0.0  

   dynamiclink.dll   photoshopdva   8.0.0  

   ems.dll   Elements Organizer   16.0  

   ExtendScript.dll   ExtendScript 2016/01/26-16:09:33   80.1060872   80.1060872

   Eyeopener.dll   Adobe Photoshop Editor   16.0  

   FaceDetector.dll   FaceDetector 0000/00/00-00:00:00   2.0.1.1   2.0.1.1

   icucnv40.dll   International Components for Unicode 2014/10/31-16:52:45    Build gtlib_6.0.21339  

   icudt40.dll   International Components for Unicode 2014/10/31-16:52:45    Build gtlib_6.0.21339  

   icuuc40.dll   International Components for Unicode 2014/10/31-16:52:45    Build gtlib_6.0.21339  

   JP2KLib.dll   JP2KLib 2017/03/17-01:07:02   79.265847   79.265847

   libeay32.dll   The OpenSSL Toolkit   1.0.1p  

   libifcoremd.dll   Intel(r) Visual Fortran Compiler   10.0 (Update A)  

   libiomp5md.dll   Intel(R) OpenMP* Runtime Library   5.0  

   libmmd.dll   Intel(r) C Compiler, Intel(r) C++ Compiler, Intel(r) Fortran Compiler   12.0  

   LogSession.dll   LogSession   7.4.1.63.45453  

   mediacoreif.dll   photoshopdva   8.0.0  

   mona.dll   Adobe Photoshop Editor   16.0  

   MPS.dll   MPS 2017/03/21-04:44:30   79.581008   79.581008

   pdfsettings.dll   Adobe PDFSettings   1.04  

   Photoshop.dll   Adobe Photoshop Elements Editor   16.0  

   platform.DLL   Adobe Help System   1, 0, 0, 1  

   Plugin.dll   Adobe Photoshop Editor   16.1  

   PSArt.dll   Adobe Photoshop Elements Editor   16.0  

   PSViews.dll   Adobe Photoshop Elements Editor   16.0  

   ScCore.dll   ScCore 2016/01/26-16:09:33   80.1060872   80.1060872

   seledit.dll   Seledit   1.0  

   ssleay32.dll   The OpenSSL Toolkit   1.0.1p  

   svml_dispmd.dll   Intel(r) C Compiler, Intel(r) C++ Compiler, Intel(r) Fortran Compiler   12.0  

   tbb.dll   Intel(R) Threading Building Blocks for Windows   4, 4, 2016, 0412  

   updaternotifications.dll   Adobe Updater Notifications Library   10.0.0.1 (BuildVersion: 1.0; BuildDate: BUILDDATETIME)   10.0.0.1

   updatersingleproduct.dll   Adobe Updater Single Product Library   8.0.0.19 (BuildVersion: 1.0; BuildDate: BUILDDATETIME)   8.0.0.19

   VulcanControl.dll   Vulcan Application Control Library   5.2.0.35  

   VulcanMessage5.dll   Vulcan Message Library   5.2.0.35  

   WRServices.dll   WRServices Thu Jan 07 2016 04:50:10   Build 0.21960   0.21960

Required plug-ins:

   Accented Edges 16.1

   Adjust Facial Features 16.0

   Angled Strokes 16.1

   Auto Divide 12.0.1

   Auto Shake Reduction 16.0

   Average 16.1 (2015.1 x001 x003)

   Bas Relief 16.1

   BMP 16.0

   Camera Raw 10.0

   Camera Raw Filter 10.0

   Chalk & Charcoal 16.1

   Charcoal 16.1

   Chrome 16.1

   Clouds 16.1 (2015.1 x001 x003)

   Color Halftone 16.0

   Colored Pencil 16.1

   Comic 13.0

   CompuServe GIF 16.0

   Conté Crayon 16.1

   Correct Camera Distortion 16.0

   Craquelure 16.1

   Crop and Straighten Photos Filter 16.0

   Crosshatch 16.1

   Crystallize 16.0

   Cutout 16.1

   Dark Strokes 16.1

   Difference Clouds 16.1 (2015.1 x001 x003)

   Diffuse Glow 16.1

   Displace 16.0

   Dry Brush 16.1

   Extrude 16.0

   FastCore Routines 16.1 (2015.1 x001 x003)

   Fibers 16.0

   Film Grain 16.1

   Filter Gallery 16.1

   Fresco 16.1

   Glass 16.1

   Glowing Edges 16.1

   Grain 16.1

   Graphic Novel 13.0

   Graphic Pen 16.1

   Halftone Pattern 16.1

   Ink Outlines 16.1

   Lens Blur 16.1

   Lens Flare 16.0

   Liquify 16.0

   Matlab Operation 16.1 (2015.1 x001 x003)

   Mezzotint 16.0

   MMXCore Routines 16.1 (2015.1 x001 x003)

   Mosaic Tiles 16.1

   Multiprocessor Support 16.1 (2015.1 x001 x003)

   Neon Glow 16.1

   Note Paper 16.1

   Ocean Ripple 16.1

   OnEdge 1, 0, 0, 1

   Paint Daubs 16.1

   Palette Knife 16.1

   Patchwork 16.1

   Pen and Ink 13.0

   Photocopy 16.1

   Picture Package Filter 16.1 (2015.1 x001 x003)

   Pinch 16.0

   Pixar 16.1 (2015.1 x001 x003)

   Plaster 16.1

   Plastic Wrap 16.1

   PNG 16.0

   Pointillize 16.0

   Polar Coordinates 16.0

   Poster Edges 16.1

   Radial Blur 16.0

   Read Watermark 4.0

   Reticulation 16.1

   Ripple 16.0

   Rough Pastels 16.1

   Save for Web 16.0

   ScriptingSupport 16.1

   Shake Reduction 16.0

   Shear 16.0

   Smart Blur 16.0

   Smudge Stick 16.1

   Solarize 16.1 (2015.1 x001 x003)

   Spatter 16.1

   Spherize 16.0

   Sponge 16.1

   Sprayed Strokes 16.1

   Stained Glass 16.1

   Stamp 16.1

   Straighten and Crop Image 12.0.1

   Straighten Image 12.0.1

   Sumi-e 16.1

   Texturizer 16.1

   Tiles 16.0

   Torn Edges 16.1

   Twirl 16.0

   Underpainting 16.1

   Water Paper 16.1

   Watercolor 16.1

   Wave 16.0

   WIA Support 16.1 (2015.1 x001 x003)

   Wind 16.0

   ZigZag 16.0

Optional and third party plug-ins: NONE

Plug-ins that failed to load: NONE

Installed TWAIN devices: NONE

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