What does "analysis running" mean?

[Gwyn5C34]

I have just imported bulk files to my new Macbook. Some have arrived in multiples and when I try to remove them I get a message that "analysis is running" and I am unable to get rid of them. Help?

[Greg_S. · Accepted solution]

When you import files into the catalog, they are analyzed for a number of purposes including creating smart tags, face recognition and AutoCreations.  On a large catalog, this analysis can take a long time.  However, if you really want to delete some files, go to Edit>Preferences>Media Analysis and uncheck all the boxes.  Reboot and you should be allowed to delete your files.  You can then turn the media analysis back on.

BTW, I know almost nothing about Macs. But, hopefully, this will solve your immediate issue.

[Gwyn5C34]

Many thanks Greg_S
I have followed your advice and it has worked.
Gwyn5C34

[pauls90132518]

Greg, I have had similar issues and expect that you advice is correct. However I am wondering why a reboot is needed? My experience is that a reboot is required which means there is some "process" that runs in the background that does not close when I close the program but do not reboot. Also is there somewhere to post this asking adobe to fix/change the behavior so that it is better? A related question for you, How do I tell when a catalog is too large? I have over 20,000 photos and am thinking this is close to the limit for a $500 laptop. 

[Phil Pickering]

A reboot is necessary because even though you've updated the Preferences file the actual processes won't have been stopped yet.

Regarding your question about the size of your catalog, it all depends on your laptop's specs:

- what is the size and speed of your hard drive?

- how much space do you have left unused on your hard drive?

- how much RAM do you have installed?

- how old is the laptop?

- is your laptop from a well-known, reliable, high-quality company?

Personally, if I had a catalog of 20,000 photos and had put a huge amount of time and effort in organizing all those images, I would be making multiple backups of that catalog and updating my laptop every few years to make sure all my precious memories were kept safe and secure. Plus, using the latest version of Photoshop Elements and having a laptop which is a little more powerful than the minimum recommended specs for Photoshop Elements makes life a whole lot more fun 🙂   

[pauls90132518]

Phil,

Thank you for your advice. I do not disagree with any of it. 

My experience with providing computer details is that it does not lead to any productive comments, only to more questions. It is always better to have a newer faster machine with a lot of memory. I believe that Adobe should be able to sytem issues and provide an appropriate warning/instructions. i.e.

• Based on your catalog size or cache size you have too old of a machine with too little memory for this catalog. 
• Due to poor responce times on this machine it is recommended that you turn off all analysis options in your preferences. Would you like me to do that now?

Your answer about the background process being the cause of my issue seems correct. However I do not see one that is causing an issue (I am sure there is one.). I expect it should be possible to shut these down without rebooting your machine. 

Again thanks for your comments. 

Paul