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Question

CS4 crash with ntdll.dll

Forum|Forum|16 years ago
October 6, 2009
8 replies
38318 views

Newly installed and fully patched CS4. Nikon Camera Control Pro 2 installed with camera connected via USB. NikonCapture 4.0 installed. Epson V700 Pro scanner installed locally via USB. Sony DPP-EX7 printer installed locally via USB. Latest display drivers for ATI dual monitor videocard installed.

Windows XP SP2, fully patched.

More often than not, when a user attempts to print an image, CS4 crashes with no error displayed to the user. The following error sometimes appears in the event log:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: Application Error
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1000
Date: 10/5/2009
Time: 4:47:06 PM
User: N/A
Computer: <computername>
Description:
Faulting application photoshop.exe, version 11.0.1.0, faulting module ntdll.dll, version 5.1.2600.3520, fault address 0x00011948.

Another error:

Event Type: Information
Event Source: DrWatson
Event Category: None
Event ID: 4097
Date: 10/5/2009
Time: 4:47:39 PM
User: N/A
Computer: <computername>

Description:
The application, C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS4\Photoshop.exe, generated an application error The error occurred on 10/05/2009 @ 16:47:39.380 The exception generated was 80000007 at address 00000000 (ntdll!KiFastSystemCallRet)

Suspect the sony printer, however, the latest drivers are installed. A generic postscript printer has been installed as the default for the user which helps, but does not prevent the error from returning. This has been an ongoing problem with a couple machines at my organization. Multiple reloads of the operating system, CS4, printer drivers, manipulating user permissions, and the problem persists. I'm open to any ideas.

This topic has been closed for replies.

M

Mitchee_au

New Participant

After doing some thorough research on the web about an issue I am having with Photoshop CS4, I came across this thread and was subsequentally enthralled with what I was reading.

I too, suffer from this ntdll.dll crash when attempting to print. I am printing to a few different Ricoh printers over a network. Like the author of this thread, I have tried many many different avenues of troubleshooting in trying to get this issue fixed. Formats, fresh installs of software, new drivers, system tweaks. You name it, I have tried it. Various machines work fine, some fail. All machines are identical in terms of hardware & software. All cloned from a base PC. In the end I have come to the same conclusion time and time again, Photoshop has a flaw somewhere in its printing system.

To the author, here is something more to try (if you can be bothered), I have resorted to telling my marketing team to click the 'Page Setup' button in the print dialog, then simply clicking OK. This sorts them out for the rest of their session in Photoshop. Its basically become routine for them when they start their day. Why this works for us I don't know. Thought it might be helpful to you.

Cheers,

Mitch.

K

Ken 47

Participating Frequently

I have sat and read every post in this thread and one thing that occurred to me is that on two occasions you specifically stated that the working workstation had other Adobe software previously installed. You have not, as far as I can recall, yet said that you have tried to replicate that condition on a workstation with the print problem.

If I were doing the trouble shooting I would have done a clean installation and tried to replicate the order of software installation on the working workstation.

Did you ever get round to cloneing the hard drive from a working workstation and trying it on a non working one? You could only really do this if the hardware is substantially similar.

I have a hunch that this problem is going to be a bit more subtle than just one component causing the problem, which is why I suggested the test in paragraph one and two..

Back a few releases ago I got much the same reaction as you have when I said something must be wrong when a new laptop would not run Photoshop and I was told it had to be my laptop. The previous version worked so to my mind it had to be some interaction between the new version of Photoshop and the operating system. I was insulted by some forum members and dismissed as an idiot. It turned out that an oem version of XP was put out set to Welsh and the new version of Photoshop had a bug that meant it could not support it. I changed my operating system to UK English and all worked fine.

I was not the one to discover the cause unfortunately but I did get an apology from Scott Byer of Adobe, so you see things are not always what they first seem.

O

OpeeTaylorAuthor

Participating Frequently

Ken47,

Thank you for taking the time to read the entire thread.

Regarding the installation of a previous version of CS and then installing CS4, I did try that before reloading the OS on one of the problem systems. I uninstalled CS4, installed CS3, then installed CS4. I had some high hopes for this. Unfortunately, it didn't appear to work. If there is something to this, I missed it somehow. If there is a step that should be included, I'd be happy to try that again.

In regards to cloning a working system, they do differ enough that I'm afraid I'll introduce another level of complexity to the problem. When I did a complete vanilla install of one of the systems, had that actually worked, I would have syspreped and grabbed an image of it to place on the other system as they are very similar. I still have one of the systems in a base or 'vanilla' state in hopes of eventually sorting this out. I'll definitely clone that system after deactivating CS4 on the machine, should a solution be found.

The OS in every instance for me is volume license - EN. When I reinstalled one of the problem systems, I obtained a new ISO of XP w/SP3 (VL version). I also downloaded CS4 from Adobe rather than use the same disc that I had been using.

Thank you for the words of encouragement. We'll see how things turn out.

P

phpcoder848

New Participant

I am fresh out of ideas. You covered everything that I know of. Unless someone else with vast more experience then me chimes in all you can do is call Adobe customer service. I wish you luck with that.

edds

O

OpeeTaylorAuthor

Participating Frequently

Swapping a different printer of the same model proves there is nothing wrong with the printer itself. Something could have been wrong with the printer that was causing erratic print behavior. Anyone chasing an illusive printer problem would be remiss in refusing to try that as a troubleshooting step. There are two drivers, the original and one update. Both have been tried.

Can I print on ANY other printer, yes, but I can print to the Sony as well. It doesn't do so reliably. It might print fine during one CS4 session, but if you close the program and open it again, it may never print again until you restart the computer. During this same period I can print through any other program just fine. Does the program crash when any other printer is set as the default? Yes. The program can crash while the print dialog box is open or in the process of opening. It crashes in many instances before the print job is issued to the printer.

I've lost count how many times I've made this point in the thread. I do it again only keep anyone reading on track. The printer works absolutely fine through any application on the computer with the exception of CS4. The same model of printer works fine on 3 out of 5 machines.

Regarding reporting this to Sony's tech support. Again, I've answered this. It's so asinine, so rhetorical, anyone that has ever provided tech support or communicated with tech support can script the conversation themselves:

Caller (to Sony tech support): "Often, when I try to print through Adobe's CS4, the program crashes. Sometimes the program crashes before I even send the print job to the printer and it crashes at the CS4 print dialog box."

Sony Tech support: "Does the printer perform correctly through other applications?"

Caller: "Yes it does. It prints fine through any other application. It prints the same image(s) through other applications on the same machine."

--- other troubleshooting steps are discussed that have already been covered in this thread ---

Sony Tech support: "So the printer works fine, but CS4 is crashing on you? Do you have any other machines with this same setup that works?"

Caller: "Well, yes...there are several."

Sony Tech support: "Well, it sounds like the common denominator is Adobe. You need to speak with Adobe because the printer works fine anywhere else. Have you contacted Adobe?"

I've been out of the office. The machine will be reloaded today.

O

OpeeTaylorAuthor

Participating Frequently

This has been an ongoing issue for over 10 months.

Adobe Case #0180593007 was opened regarding this same issue on 12/8/08. It was closed on 12/17/08. The reply I received was a definition of ntdll.dll. I was referred to Microsoft to troubleshoot the file. There are no other application crashes or problems on this workstation other than the one detailed in this thread.

I was also referred to the following adobe articles:

Troubleshoot installation problems with Adobe Create Suite 4 or Point Products on Windows XP

http://www.adobe.com/go/kb404083

Troubleshoot system errors or freezes in Photoshop CS4 (Windows XP)

http://www.adobe.com/go/kb404896

Each step in the above kb articles have been followed on one of the two affected workstations.

H

Hudechrome-sd9sPI

Participating Frequently

Been reading this with some interest.

I assume you have taken the printers from the systems that crash over to the ones that don't, as well as bring over the printers from the machines that don't crash to the ones that do.

Two things pop out to me to do. One is to be talking with Dell and see if there is some variation in their installed programs and OS configurations using the s/n to trace.

Second, save a file that doesn't print as a tiff, install another editor like even Gimp and see if it now prints.

It certainly appears to be a machine problem, and in my experience, many times intractable problems like this yield to hardware replacement. EVERYTHING gets step by step replaced. The tough part though is that even if it does print ,say with Gimp, it still doesn't mean Photoshop alone is the problem. In fact, CS4 does run on the other machines, so you need to bear down on the two that don't.

Depending on the size and resources for hardware in your organization, I would have long ago pulled the offending machines installed replacements until I get all stations running. With 10 months under your belt, your wasted manpower cost has to be greater than replacing a couple of machines.

Good luck!

O

OpeeTaylorAuthor

Participating Frequently

Hudechrome,

Thank you for the reply.

Taking a printer from a system that crashes over to one that doesn't results in normal, solid printing behavior through CS4.

Regarding our Dell systems, upon arrival, we format the hard drive, install a volume license version of the OS, and then install system

drivers from either the resource disc or download them using the service tag as a reference. We do flip some BIOS settings, but there is a general standard for that.

Our security officer won't allow the installation of GIMP. It is a good program, but unfortunately freeware/shareware is banned from our

network by policy. Attempts to print the same images as TIFs through MS Ofc Picture Manager or MS Picture and Fax viewer results in normal prints without error. Without going into great detail, the images must be TIFs and remain as such due to the nature of the work done with the photos. They are large file sizes for sure, but it is non-negotiable with the users and the purpose of the photo work performed on these systems. Photo file size and/or format have not been an issue on the other working systems. The dept housing the systems has an affinity with these printers due to their print quality under magnification.

One of the problem systems was completely replaced with a new one and the problem persisted. Though the problem has existed for

10 months, I haven't worked on it the entire time. When the issue began, it was one system amongst three in close proximity to one another. I spent several months off and on troubleshooting it with no progress. The livable workaround was to send the print jobs to the same make/model of printer attached to another nearby system through a printer share. After the system was replaced and the same symptoms persisted, the workaround was re-instated once a second total rebuild proved fruitless. Now, there is another affected system in a different location (regional office). It is the only system of its kind in that location, so the current workaround is unfeasible for them and productivity is suffering.

I'm for replacing individual parts, but everything else on the machine(s) work fine. There are no symptoms of a deeper issue going on. I'd test the RAM, hard drive, run Dell diagnostics, etc. Both machines are well under the 3 year warranty and we have Dell warranty parts direct certification.

I'm going to try something tomorrow as another workaround to move the printing task away from the machine. A usb print server (<$40) will allow us to add the printer to our network print server. We've had good experiences in the past where there were no other alternatives. If this works, I can get the remote office working and spend a little more time with the system setup that is local to me. Thanks again.

A

Anonymous

Post 15 also mention taking version cue off the computers. I never installed version cue due to reading about issues with it. Something else to try unless you already have.

M

mariewarner

New Participant

XPSP2?

Why not SP3?

I believe SP3 has a new kernel.

Have you tried SP3?

O

OpeeTaylorAuthor

Participating Frequently

Both problem machines are now on XP Service Pack 3. The problem persists.

A

Anonymous

You already tried the default printer to local.

have you tried to reset the prefs? See this link

http://forums.adobe.com/thread/375776?tstart=0

For what its worth some poster on google had simular problems as yours but with different software. One poster deleted what was in the XP prefetch folder to fix a explorer problem

Also mention was 3rd party add-ons causing problems. They took the add-on out and there were no more problems. PS CS4 is flaky sometimes with add-ons too.

O

OpeeTaylorAuthor

Participating Frequently

I'm not sure why I'd need to reset preferences on a fresh install. I have done that on other installs with no success. I'll take a look at the link though, thanks.

I can try the prefetch folder, but I have found that to be a myth in regards to other applications.

It only has one 3rd-party plugin which is working fine on two other machines though it was designed for CS2.

The problem only occurs when the print dialog box is open and can occur just after clicking print from that box or at the final printer selection. All other functions of CS4 operate with no crashes.

This problem is almost identical to what we had with CS3, which was never completely resolved. I don't see how sending a print job can crash an application so easily.

Does anyone believe that the answer would be found by attaching Process Monitor to it and looking for faults there? If I find something where would be the best place to report it? I haven't had much response dealing with Adobe directly. They refer me to the same checklist I've been through numerous times.

I would be willing to share information relating to a resolution.

Chris Cox

Brainiac

Sounds like you may have a bad printer driver.

See if there is an update to the printer driver.

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