Disclaimer: The following is not endorsed by Adobe in any way. I am just a user, like you. These are my views and recommendations. However, they are based upon more than 15 years of experience and success using Adobe software, as well as a decade of participation in the forums. I make these recommendations because I use them myself. I know they work.
Step 1: If you can, start troubleshooting with a basic knowledge of computers and Premiere Pro "getting started" training at a minimum. With these things in hand, you will have a much easier time in trying to understand any problems with your project better so that you can solve them faster and easier.
A. Computer Knowledge -- You might not know how to build a PC from scratch, but one does need to be more in tune with your own computer to run Premiere Pro reliably. As a savvy troubleshooter of a PC or Mac, be sure you are familiar with your computer, its OS, computer components, and how to maintain your computer, along with how Premiere Pro system requirements ties in with those things. You should also know as to whether you are operating a relatively low, medium, or high powered computer, and its status as a working machine.
B. User Guide and Training Materials -- Premiere Pro is a professional tool and it can be somewhat overwhelming to learn. While you train (the Learn workspace is a great place to start with its guided tutorials), refer to the User Guide as frequently as necessary to guide you smoothly through the in-app tutorials. Need more training? LinkedIn Learning and others have professional training programs you can complete too.
If you are already past computer and Premiere Pro basics, you can skip to Step 2.
Step 2: Basic Troubleshooting. If you still have a problem after successfully completing step 1 above (do NOT skip step 1), give these a try. They are listed in no particular order, and not all suggestions will apply to every issue.
A. Restart. -- Close and restart Premiere Pro. If that doesn't help, restart the computer. (You'd be surprised how many issues this one will solve.)
B. Test other media. --
- Did the media come from a camera? It sometimes happens that a particular problem is specific to one media type, so testing other supported camera media is a good troubleshooting step.
- Did the media come from a phone, drone, or video stream like from OBS? Media from mobile devices, game streams, drones sometimes require that you convert them if they contain a variable frame rate (right click on a clip and choose "Properties" to check or use freeware Media Info).
- Convert them back to .mp4 or, better yet, to an editing codec using freeware called Shutter Encoder. For .mp4, you can also use Handbrake.
- If you don't wish to convert them, you can use a hardware recorder for screen capture. Blackmagic and AJA both make suitable devices.
C. Use the Media Browser. -- (no longer an issue) In v.22 and later, this has changed, so strict use of the Media Browser for importing card-based media is no longer required. For v.15.x and previous: import card-based media via Media Browser only.
D. Try a new sequence. -- They can get corrupted, so start a new sequence in the same project and test that out. If it works, you might be able to copy/paste everything into the new sequence and get back to work.
E. Try a new project. -- Like sequences, project files can also become corrupted, so try out a new one. If it works, you might be able to import the old project into the new one and get back to work. When importing projects, use the Media Browser and import only one sequence at a time. Test that out before importing the next sequence.
F. Reset Premiere Pro Preferences. -- Holding down Shift + ALT (Windows) or Shift + Option (macOS) while Premiere Pro starts up and until the Welcome screen appears. This resets both the preferences and plug-ins and solves many issues.
G. Remove effects and transitions. -- It does sometimes occur that a specific effect or transition, or a setting in one of those, causes crashes and other odd behavior. So work through your project by removing the effects and transitions to locate the offender. Error dialog boxes can often pinpoint the error with a timecode value, so be sure to check that if one appears. There is also a "Mute FX" button you can add and try, as well.
H. Clear the Media Cache. -- Choose File > Close All Projects. Then choose Preferences > Media Cache. Remove Media Cache Files > click the Delete button. In the dialog box, choose the option "Delete all media cache files from the system" (if this option is disabled, you need to go back and close all projects). Click OK. When you reopen the project, these cache files will take some time to rebuild, so allow some time for that.
I. Rename Media Folders. -- With Premiere Pro closed, rename the top level folder containing the media. When you reopen the project, relink the media to the new folder and let the cache files rebuild.
J. Uninstall all plug-ins. -- Even if the plug-in isn't used, just having it installed might be the problem. So test without them. For Windows users, I recommend using IOBit's Uninstaller for the task. Perform a Powerful Scan after the normal uninstall process to make sure all the leftovers are gone.
K. Test on a second machine. -- Premiere Pro allows two activations. Test things out on a second computer system. If it works on the second, you might have a hardware issue on the primary system.
L. Render -- After setting in and out points, choose Sequence > Render In to Out. It can easily happen that a system just isn't powerful enough to handle sequence playback in real time. Try rendering the timeline. This can apply especially when using Dynamically Linked After Effects compositions or motion graphics templates.
M. Turn off GPU Accleration -- Choose Project Settings > General > Video Rendering and Playback > Renderer to find the Software Only setting. Unfortunately, GPU acceleration isn't perfect. Sometimes this is the only way to get things working again.
N. Remove QuickTime -- (this is no longer an issue since Adobe built codecs were introduced)
Step 3: Advanced Troubleshooting. If steps 1 and 2 haven't solved the issue (do NOT skip step 1), give these more advanced options a try.
A. Update drivers. -- The GPU diver, I/O device drivers, audio drivers, network drivers, etc. Get them directly from the hardware manufacturer.
B. Roll back a driver. -- Conversely to the above, there are times when a new driver will introduce a bug that wasn't there before, so installing an older driver can sometimes solve the problem.
C. Remove third-party hardware. -- In the spirit of eliminating variables during the troubleshooting process, physically remove any third-party hardware like I/O devices from the system, and fully uninstall their drivers. Keep it out until everything works again. (Or if this turns out to be the issue, replace the hardware.)
D. Remove security software. -- Windows 10 includes sufficient anti-virus and firewall protection, if you know what you're doing. (See step 1B above.) Third-party security tools can and sometimes do interfere with the proper operation of Adobe software. Just don't use them.
Do I Still Need Anti-Virus on Windows?
E. Reinstall Premiere Pro. -- It does sometimes happen that something goes weird with an install. When you perform this step, use the Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool to ensure a complete removal of the software, and then reinstall.
How and when to use the Creative Cloud Cleaner tool | Advanced steps
F. Try a new user account. -- Like sequences and projects, even user accounts can sometimes go weird. Try creating a new Admin user account and running PP there. If this works, you will have to move everything over to the new account.
G. Don't move documents. -- Be sure to leave My Documents in its default location on the C: drive. Moving that has caused issues for many people. If you're in a networked environment and can't do that, move Premiere Pro to a non-networked computer and do this. Same goes for Mac users, do not move the documents folder. Furthermore, use of iCloud can cause problems with the Documents folder.
H. Use local drives only. -- Test everything on internal drives when troubleshooting. You can add in networked and removable drives for backup and archiving. Add on attached drives if they are SSDs or RAIDs connected via high speed data cable. Only use networked drives which have been approved and tested for post-production. A run-of-the-mill NAS will likely not be up to the task.
I. Reinstall Windows -- This is not a bad thing to do every once in a while. If nothing else has worked, this might be worth trying.
Step 4: Back to Basics. There are many people successfully using Premiere Pro under less than ideal conditions, but if nothing previously listed has solved your issue, it might be time to take a look at which points below you're violating and correct them.
I recommend running Premiere Pro only on a:
A. Use a properly configured PC -- I recommend Intel CPUs and NVIDIA GPUs for hardware in an edit system. AMD CPUs and GPUs are not recommended. Have multiple internal hard drives to spread out the load, ideally separating project files, cache and scratch files, media and exports onto their own dedicated drives. Spinning drives should be connected internally and at 7200rpm. SSDs and M.2 drives are ideal for internal drives too. Use at least a 24" 1920 x 1080 monitor.
B. Self-built -- If you can, and you do know what you are doing, try building your own computer. You can build a higher quality system in an afternoon. HP, Dell and other such companies normally install a bunch of crap you don't need. It's cheaper and better to build your own system.
C. Windows machine -- In my opinion, they just run better, and are cheaper to build and buy. $2,000 Custom PC vs $4,000 Mac Pro
D. Dedicated to editing. -- Only install what you need to do the job. Don't install games, office, email or other unnecessary software on an edit system if you can avoid it. Perform those tasks on a second machine or use a mobile device or tablet, like an iPad.
I recommend the above because I believe it will work for the overwhelming majority of people, otherwise, you increase the likelihood of having a problem. Since you're here, you're having a problem. And if you're at step 4, it's a difficult problem that just might require this drastic a measure to correct.
Step 5: Now what? If you have successfully completed steps 1 through 4 and you're still having an issue, read the following guide on the information we need in the forums in order to help.
A. How To Ask For Help
Mod notes: Title of discussion changed to avoid confusion with staff created FAQs. Some passages were rewritten by mod to update and modernize the article.
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