Slideshow is freezing up on client's computer

[sefowler1]

I used the newest version 5.1 to prepare a slideshow. It has two pieces of music, both MP3, and about 55 pictures. It plays fine on my laptop which has windows XP. It plays fine on my home desktop computer as well. My client called after delivery to say that it is freezing up on both of her computers. Any suggestions as to why?

[sefowler1]

I have opened the EXE file I created and it is locking up on my computer now. One time it will stop at one slide and hold for maybe 20 seconds before continuing on. Then the next time I play it, it stops at another slide and will not advance even though the music is playing.

[fh1805]

Hi, welcome to the PTE Forum.

Is the client running Windows Vista by any chance? There have been several threads rcently where this subject has been discussed. For example:

http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7531

[fh1805]

Ignore my previous post. If you are experiencing the problem yourself on Windows XP then it isn't a Vista problem.

You could try using the Search facility of the forum to try and find threads that might have a bearing on your problem. I would suggest using keywords such as: Hang, locking up, etc.

[fh1805]

Let's try again...

What size is the exe file?

What specification are your two computers (in terms of CPU speed, RAM and graphics card)?

What specification are the client's two computers?

What size are the individual image files?

The more detailed the infomation that you supply, the more likelihood there is that one or other of the highly experienced and technically astute members of this forum will be able to point you in the right direction.

[Igor]

If you can press Esc button and slideshow exits it indicates that it doesn't freeze up.

Most likely you used too large images with short time interval and slideshow can't load new slides in time.

Reduce images size (for example if you used 3500x2200 images, set 2500x1700) and/or increase time interval between slides.

[sefowler1]

I did try searching, but couldn't find anything helpful.

The images are each 3-5MB.

The EXE file is 182 MB.

I don't know about the client's computers, but here are the specs for my laptop which is also freezing on some slides. XP home edition, 1.73 Ghz processor, 1 GB RAM.

[sefowler1]

If you can press Esc button and slideshow exits it indicates that it doesn't freeze up.

Most likely you used too large images with short time interval and slideshow can't load new slides in time.

Reduce images size (for example if you used 3500x2200 images, set 2500x1700) and/or increase time interval between slides.

Yes, it does exit on ESC. I will resize the images and try again. Thank you!

[fh1805]

Why such big image files?

If the sequence is intended only for viewing on the computer monitor (or playback through a digital projector connected to the computer) then the file size should only be about 150-250KB each.

Try resizing all the image files down to 96 or even 72 pixels per inch resolution. Also, set the overall size of each image to the smallest size that you need for your monitors: e.g. if the smallest monitor is 1024x768 then resize all images to be 1024x768 at either 96 or 72 pixels per inch.

[sefowler1]

That is the size of my images straight out of camera. I have not done a show like this before so I didn't know to resize the images first. Thank you for the help.

[Igor]

In the future version 5.2 slideshow will reduce size of image before loading images to video card if large size is surplus. It will solve this problem although EXE file will be still large.

For example if you current display size 1280x1024 and you used 3500x2200 images without animation, slideshow will automatically reduce this image to 1280x1024. Of course, if display say 1600x1200 slideshow automatically reduces to 1600x1200.

[jfa]

In the future version 5.2 slideshow will reduce size of image before loading images to video card if large size is surplus. It will solve this problem although EXE file will be still large.

For example if you current display size 1280x1024 and you used 3500x2200 images without animation, slideshow will automatically reduce this image to 1280x1024. Of course, if display say 1600x1200 slideshow automatically reduces to 1600x1200.

What a great idea/addition to PTE Igor. I'm sure this will prevent a lot of problems new users have.