LR does not follow command instantly

[David PZ]

Lightroom Version Number

5.7

Operating System

I have LR on my MacBook Pro. Everything outside LR works normally, but in LR, when I use the mouse, the color wheel shows up spinning and I had to wait, sometimes for quite a while. Ever action I want to accomplish lags by a few seconds when it works. When I click and hold any slider and drag it, the action lags too. Does this mean it's time to replace my LR version?

 

[Linwood Ferguson]

There are performance improvements in 7.x on into 8.0, but I frankly would not expect you to see dramatic improvement in the sorts of actions you describe. There are a lot of guides for improving performance generally - enable GPU or disable to see if it helps, add memory, faster disks, etc. -- but just from your description I would say that the speed of your computer and your performance expectations are not aligned. Upgrading to 8.0 might help... actually in all probability will help... but I doubt it will help enough. The really big improvements came in areas like increased parallelism during preview build and exports. Slider movement is much more dependant on GPU and CPU performance, and while I am sure Adobe will say they continually improve them (and they do), it has seen much less dramatic improvement over time than previews and exports. Though definitely make sure you have GPU enabled (or at least have tried it).

Since you can trial run 8.0, you might consider doing that as a test. But my money would be on a new computer as the real fix. plus 8.0 to take advantage of it perhaps (I have no idea how hard it would be to install 5.7 on a new computer, as I don't speak Mac.).

 

[LouieSherwin]

As Linwood said there are many improvements that come with the newer versions but you may also need to upgrade your OS as well as 10.11 is quite a bit out of date.

Having said so the symptoms you are describing indicate something out of whack with your installation. I think your first port of call would be to reset your Lightroom Preferences.

Here are instructions for how to do that. how-do-i-reset-lightrooms-preferences


-louie

 

[David PZ]

Thank you, Linwood & Louie. I forgot to mention that the image showed up in LR often unfocused first, then it popped into focus. Also, I removed a lot of spots from one image. When I went back, Some of them showed up again. One spot I just could not remove. All these things are happening to me for the very first time after years of not having any trouble in the Develop module. My HD still has about 79 GB free of 240 GB. I'll try what you have suggested, but am concerned that I am not competent enough to understand and do everything right. I still stay with OS 10.11 El Capitan because I read online that many users after updating to a higher OS, LR 5 or 6 do not work properly anymore. Linwood, I thought after LR 6, newer LR became available only through subscription; I have not heard about LR 7 and 8. (For my use, LR 5 is plenty good since I only process JPGs from my iPhone. I notice that you can still buy LR 6 online. Getting the disc costs a lot more than buying and downloading it from some source – I just don't know enough yet.) Thanks again. Perhaps it's time to get a new computer. This MacBook is getting old since I "inherited" from my younger son. Do you think that might solve the whole problem, even though the spinning color wheel has not shown up yet outside LR use?

 

[Linwood Ferguson]

LR 6 was available as both subscription and for purchase. The final purchasable license was 6.14. From 7.0 forward it is available only by subscription ($10/mo in the US). I personally would not recommend buying version 6 now, it is pretty badly out of date, and things are starting to break (also in 5), e.g. the map module stopped (or is about to, I forget the date) working unless you are on version 8.

There is no solution to "Lightroom runs slow". There are only incremental improvements. Adobe has done a lot, but depending on what you do (lots of brush/local adjustments are indeed often a problem), and what your expectations are, there is no "fix". Some people see how fast it runs as just fine, some (and I am one) will never be happy if I ever have to wait for anything during editing -- and even in the latest version on a fast computer I still wait. That is why discussing "it runs slowly" is so hard online, it is very hard to distinguish "broken" from "all you can get from that computer" unless you have some kind of side by side comparison you can do with a friend's similar computer.

Do try the GPU setting, see if it will "take", see if it helps. If it is already on, try turning it off (in rare cases it makes it slower). Maybe the clear-preferences, though be sure you know how to reset them to what you need first (I've seen that help people, but remain reluctant because it fails to help frequently and some people get really confused with all preferences reset).

A new computer will absolutely help. Will it help enough? I don't know. A new computer might require a subscription (I do not keep up with Mac and which versions run on which LR versions, sorry).

Any camera clubs or such around, where you might compare with other users, literally side by side?

 

[Richard Behan]

David;

I have a 2012 Mac Mini devoted to photo editing, and I'm running LR 6.14. (Still hopping mad at Adobe for forcing its customers into a MoPay scheme.) LR ran slower and slower, until it was taking nearly two minutes just to load. (Differing from your problem, though, I was having trouble with other software as well running at a glacial pace.) My local computer tech suggested replacing the original mechanical hard drive with a solid state SSD drive, and that did the trick. FWIW.

 

[David PZ]

Thank you Linwood and Richard. The slowness (practically a breakdown) did happen when I did a lot of spot removals continuously. Perhaps I was pushing too hard. Does resetting preferences take care of the GPU setting Linwood mentioned? I think doing this and looking into a new computer are what I should consider first. If LR 5 works again, it'll be good enough , since I only use the Library, Develop, and Print modules. If I look into newer versions of LR, I'll have to find out with what Apple OS they will work compatibly. As Thanksgiving is approaching, my younger son who knows a lot more about computers will be here with me. So we'll try resetting the preferences together. I'll let give you the good or bad news here again. Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[Linwood Ferguson]

I would reset the GPU separately. For one thing it is otherwise a no-change in terms of functionality. It is quite literally one check box.

If it is checked now, make sure it does not show an error underneath. If it does, let us know what, but more than likely your GPU is not compatible (or possibly needs new drivers).

If it is checked now and shows no error (just the name of the device), then uncheck it. Test and see if it is faster (more than likely slower, if slower set it back).

If it is not checked now, try checking it. Say OK, go back in and look and see if it gives an error. If no error good, try and see if it is faster. If faster, great, leave it - if slower then go back and uncheck it.

Everything should behave identically (+/- speed) whether or not checked, and you do not need to restart Lightroom for it to take effect.

You can reset preferences if you are comfortable with doing so. If you want to do it, maybe take screen shots of all the settings scenes in preferences and catalog settings and check them again after you reset.

I would not expect a lot from either, but it is worth a shot I guess.

PS. After writing this it occurs to me that way back in 5.x I do not know if the GPU setting requires restarting lightroom or not. It may be a good idea to close LR and restart after checking or unchecking the box, just to make sure. I know in 7.x forward you do not need to restart lightroom.

 

[David PZ]

Hi Linwood, thank you again for trying to help me. This is truly a friendly forum. Guess what. I turned on my LR 5 and didn't see any spinning wheel. I tested editing in the Develop module and everything worked fine, no delay at all. Looking back, I must have stressed out LR, for the color wheel came on after I started removing spots. There were small spots all over the the image in the background area, so I just clicked on them as fast as I could, as it was so easy and there were so many of them to take care of. I guess I just overwhelmed the system, you could say. I'll see if it stays good for good. Happy Thanksgiving to all.