corrupt "style" file

[gail spiro]

HI- I've had a problem that I've been ignoring for a while, but I'd really like to fix. The problem is, I'm afraid of making the problem worse if I don't fix it correctly. Some time ago, I must have loaded a bad or corrupt style into both PSE 6 and PSE 9. (I use both). Now, every time I open my styles, I get a message telling me I have a bad or corrupted file. I have to select the "ok" box and check it about 20 times, and then all of my files/styles open up and become usable. It's a pain in the neck, but fortunately the styles still work fine. How do I fix this problem? I've thought about copy/psating all my styles into a folder, deleting the styles folder in PSE and starting again, but I'm not sure if this is safe or if it will work.
Thanks so much,
Gail

[Steve Grisetti]

Try launching the program while holding down the Ctrl+Alt+Shift keys on the left side of your keyboard. This is often the easiest way to clear out corruptions that occasionally sneak into the program.

If that doesn't work, you can indeed delete (or just rename) the preferences files and the program will automatically create a new one next time you launch the program. How exactly you do this depends on which version of Windows you're using.

[gail spiro]

Steve- the quick trick didn't work. Where is the preferences file for PSE 6 and PSE9 on windows xp? Also, just to be more specific, the error message reads, Can't fine style a bunch of times before it gets to the sorrupt file

[Bob]

Did the error message give you the name of the file or a style? Do you know which styles you added?

You need to identify the corrupted file, remove it, and delete the MediaDatabase.db3 file from your private application data area. Photoshop Elements will rebuild the MediaDatabase.db3 file next time you start the program. You'll need to set your computer to show hidden files. The locations are different for each version of Windows and each version of Photoshop Elements.

If you know what styles you added, you can temporarily remove all the asl files you added and their associated xml files -- you'll also need to delete the MediaDatabase.db3 file. If you still get the same error message, you'll need to reinstall Photoshop Elements. But, it's more likely it's one of your added styles since it affects both versions. You can add back your added asl files and xml files one pair at a time until you find the bad one.