DVD Templates Have Disappeared!

[Ken Jarstad]

A bizarre development in my Elements version 2: in the DVD mode no DVD templates appear!

This is disconcerting because the first test project I made after installing on Windows 7 was a 4:3 NTSC project with a 2 hour Timeline. I auto-generated markers every 5 minutes or so, selected a suitable menu template and burned to a DL disk. It worked fine. All of my work since then has been generating 4:3 NTSC auto play, no menu disks, which work fine. I have been using Win7 Compatibility Mode - WinXP SP3.

I found only one old post from 2007 about this subject and it was not helpful. Most of the time I can work through problems such as this but this one has me stumped so I am going to post it before I turn in for the night.

I checked the installed files and found the DVD templates were all there, both NTSC and PAL. So, I did an in-place, repair-install - no change. Next I did a complete remove/install - no change. I tried opening old projects (although none even had DVD menus). Knowing that version 2 sometimes messes up when changing project templates I even tried creating a wide-screen project - no change. Then, I even tried a PAL project, hoping the PAL DVD templates would appear - no change. Drat!

One weird clue: when I examine the properties for starting 'Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0' I notice in the 'Comment:' field this:

PAL DVDTemplates

I have no idea why it appears there. And, in fact it was the reason I tried creating a PAL project for troubleshooting. Note the lack of a space between the D and T. It appeared that way before I did the repair-install and it still appears there after the complete install. As I said, bizarre!

[Steve Grisetti]

It could be that you're using version 2 on a Windows 7 system. Some of the operating system file structures changed with Vista.

You should find them in C:\PROGRAM FILES\ADOBE\PREMIERE ELEMENTS 2.0\DVD TEMPLATES.

Version 2 had some unique structure beyond that, since it included separate NTSC and PAL templates. (Later versions did not.) Maybe someone who's still running version 2 can comment.

[Ken Jarstad]

And therein lies the rub, young man. The file structure for location of the application files has not changed. The DVD templates are residing on the HDD in the proper folders. BTW, in PRE2 both NTSC and PAL files are co-located in the same folder, PAL templates have pal in the filename. And, as I mentioned, my very first project included a menu. I don't use them often and so I have no idea when in the last two months things went haywire.

Now I remember another weird thing that happened. When I did the full uninstall my DVD burner disappeared, so I couldn't reinstall or run anything from the optical drive. A simple uninstall of the driver and re-detecting of the drive would not fix it. Software detection said it wasn't there but hardware detection said it was. It was caught in some sort of la-la land. Fortunately, Win7 Help has excellent troubleshooters and it was able to finally fix this after some futzing.

[Chuck Engels]

This seems familiar for some reason. Didn't this happen to a few people over the years?
I just can't remember what the fix was, it's been awhile.

[Ken Jarstad]

The only topic I could find on this was rather unhelpful:
http://muvipix.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=737&start=0

After saving my VST plugins and existing projects I used the Advanced Mode in RevoUninstaller this time to do a thorough uninstall of PRE 2, including my preferences. This time my DVD drive didn't disappear, for which I am thankful. I reinstalled and found that PRE2 still knew about my most recent projects including the file structure on my data drive. So much for thorough uninstall! And the behavior is still the same - no DVD templates show up in the selection window. Titles still work......

If PRE 2 still maintains a most recent project list after a complete uninstall then I have to conclude that some registry values were not removed. You would think that RevoUninstaller would find all those. If some registry values were not removed is it possible an erroneous registry value - pointing to a bogus location of the DVD templates - could be the culprit? And, I wonder if it would it be worth uninstalling AGAIN - and using EasyCleaner and CCleaner to scrub out all remaining values?

[RJ Johnston]

There are various entries in the registry that point to the folder of each menu.

If you do a search for the following value in the registry, there will be a path associated with it that points to one of the DVD menu folders:
A1E89C1119CE83B44BC45C2692D24835

Can you find such a value in your registry? After you find that value, you can keep searching and find it again several times with the paths to different DVD menu folders.

One of your registry cleaners could have clobbered some of the entries in here:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Installer\UserData\...

Adobe may be looking in the registry to see where the files are installed.

[Chuck Engels]

I know there was something on the Adobe forum back around the time version 3 came out.
Can't find the archives anymore http://adobe.groupbrowser.com/

[Ken Jarstad]

Yeah, there seems to be little available about this subject.

I appreciate the registry identifier, Robert. However, I became glassy-eyed after pawing through hundreds of registry references. It appears that all the pointers to the 'DVD Templates' folder are correct and yet, not a single item appears in PRE2's DVD mode pop up window. Each folder has both NTSC and PAL templates so the location pointers must combine with either PAL or NTSC to select the appropriate template. I previously tried creating a PAL project and no DVD templates appeared there, either.

I was able to create a menu on my very first test project when I installed PRE2 on the this new Win7 rig about two months ago. I have not yet used a registry cleaner app on this rig. Since I didn't use one perhaps I should, cleaning before and after the uninstall in order to see only the leftovers from PRE2.

If all that effort doesn't work, I have just discovered that you can install the WinXP subsystem download from Micro$oft into the free VMware Player which allows anyone using Win7 to use that facility!
http://lifehacker.com/5473814/run-xp-mode-on-windows-7-machines-without-hardware-virtualization?skyline=true&s=i

[Chuck Engels]

Have you tried a new install of Premiere Elements Ken?

[Ken Jarstad]

Yes, Chuck, I mentioned that in post #5. I did an in-place repair-reinstall before opening this topic. Then I used Revo Uninstaller in Advanced Mode to do a thorough uninstall including Preferences. After reinstalling I found that PRE2 remembered my most recent projects and the projects location on my D: drive! Seems Revo Uninstaller didn't find all the registry entries. So the plan now is to use Easy Cleaner and CCleaner before and after to see if I can get rid of all the registry stuff PRE2 leaves behind.

Sheesh, no wonder Micro$oft Windows gets "asthma" after awhile. To me, proper programming practices would include a COMPLETE removal of any and all references to a program when uninstalled.

[RJ Johnston]

Can you import a Photoshop .PSD file into Premiere Elements 2 without getting an error?

[Ken Jarstad]

Yes, works fine.

Titles work fine.

Easy Cleaner hasn't been updated since 2005!

[Ken Jarstad]

Here is my experience thus far:

I have uninstalled/reinstalled PRE2 five times now. Four out of five times it disabled the DVD burner during uninstall. Fortunately, Win7 has a very good Troubleshooter utility and now that I have used it four times the fix comes in just a few minutes. Kudos to Micro$oft for this.

Although I swear up and down that the PRE2 DVD templates worked in the beginning on Win7 I can't find a way to make it work now. I used two registry tools to clean the registry before and after uninstalling PRE2 with Revo Uninstaller in its Advanced mode. In fact Revo Uninstaller found and removed some extra debris left over from my PRE8 trial. The file structure for PRE2 was completely gone from the HDD. I used the registry signature string Robert supplied to scan for any remnants of PRE2 and found none. Yet on my fifth reinstall PRE2 showed my recent projects list and was already configured for project locations on my D: drive! If everything has been removed where is PRE2 getting this information???

Next I tried installing VMware Player. I installed my now surplus copy of WinXP Pro in VMware Player and it installed easier than I thought possible - nags me to validate just like it's supposed to. Then I installed PRE2 into that context. Guess what - PRE2 DVD templates work! The "only" problems are - VMware Player only utilizes 1 CPU core, assigns only 512 MB RAM by default, is able to access the Internet although doesn't recognize any Firewire ports, uses a funky method to connect to the host file system. So, if I can live with all those limitations then I can use the DVD authoring in PRE2. I am not so sure it is worth it.

[Steve Grisetti]

Sorry if I missed this -- but, Ken, have we established whether or not the DVD templates are being installed on your computer in your PROGRAM FILES/ADOBE/PREMIERE ELEMENTS?

If there's a DVD folder with DVD templates on there, then we know that reinstalling won't fix anything. We just need to figure out why Premiere Elements isn't finding them.

[Bob]

Yet on my fifth reinstall PRE2 showed my recent projects list and was already configured for project locations on my D: drive! If everything has been removed where is PRE2 getting this information???

Ken, it sounds like your preferences file is not being deleted. Windows 7 works differently than Windows XP in redirecting files created dynamically by the application away from the Program folders and into the private Users area -- C:\Users\<user id>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Premiere Elements. There will probably be a subfolder with the version number that contains those files. Have you checked to see if you have anything there? AppData is a hidden folder, you may need to enable viewing hidden files.