Photoshop not opening/creating files

Basically after a while that my pc is running, photoshop (5.1, 64bit, on windows 7) will become unable to create new files or open existing ones, rebooting the computer seems to fix it, for a while, but then it gets back to "dumb" mode.

The problem seems to be affecting the 32bit version as well. Fireworks works fine tho.

Any idea how to fix it?

Create new file-> nothing happens. Nothing. Open file-> I can browse for the file, select it, and nothing happens.

I set up all 4 of my hard disks as scratch. Ram usage is highly variable, even if I close every other application, the error remains.

Solution 1:

This problem still occurs in 2015 and I decided to share the fix that works for me: -Create new file -Set size and hit OK -hit CTRL + BREAK couple of times DONE

https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1303390?start=40&tstart=0 Read the answer from Aug 27, 2015

Solution 2:

Close Photoshop.  Then hold Command+Option+Shift (Control+Alt+Shift on PC) while you restart Photoshop.  This brings up a dialogue box where you can choose to delete your settings file.  This resolves lots of problems, and is worth trying before reinstalling.

Solution 3:

By the way, as a temporary workaround, try this:

Edit - Preferences - Performance. Uncheck [ ] Enable OpenGL Display. Close and restart Photoshop.

Remember to turn OpenGL back on after you update your display driver, or you'll be without the OpenGL-specific features.