Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 - Comparison with Picasa and Canon Zoom Browser

Question

I have recently bought a new computer and connected it to a USB hard drive which contained all my photos and a copy of an Adobe Photoshop Elements (APE) 4 catalog which permitted me to run APE 4 directly from the USB drive. The new computer runs on Windows 7 with Adobe Photoshop Elements 7. When I attempted to open the old catalog, created in APE 4 APE 4, APE 7 needed to convert it. The converted catalog then needed to reconnect with files and this took hours because APE seems to be incapable of sorting this out automatically. On the other hand Picasa 3 dealt with the matter in minutes and Canon Zoom Browser dealt with it in seconds. Why is this? What are the advantages of using APE 7 over Picasa 3 or Canon Zoom Browser?

Answer 1

John McQuade wrote:
I avoid keeping photos on the C Drive of my computer because of adverse past experiences of losing data when problems arose and it was necessary to reinstall Windows. I prefer to use two separate hard disc drives connected to my computer using  USB ports so that I have all photos and catalogs on each drive. PSE catalogs appear to be drive letter specific so that a catalog created on one drive will not function if simply copied to the other. In PSE-4 I overcame this problem by opening the copied catalog and changing all references to drive letters. In PSE-7 I am unable to open the database and my goal is to find a quick and efficient way of modifying a copied catalog so that it functions on a drive different to the one on which the catalog was created.
Finally, and at long last, a kindred spirit that won't keep photos on the OS drive. I was told as recently as >> yesterday << that my post about saving photos anyplace else but  "C:/" was "non-sequitur".
Second, I'm sort of accustomed to "USB drive", as a synonym for "flash drive", and "Ext HDD" referring to an external HDD, (this makes sense, at least in my twisted individual perception), so accordingly, I apologize for my knee-jerk lecture about it.  (In hindsight, perhaps the only child in me is expecting too much also).
I never use external HDDs, but rather install additional HDDs internally to accomplish the same net result. My sensibilities here are, they are quite a bit less expensive, they do the same job, and you don't have addional s*** laying all over the place.
IMO, you are overthinking the database issue. I get to say that since I have no such ability to do so, and additionally, I have never been unable to reconnect a catalog other than within the normal Windows environment.
Therefore, I suggest changing the drive letter(s) to that of the old drive(s), and remain in blisslful ignorance as to whether PSE-7 is using the SN# or Drive letter to do its "dirty work".
As Mr. Ellis has pointed out, you're trying to do too many things at once. I'm going to suggest an "experimental" fix which is sort of backwards from Mr. Ellis', but retains the same spirit.
Install PSE-4 on the NEW machine! Insert its catalog file into its (PSE-4) correct folder. This location can be found by "Help" > "System Info".
Upon installation, PSE-4 will generate a new catalog, "My Catalog", therefore you must change the old catalog's name, (say "My Catalog 2"), to avoid a conflict.
You might have to change the "compatibility" mode for PSE-4 several times, before PSE-7 will be able to follow the file path.
As an additional note, since PSE-7 is technically, (according to Adobe), "incompatible", you can match its compatibility mode with PSE-4's, at the onset. After you have stabilized the system, change PSE-7's mode back to whatever works best.
If you need any more info on these operations, please feel free to post back.
I would like to add, that my PSE-7 in Windows 7 runs poorly in comparision with the same program in the XP environment. This seems not to be "typical", but IMO, worth mentioning.
Please also bear in mind that you can paste the entire catalog file into the "Open Catalog" dialog box, and PSE will place in its folder for you...!
Then, assuming the HDD letters are the same, it will reconnect "instantly", or in the case of a PSE-4 ".psa" cat file, PSE-7 will convert it, then open it instantly.
As an afterthought, by changing the drive letters, then pasting the .psa file into the "Catalog Open" dialog box, you do not have to make any additional installations of PSE, nor muck about in any database.