Every time I try to open Adobe Premiere Elements, it crashes upon startup. The 1 in 20 times it does open, it crashes when I try to add/watch video clips.

Question

How can I stop this from happening?

Answer 1

From the Premiere Elements Information FAQ http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1042180
•What version of Premiere Elements? Include the minor version number (e.g., Premiere Elements 12 with the 12.0.1 update).
•What operating system? This should include specific minor version numbers, like "Mac OSX v10.6.8"---not just "Mac"
•Has this ever worked before?  If so, do you recall any changes you made to Premiere Elements, such as adding Plug-ins, brushes, etc.?  Did you make any changes to your system, such as updating hardware, printers or drivers; or installing/uninstalling any programs?
•Are you using an account with Administrator Privileges?
Run as Administrator http://forums.adobe.com/thread/969395 (Encore + "All" Premiere)
•Have you installed any recent program or OS updates? (If not, you should. They fix a lot of problems.)
•What kind(s) of image file(s)? When talking about camera raw files, include the model of camera.
•If you are getting error message(s), what is the full text of the error message(s)?
•What were you doing when the problem occurred?
•What other software are you running?
•Tell us about your computer hardware. How much RAM is installed?  How much free space is on your system (C:) drive?
And some other questions...
•What are you editing, and does your video have a red line over it BEFORE you do any work?
•Which version of Quicktime do you have installed?
What is your exact brand/model graphics adapter (ATI or nVidia or ???)
What is your exact graphics adapter driver version?
Have you gone to the vendor web site to check for a newer driver?
For Windows, do NOT rely on Windows Update to have current driver information
-you need to go direct to the vendor web site and check updates for yourself
ATI Driver Autodetect http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/auto-detect-tool
nVidia Driver Downloads http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us
nVidia Driver Rollback PreElements-10 http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1317675
Dual video problems - Do you have dual graphics adapters?
Go to the Windows Control Panel and select Hardware and Sound and then select Device Manager... In Device manager you click the + sign to the left of Display Adapters... and see if 2 are listed
IF YES, read below
-http://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/kb/error---preludevideo-play-modules.html
-http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1001579
-Use BIOS http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1019004?tstart=0
-link to why http://forums.adobe.com/message/4685328
-http://www.anandtech.com/show/4839/mobile-gpu-faceoff-amd-dynamic-switchable-graphics-vs-n vidia-optimus-technology/2
-HP Fingerprint/Password conflict http://forums.adobe.com/thread/911575
-Mac Utility http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1017891?tstart=0