Needing help making a Slideshow in Premiere 7

Question

Back in 2008 several contributors on this forum helped me make a slideshow using Photoshop Elements 6 and Premiere Elements 4, which I am forever grateful for. It was a long process as I had never made a slideshow before, but after much labor I created a wonderful slideshow of my Alaska photos with music. After a lot of reading I decided to upgrade to Elements and Premiere 7, which I was able to actually do for free.   I purchased the Muvipix.com Guide to Adobe Premiere Elements 7 as I was told this would be a great resource to help me out. Well, here I am two years later trying to make a slideshow again and still as confused as ever. I am trying to make the slideshow in Adobe Premiere Elements, as I was told last time it was easier to do it that way if I wanted to add music to it. I am just getting started and am already confused.
My first question is: Am I best off making the slide show in Premiere Elements rather than Photoshop Elements? I want to add music to it.
I have tried using both the book that came with the program and the Muvipix book and I am lost on step one.
In the Adobe manual it says to deselect the Show Video and Show Audio buttons. Why do I need to deselect these?
In the Muvipix book it tells me to select a number of clips amd then either right-click on them or click on the ">>" button to access the "Create Slideshow" too.  I can't find the ">>" button. How do I access the the "Create Slideshow" feature?
I have a question about the stills that show up in the panel. Many actual photos appear in this panel. However, there are also a large group of boxes with two swirling arrows, one green and one red. Why are they there rather than actual photos? I have tried double clicking on a few and they all bring up the same photo folder from "my pictures." I am confused.
Sorry if my questions seem very basic, but this is not what I do for a living. It is a once every couple of year hobby. Perhaps if I ever get it downpat I will do it more often.
Thanks for any help you can give me. I am sure I will need a little more handholding. I have been looking for the last two years for a class on this program. I know that is what I need. However, none have been available in my area.

Answer 1

Thanks for the response Steve. I am hoping it will be easier this time around.
"If you're seeing empty boxes with swirling arrows in them instead of your photos in the Project panel, it means that the program no longer has access to the photos -- either because they were moved or the device that they were on (your camera?) was disconnected from the computer. You really need to copy these photos to your computer's hard drive if you're going to use them in a project"
These photos were still on the harddrive. I checked in Photoshop Elements and they needed to get reconnected. Here is what I think happened. When I download my photos, they go into MY PICTURES. When I move them from where they automatically get placed by the program, into a folder of my choice, they seem to get "unconnected". I was able to reconnect them and now they appear in Premiere Elements. Thanks for the tip which actually led me to a solution.
"There are actually at least four different ways to make a slideshow in Premiere Elements and Photoshop Elements. Each has advantages. Which method are you using? (In all cases, as I say in my book, you should make sure your photos are sized to no larger than 1000x 750 pixels in size before you begin.)"
I am just starting and I was using Premiere Elements 7. I thought I was told back in 2008 on this forum it was easier to do it all in Premiere Elements if I wanted to add music rather than creating it in Photoshop Elements and then moving it to Premiere. As far as photo size, I am a real beginner here. I have no idea what size they are or where to look to find that out. All I know is that  my Alaska slideshow turned out great and did nothing about changing pixels. Where would I find out how to change pixel size?
"It sounds like you're using the Create Slideshow tool in the Project media panel. (As I say in Chapter 1, you'll only be able to see the >> menus if you go to the Window drop-down menu and select Show Docking Headers.) You can also access this tool by selecting all of the photos you want to include in the Project panel and right-clicking on them."
I did read about Show Docking Headers and did follow that instruction. That was the first thing I did, actually. However, when I am in Premiere ELements, I still don't see where I find the Create Slideshow tool that you mention on p. 59. I am a bit confused with this option. I can move the photos I want from the panel to the Timeline, but I am confused as to where the "Create Slideshow Tool" is located.
Thanks again for your help.I know I will get this done, just very slowly.