Photoshop cs3 hangs when using "File open"

Question

I am running Photoshop CS3 extended on an HP desktop XP( fully updated) computer - 2 GB RAM -running fine util tonight when i tried to do a "file>open" the file menu idsappears in a split second and then it locks. It acts the same when i use the keyboard shortcut. But if i reopen it and try to open a file through Bridge-it works fine. it also allows me to open recent files.

Answer 1

bernadettebuechler,
Are you allowing enough time for PS to do its "thing?" By that, I mean that since CS, PS loads and looks ready. Count to 5, and all of a sudden, you will see the hourglass up for a moment. Count to 2, and the hourglass will flash on very briefly. Then, it's ready to go. I've only had one PS lockup from ver. 2.5, and it was because I was anxious to go, PS "looked" ready to go, and I hit File>Open too soon. Palettes go white, "Not Responding" shows in the program title bar, and boom - a lockup.
Speculation was afoot, back when Activation began, CS, that PS was "phoning home," to check with Adobe, to see if all was OK. This was never confirmed, and people without an Internet connection still had this little pause, though their program ran fine, without the Internet.
I quickly learned to be patient, until I see the two hourglass "blinks." This is on two very fast systems, though with CS2. My speculation is that the reason that PS will run fine when an image in Bridge, or Windows Explorer launches it, is that you (and I) are not hitting keys, while it does its little hourglass dance. Instead, we're waiting for our image to Open, and PS is smart enough to not fully load that, until it's good and ready.
I hope that this is what you encountered and nothing more sinister.
Good luck,
Hunt
PS watch for the two hourglass blinks. First is longer - pause - quick blink - good to go.