Premiere Elements 7 crashes when clicking/adding text.

Question

First post after being an Adobe user for several years so I can't complain. :-) I purchased Premiere Elements 7 a couple months ago and it has worked very well.
I am now having a problem when attempting to add text. I tried adding text to a new project and get the message, "Adobe Premiere Elements has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience."
I then opened a finished project and clicked the text on the screen and got the same message. So it occurs when trying to add new text or editing existing text. I have tried everything outlined in a post on what to try when you are experiencing problems.
The specs to my 2002 Sony VAIO are below. Yes, it is old, but has been a workhorse during the last several years producing literally hundreds of videos. Any help you can provide is much appreciated.
Windows XP Service Pack 2
P4 processor
2 gigs of RAM
PRE7 installed on C drive with 65 gigs free space
2 TBs storage space
NVIDIA GEFORCE 5200

Answer 1

Sam,
When something works one day, but not the next, I look for what has changed. More often, than not, it's some program updating. Windows is famous for this, but then you can't update Windows, so that might rule it out.
First thing I'd look into would be Restore Points. I always run a Restore in Safe Mode, and when there is a problem, will go quite a ways back, then work up to the present.
If none of this works, then the virus/Trojan problem might loom more likely. Many of these can reside in Restore Points. When removing one, turning the auto Restore function OFF is usually advised. If you can locate such a nasty, then Google it. Chances are good that Norton, or others, will have a step-by-step way to remove it. It also seems that about 60% of all sites try to upload something nowadays, and much of it is not good. If you suspect any sort of infection, run your virus/Trojan sweeps from Safe Mode too. It will be slower, but more likely to uncover some problem. AdAware Search & Destroy offers a free version, and I usually keep it around, though I have many others. It seems to discovery things, that most other programs miss, with few false-positives. Even though I keep Norton, SpySweeper and StopZilla up, except when I am actually editing, and there is no Internet interaction, I'll do a Norton sweep in Safe Mode about once a week, just to be sure. Unfortunately, evil lurks right outside our door and some of it is tough to stop, find and disarm. The most benign sites often have little payloads, that can cause problems, if left "untreated."
Good luck,
Hunt