Trial Version of Elements 8 shuts off

Question

I have downloaded the trial version of Photoshop Elements 8 and have started to put my photos into catagories, but now after a minute or so the program shuts down with no warning.
Does this sound like an issue with the trial version or maybe a problem with my system?
Running windows XP with SP3.

Answer 1

To make sure we're talking about the same thing, let's clarify terminology: PSE calls a "catalog" the database file that tracks your entire collection of photos. While it is possible to have more than one catalog, most people have just one, and it sounds like you have just one.   PSE lets you organize your keyword tags into keyword categories and subcategories, using the Keyword Tags pane.  It doesn't sound like you've started tagging your photos.
It sounds like you've started using Display > Folder Location view to reorganize the folders containing your photos, and you are creating subfolders for different logical categories of your photos. 
PSE isn't designed to organize your photos by folder, and in fact, it's pretty bad at doing so -- if that's what you really want to do, you'd be better off with a different program.  PSE is designed to organize using keyword tags, albums, stacks, version sets, dates/times, captions, notes, star rating, map location, and camera.  Those of us with large numbers of photos generally just dump them into any old convenient set of subfolders (e.g. one folder per day) and then never pay attention to the folder organization again.
With respect to the crashes of PSE, unfortunately, there could be one of many different causes.   See this FAQ for how to troubleshoot; the first step may well be the cause of your problems (but it may not):
http://www.johnrellis.com/psedbtool/photoshop-elements-faq.htm#_Troubleshooting_Organizer_ crashes