I7 720/9 GB RAM
CS5 latest updates
GTX 260 latest updates
Files are on an 1TB G-TECH external HDD.(which is half full)
.m2ts/.mts .psd
I am editing as avchd

Started a new project of a car show I shot, trouble started when I had about 12 min. timeline length.
"where is the file xxxx" appears when I reopen or if I browse to anywhere else.
Also loading much slower, as in alot slower. On load CPU is idle but RAM is nearly maxed out.
Once its loaded and if I dont go anywhere else it performs like it always has.
Is my External HDD crapping out?
I have more trouble shooting to do, cut it into smaller sequences, move files off the G-TECH, etc..
I dont want to but may have to start over with CINEFORM .avi files.
Any Suggestions?
Thanks

RAM maxed out at startup is typical if you have a lot of footage (it's the number of files that counts, not the total time) and/or a lot of cuts, effects and rendered files. Try deleting render files, it might make a small difference (Premiere indexes all rendered files it ever did for a project). 12 minutes should not be much of a problem, unless you have like 1200 cuts in it.

To test your external drive, copy the media to a different place and see if the problem persists, it might be a possibility. Are your project and render files on the drive as well?

Also, when you switch to a different application or window and back, Premiere needs to do a quick scan if all the media and render files are still in place - the more of them, and the slower the harddrive or the connection, the longer it takes to switch back. USB drives are especially bad at it.

Hope it helps a little bit.

Thanks Bart, Moving files to another Hdd and doing some clean up. Thanks for your response. As far as the "where is the file" error I have only seen this before when I moved or deleted a file, so I gather from your post the external drive isnt keeping up. So this probably wont be helped by converting to Cineform .avi.