I am using elements 5.0 and have been downloading my pictures from my card for about 1 year now. In the past, when my pictures were finished downloading and come up in organizer, I could see the actual photo. Now after downloading, all I have is an Hour glass instead of a photo. Any suggestions as to how I can go back to the way it was before?
dreese4

I don't use organizer so can't help but am bumping this back up so maybe someone can help. It sounds like a memory problem to me though

Ok ,here goes, after doing some google searching I came up with this..the person had the same problem you did, hourglass after downloading images. I sure hope this works for you.

Close Organizer.
Open Windows Explorer and click Tools>Folder Options>View and then be sure Show Hidden Files and Folder is clicked on and then Apply to All Folders (this is just to be sure we can see some things Adobe hides by default).
I am assuming you are using the default Organizer location so go to
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Catalog Folders and find the My Catalog folder. I am talking the folder, not the My Catalog.PSA file.
Move this folder to your Recycle Bin, but do not erase it yet.
Open Organizer and see if you notice any difference. There are some "support" files in this folder, including your thumbnails, that will get rebuilt so it may take a few minutes. If you start to see your thumbnails reappear, do the "Nanny-Nanny-hoo-hoo" dance while the machine builds all the thumbnails
Hopefully this will correct the problem.

If this does not fix the problem, I would then try this:
Close Organizer and repeat the steps above.
Look in C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\x.0\Organizer and find a status.dat file
Move this file to your recycle bin and open Organizer.
UserName will be your user name
x.0 will be the version of PSE you have 3.0, 4.0 or 5.0

This worked for the person with the problem

here is another

6 I can’t see a large file’s thumbnail in the Organizer, even though it appears in the File Browser. Thumbnails of images that are more than 12 megapixels don’t display in Organizer, so all you’ll see for those graphics is an hourglass. From within Organizer highlight the image, click the Edit icon, and select Go To Standard Edit. In the Editor go to the Image menu, choose Resize, and select Image Size. In the Image Size dialog box, type 72 in the Resolution field and select the Resample Image checkbox. Go to the File menu, select Save As, and select JPEG from the Format drop-down menu. Also, make sure the Include In The Organizer and Save In Version Set With Original checkboxes have check marks. Click Save. The file is now a lower-resolution version of the original, and it will act as a placeholder in the Organizer.

Donna... can you give us an update on this?

Update on my hour glass pics.... I did the instructions and it worked, until my computer shut down because my multi breaker kicked off. Then when I got back on to the organizer, the hour glass was back. I didn't have time to check into it any further. Another thing for another day.
dreese4

Thanks for investigating I really appreciate it.

Update on my hour glass pics.... I did the instructions and it worked, until my computer shut down because my multi breaker kicked off. Then when I got back on to the organizer, the hour glass was back. I didn't have time to check into it any further. Another thing for another day.
dreese4

Thanks for investigating I really appreciate it.

By multibreaker, I assume you mean powerstrip? If that's the case, you either need to replace it or unplug the hairdryer, toaster, and space heater.

depending on when your computer did an shutdown, you are most likely going to have to do the whole thing again. At least you know it sort of worked.