Images very slow to open in Photoshop Elements 7

[nala]

I have used Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 and its predecessors for some time but, recently, a problem has ocurred in that colour photograph images take between one and two minutes to open. I have Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 loaded also and the same images open instantly in that programme.
To be honest, I have recently been "playing about" with colour management - a subject about which I confess to being far from an expert - and I suspect that I may have inadvertantly upset something whilst doing so. Being now at something of a loss as to know exactly what to investigate, I throw myself on your mercy and ask for knowlegeable guidance.

 

[Maguscreed]

Try applying this update, it addresses a problem that may be the cause of your issue.
Slow performance in applications that use the DirectWrite API on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2

Or better yet open up windows update and apply the optional updates because there's 4 of them I know of related to direct draw and d3d applications and performance.

 

[nala]

Maguscreed,
Many thanks but DirectWrite appears to concerned with text and none of the images in question contain any. Additionally, I have checked with Win Update and am fully up-to-date, something I am pretty scrupulous about.