Solving not enough computing umph

[NaphtaliPress]

I use Adobe InDesign for book creation. One book I'm working on is made up of chapters with one that is pretty large. The indexing is huge with version/textual variant errata, author, subject, and scripture indices. When I try to work on the index with all the chapters open the program can take 10-20 minutes to compute a change or regen the index. Is this memory or processor related? I can work on other tasks (like browse PB). When I start task manager it says the InDesign is not responding but if I leave it alone it eventually finishes. This happens both on my laptop and on the desktop. The laptop is Windows Home 7, Dell XPS 1640, with an Intel Core2 Duo CPU 2.13, GHz, 4 GB memory. The destop is an old XP system but with comparable or better memory (not sure; but cannot check right now). Any suggestions. If I work on chapters, except for the last, I don't have the problem. With the last it takes 30 seconds or more to make changes even to the text.

 

[Edward]

Have you tried dumping everything not needed for the operating system and that one program (including your anti-virus program and everything else that thinks it has a right to load at boot). It might free up enough resources for you to get through what you need to do. Then, of course, immediately re-boot to get all of your normal protections back. I'd use task manager to kill every possible program. And disconnect from the internet.

 

[NaphtaliPress]

Thanks. That may help speed a tad on the XP desktop as it always seems to finish even though task manager says InDesign is not responding. The last regen of the index took 55 minutes. However, on the Windows 7 laptop I get a popup that says the program is not responding and I have never waited longer than about 50 minutes and nothing seems to happen so I click okay and the program disappears immediately. I am beginning to think it is an InDesign problem as I've seen a few things reported online like this but no one has much of a solution (memory and processor are not the issue apparently but complex books or maybe a layout going hinky but not visibly so, just some hidden problem that explodes only when the regen of the index is started; speculation so far). Hopefully my XP system lasts long enough to go to print with the book!