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Could not open Photoshop because scratch disks are full

Explorer ,
Oct 24, 2017 Oct 24, 2017

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Adobe Photoshop CC

Mac OS X El Capitan Version 10.11.6

I couldn't open photoshop because the "scratch disks are full." I don't know what this means.

Could anyone point out to me the solution to this problem?

Screen Shot 2017-10-24 at 10.43.01 PM.png

Thanks,

Marco

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correct answers 1 Correct answer

Community Expert , Oct 25, 2017 Oct 25, 2017

marcoe1065748  wrote

Hi, my current disk space is 4.31 / 120 GB.

If that means 4GB free space, the Photoshop message is very real. You need to free up a lot of space fast. Not just for Photoshop, but a system drive that full is a disaster waiting to happen.

Photoshop moves a lot of data around and only a small part of it can be held in RAM. So Photoshop reserves a portion of your hard drive for temporary working storage. This is the scratch disk. Without it Photoshop cannot function.

Generally you s

...

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LEGEND ,
Oct 24, 2017 Oct 24, 2017

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Is the message true? Exactly how much space is free on your scratch disks (or your only disk)?

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Explorer ,
Oct 24, 2017 Oct 24, 2017

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Hi, my current disk space is 4.31 / 120 GB.

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Community Expert ,
Oct 25, 2017 Oct 25, 2017

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marcoe1065748  wrote

Hi, my current disk space is 4.31 / 120 GB.

If that means 4GB free space, the Photoshop message is very real. You need to free up a lot of space fast. Not just for Photoshop, but a system drive that full is a disaster waiting to happen.

Photoshop moves a lot of data around and only a small part of it can be held in RAM. So Photoshop reserves a portion of your hard drive for temporary working storage. This is the scratch disk. Without it Photoshop cannot function.

Generally you should never allow a drive to fill up to more than 75% capacity or so. 

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New Here ,
Feb 09, 2018 Feb 09, 2018

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How do I clear up my hard drive? Some response said to delete any TEMP#### files from my mac. I couldn't find any. Maybe I didn't do it right. I cannot open Photoshop so I can't change my preferences from photoshop.

I recently got a lot of fonts that I added to my desktop. Could that have something to do with it?

Please advise.

Joanne

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Community Expert ,
Feb 09, 2018 Feb 09, 2018

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I could answer that better if you were on Windows.

Generally, most of the junk filling up your system drive is under your user account. That's where the GBs are - in caches, preview folders and all sorts of folders you never knew existed. It's astonishing how much accumulates there. Yes, your desktop is under your user account, but font files don't take up much space.

For instance, I recently discovered that I had complete Bridge caches going back 4 versions. No, they aren't removed when the app is uninstalled and replaced with a new version. It totalled some 25 to 30 GB right there.

I assume there's some disk cleanup utility in MacOS. Use it. Then go hunting for the rest. There's a lot.

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Contributor ,
May 20, 2022 May 20, 2022

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Hi folks, I'm sorry if I am jumping into a thread here, but not sure where else to post. What happens when you can't get photoshop to see or recognize an external drive to use it as a scratch disk? I have a 4T LaCie that phtoshop sees, but I also have a 5TB LaCie that Photoshop refuses to see. Why? 

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New Here ,
Aug 29, 2018 Aug 29, 2018

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Hi, what are the steps to Clean Out the affected files.

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Community Beginner ,
Oct 25, 2017 Oct 25, 2017

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Hi,

Are you using Photoshop CC 2018? If so, Photoshop is trying to fix this bug. I'd recommend to switch to the previous version till this bug is fixed.

Cheers,

Eashan

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Explorer ,
Oct 25, 2017 Oct 25, 2017

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Already rolled backed even way back to the previous 2015 version but still i get the same scratch disk error message.

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LEGEND ,
Aug 29, 2018 Aug 29, 2018

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Examine all the files, understand what they are, remove the ones you don't need. It's like any kind of tidying. But assume you're clearing someone else's house and never throw away what you don't understand or things can get very unpleasant.

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New Here ,
Oct 07, 2022 Oct 07, 2022

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Screen Shot 2022-10-08 at 3.14.39 pm.png

I get this but can't add another drive to it? Any advice?

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