By far, the most common Photoshop error is “scratch disk is full“. Some users get it when they try to start Photoshop, others when trying to complete a certain action. But why does this happen and how can we fix this issue?
What causes the Scratch Disk Error?
Before we get to the potential fixes that will remove photoshop scratch disk full error, it’s important to understand what a scratch disk actually is. All Adobe programs like Photoshop or After Effects need a working space to store temporary project files. If Photoshop, (or another program) doesn’t have enough RAM memory to store something temporarily, it uses hard drive space as a temporary virtual memory holder. This hard drive space is referred to as a scratch disk. Photoshop is more than capable of creating a mountain of temp files if you’re working with large elements, so don’t be quick to put the blame on your computer. If both the RAM and the scratch disk become full with temporary files, you will get a “Scratch Disk is full” error which might also prevent you from creating new files. If you get “scratch disk is full” errors when you start Photoshop or when performing certain actions, there are a few potential fixes that proved to be effective. Below you have a collection of methods that proved to be effective in removing the “scratch disk is full” error. Please follow each guide in order until you find a fix that works in your situation. Before You Continue: Make sure that you don’t set the blank page/image resolution to something unreasonable like 1920×1080 inches. Sometimes users confuse inches and pixels and set the resolution in inches instead of setting it in pixels which is a very unreasonable length. Make sure to set the resolution in pixels and not in inches.
1. Free up enough disk space
Once you’re into the Preferences menu, confirm which storage drives serve as a scratch disk and make sure it has at least 40 GB of free space. If it doesn’t, access your drive and start removing unwanted files until you free enough space.
2. Delete temporary files
The good news is, Photoshop files can be easily identified and deleted. Usually, their name starts with ~PST or Photoshop Temp (in newer versions). You can delete them safely without any risk of affecting your system. Your temp folder is located in C:/ > Users > “YourUser” > AppData > Local > Temp.
3. Changing the scratch disk location
Select another partition from the drop-down menu near First and hit Ok. Your Photoshop should know restart without showing the “scratch disk is full” error.
4. Increasing the RAM allowed by Photoshop
5. Adjusting your scratch disks
By default, only your C:/ drive is selected to serve as a scratch disk, but you can allow all your partitions to share this burden. To do this, go to Edit > Preferences and click on Scratch Disks. Once you reach the Scratch Disks tab, check the box near each partition to enable them as scratch disks. Then click Ok and restart Photoshop.
6. Purging Cache
7. Creating Partition for Scratch Disks
- Open Run by Pressing the “Windows + R” keys together. 2. Once Run is opened type “diskmgmt.msc” and press enter. 3. Now select a disk that you were using as a Scratch Disk before. Right-click on it and press Shrink Volume. 4. Now Select the Size you want your Scratch Disk to be. 5. After creating a new partition, Open Photoshop and press “CTRL + ALT” then select the new Partition you just created.
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