How to Clear Scratch Disk for Photoshop (Windows & macOS) (2023)

When most of us are using Photoshop, we want to focus on our projects and not on the technical side of things – but there are some times when it’s unavoidable.

If you’re getting scratch disk errors when loading or using Photoshop, here’s how you can clear them up for good.

Many other websites use these scratch disk tutorials to push their own ‘cleaner’ apps, but these are completely unnecessary and they can actually cause more problems than they solve.

The scratch disk is a Photoshop construction, and you can maintain it yourself without needing any additional software – as long as you know where to look. That’s where I come in!

As you might have seen from my other bios around the site, I’m Thomas Boldt, one of the image editors and writers on the PhotoshopBuzz team.

I’ve been working in the world of digital imagery for over 15 years, but I also love the technical, hardware side of computing. I’ve already solved my own technical Photoshop issues, so I can help you save some time.

With the introductions out of the way, let’s dive right into problem-solving! Afterward, I’ll explain a bit more about how the scratch disk system works for those of you who want to prevent the problem from happening again.

Table of Contents

  • Clearing Your ‘Photoshop Scratch Disk is Full’ Errors
    • 1. Free up space on your system disk
    • 2. Set up additional scratch disks
    • 3. Reset your Photoshop preferences
  • What is the Photoshop Scratch Disk?
  • What Causes the Photoshop ‘Scratch Disk Is Full’ Error?
  • Defragmenting Your Drive
  • A Final Word

Clearing Your ‘Photoshop Scratch Disk is Full’ Errors

There are several things you can do to clear your Photoshop scratch disk errors, depending on your situation. This process is almost identical in the Mac and PC versions of Photoshop, at least in general principles, but I’ll show you the steps for both operating systems.

1. Free up space on your system disk

By default, Photoshop uses the disk drive containing your computer’s operating system as its scratch disk. Adobe recommends having a minimum of 20GB of free space on your operating system disk for Photoshop’s usage, and it’s usually a good idea to have more than the minimum to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

How to Clear Scratch Disk for Photoshop (Windows & macOS) (1)

To free up space on your Mac system disk, open the Apple menu and click About This Mac.

How to Clear Scratch Disk for Photoshop (Windows & macOS) (2)

Click the Storage tab, and locate your system disk in the list. (In my example, I’m using an external SSD as my system disk, since my aging iMac originally came with a non-replaceable platter drive which is quite slow.)

(Video) How to Fix "Scratch Disk Full" Error on MacOS

How to Clear Scratch Disk for Photoshop (Windows & macOS) (3)

Click the Manage button, and you’ll see a breakdown of what’s using your storage space on that disk.

How to Clear Scratch Disk for Photoshop (Windows & macOS) (4)

You can use the information to help you decide what to delete, or you can use the Recommendations section to follow Apple’s automatically generated suggestions.

The simplest method is to check your documents, music, and photos for large files that aren’t being used anymore, and uninstall any old apps that you’re not using anymore.

Just while taking the screenshots for this article, I found an unused 100 GB file made up of image previews from an old Lightroom Classic CC catalog, which was taking up over 20% of my system disk all by itself – oops!

To free up space on a Windows 10 system drive, open the Start menu and click the Settings icon.

How to Clear Scratch Disk for Photoshop (Windows & macOS) (5)

Click to open the System settings.

How to Clear Scratch Disk for Photoshop (Windows & macOS) (6)

The System settings window opens, showing the Display section by default. In the left pane, click Storage.

How to Clear Scratch Disk for Photoshop (Windows & macOS) (7)

Windows will show you a breakdown of how your storage space is being used, which can help you figure out what to remove.

How to Clear Scratch Disk for Photoshop (Windows & macOS) (8)

Click each entry in the list to visit each section and free up space – just make sure you don’t delete anything you still need by accident!

(Video) Scratch Disk Full Photoshop | Quick Fix | Windows | Mac

2. Set up additional scratch disks

If you can’t clear up enough space on your system drive to clear your ‘scratch disk is full’ error, you can also use any additional drives that are installed in your computer as scratch disks.

Assuming that you’re able to load Photoshop, then you can open the Photoshop preferences window to configure additional drives.

How to Clear Scratch Disk for Photoshop (Windows & macOS) (9)

For Photoshop on a Mac, open the Photoshop application menu, select the Preferences submenu, and click Scratch Disks.

How to Clear Scratch Disk for Photoshop (Windows & macOS) (10)

For Photoshop on a PC, open the Edit menu, select the Preferences submenu, and click Scratch Disks.

From this point on, the instructions are the same for both Mac and PC, and the Preferences window looks almost identical. I’ll be using the Mac screenshots for the rest of this section, but you should be able to follow along easily on PC.

How to Clear Scratch Disk for Photoshop (Windows & macOS) (11)

Photoshop will provide you with a list of all the disks connected to your computer. Simply check the box beside each disk that you want Photoshop to use. In this example, I wouldn’t use either of my additional drives, since they’re quite slow and I’ve got enough free space on my SSD to continue without issue.

If Photoshop won’t load at all because of a scratch disk error, there’s a keyboard shortcut you can use while Photoshop is loading to access your scratch disk configuration settings, as you can see in the screenshot above.

Close any error messages and make sure that Photoshop is not still running. Hold down the Command + Option buttons (use Ctrl + Alt if you’re on a PC), and use your mouse to launch Photoshop.

How to Clear Scratch Disk for Photoshop (Windows & macOS) (12)

Photoshop will begin loading, but it will pause to prompt you about which scratch disks should be used. Make any adjustments that you need using the checkboxes beside each disk entry, and click OK.

Assuming that you’ve chosen a disk with enough free space available, Photoshop should load without any issues.

To make sure you get optimum performance from your scratch disk, set Photoshop to use the fastest drives you have with the largest amount of free space. This can have a huge impact on Photoshop’s loading and editing speeds, so don’t ignore it!

(Video) Photoshop: Scratch Disk Full - FIX | Mac

Solid-state drives are the best option available, especially the latest super-fast NVMe drives which can read and write at up to a gigabyte per second.

Avoid using an old-style mechanical platter drive unless you have absolutely no other choice since they’re limited to much slower read and write speeds.

3. Reset your Photoshop preferences

If you’re sure that you’ve got lots of free disk space for your scratch disk but Photoshop is still giving you a scratch disk full error message, then it’s possible that your Photoshop preferences have been corrupted.

To reset your Photoshop preferences, you can use a keyboard shortcut during the Photoshop launch process.

Make sure that Photoshop isn’t running. Hold down the Command + Option + Shift keys, and use your mouse to launch Photoshop. If you’re using Photoshop on a PC, use the Ctrl + Alt + Shift keys instead.

How to Clear Scratch Disk for Photoshop (Windows & macOS) (13)

Photoshop will begin to load but it will pause immediately to ask if you want to delete the Adobe Photoshop Settings File. Click Yes, and Photoshop will delete the file and immediately create a new one using the default Photoshop preferences.

If you’re able to load Photoshop, you can reset your preferences using the Preferences panel. Open it using the menus or press the keyboard shortcut Command + K (use Ctrl + K if you’re on a PC).

How to Clear Scratch Disk for Photoshop (Windows & macOS) (14)

Click the Reset Preferences On Quit button (shown above), and Photoshop will ask you to confirm that you want to reset your preferences.

How to Clear Scratch Disk for Photoshop (Windows & macOS) (15)

Click OK, and Photoshop will delete the preferences file and create a new one the next time you launch it.

This is a bit of a last resort since many image editors want Photoshop to be configured in a specialized personal way that can take some time to set up – but sometimes, it’s the only option.

What is the Photoshop Scratch Disk?

Now that you’ve gotten your error message cleared away and Photoshop is running normally again, you might want to take a second to learn more about how the scratch disk works.

The concept is actually pretty simple: Photoshop needs space to store temporary data about your open documents such as history states, and this temporary data can quickly become larger than your computer’s available memory.

(Video) How to clear scratch disk in Photoshop on Mac

To overcome this problem, Photoshop creates a temporary file on your disk drive to hold all this data. If you work on large files with multiple layers, lots of smart objects, and/or lots of history states, the Photoshop scratch disk can use a very large amount of space.

What Causes the Photoshop ‘Scratch Disk Is Full’ Error?

This might come as a shock: it’s because the storage drive that Photoshop is using as a scratch disk is full!

The temporary scratch disk files created by Photoshop usually only get deleted when the program exits properly. If Photoshop exits unexpectedly due to an error, a power outage, or if you use a force quit command, the ‘clear temporary files’ process might not actually happen, which can leave you with huge leftover temporary files that can fill up your disk.

Additionally, many computers have limited storage space, and this can quickly get filled with apps, photos, music, videos, and other documents. If your computer is running out of free storage space, Photoshop might decide that it doesn’t have enough space for its scratch disk.

Defragmenting Your Drive

Many Photoshop tutorials recommend defragmenting your storage drive to fix scratch disk errors, but this is largely outdated advice.

Older operating systems used to be very clumsy about the way they stored files, and over time this could lead to a single file becoming ‘fragmented’ into many different physical locations on a storage drive.

During the days of mechanical platter storage drives, this caused big slowdowns when accessing fragmented files, because the drive actually moved a mechanical arm to read different parts of the disk.

Most modern computers use solid-state drives now, and the fragmentation problem is much less of an issue.

Macs are almost immune to the fragmentation issue from the start, and modern versions of Windows have automatic defragmentation tools that keep the issue in check without needing you to do anything at all.

A Final Word

That was quite a technical journey, but I hope you’ve got a much better understanding of the Photoshop scratch disk now. Scratch disks are a key part of Photoshop’s performance, so you’ve learned a valuable skill that will help you focus on your creative vision instead of waiting around for Photoshop to chug away slowly on your edits.

Happy editing!

About Thomas Boldt

Thomas started his Photoshop career way back in 2000. After exploring Photoshop 5.5 in a high school computer lab, he developed an enduring passion for photography, design, and technology that carried him through a Bachelor of Design degree and into the wild world of tech startups.

(Video) How to clear scratch disk photoshop 2023

FAQs

How do I free up scratch disk space in Photoshop Windows? ›

Free up additional hard drive space by deleting unnecessary files from the scratch disk, or by moving your files off the scratch disk to another storage location. For example, if your assigned scratch disk on your Windows machine is drive C:\, you can simply clean up and delete the files you no longer need.

How do I bypass Photoshop scratch disk full? ›

Android: Which Is Best For You?
...
How to Fix the Photoshop Scratch Disk Full Error
  1. Free up disk space. ...
  2. Delete Photoshop temporary files. ...
  3. Defragment the hard disk. ...
  4. Clear the Photoshop cache. ...
  5. Clear Crop tool values. ...
  6. Change the Photoshop performance settings. ...
  7. Change or add additional scratch disks.
Jan 22, 2022

What do I do when Photoshop says scratch disks are full Mac? ›

If Photoshop 2019, or earlier, cannot launch because the scratch disk is full, hold down the Cmd + Option keys (macOS) or Ctrl + Alt keys (Windows) during launch to set a new scratch disk.

How do I free up space on my scratch disk in Photoshop Mac? ›

How to clear scratch disk on Mac?
  1. Clear your Photoshop cache. Photoshop has an in-built solution for deleting specific Photoshop caches. ...
  2. Delete your temp files. ...
  3. Clear your disk space. ...
  4. Change your scratch disk. ...
  5. Consider buying a new SSD. ...
  6. Follow the 15% rule. ...
  7. Free up RAM in Terminal. ...
  8. Reset Photoshop preferences.
Nov 24, 2022

Why does Photoshop say scratch disk is full when it isn t? ›

Defragment Your Hard Disk

This is because Photoshop requires contiguous, unfragmented free space on the scratch disk drive. If you are getting the "scratch disk is full" error message and your scratch disk drive does show a good amount of free space, you may need to run a disk defragmentation utility.

How do I clear my scratch disk when Photoshop won't open Mac? ›

If Photoshop cannot launch because the scratch disk is full, hold down the Cmd + Opt keys (Mac) or Ctrl + Alt keys (Windows) on launch to set a new scratch disk. I was able to reset the scratch disk and so far Photoshop is launching fine. Hope this helps someone!

Where is Adobe scratch disk? ›

A scratch disk is automatically located in your main hard drive, which would be the C: drive for most of us. Photoshop provides an option to shift that location elsewhere, namely to another internal or external hard drive that has ample space to save Photoshop's temporary files and data.

How do I delete temp files in Photoshop? ›

Start Menu > enter %temp% to get to your appdata temp directory. Ctrl-a to select all in that directory. Delete to move it to the trash can. Empty the trash can.

How do I free up space on my scratch disk? ›

How to clear scratch disk
  1. Clear your disk space. ...
  2. Delete Photoshop temporary files. ...
  3. Clear Scratch Disk in Photoshop. ...
  4. Move your scratch disk. ...
  5. Defragment the hard disk when scratch disks are full. ...
  6. Free up RAM in Terminal. ...
  7. Reset Photoshop. ...
  8. Upgrade to a drive with more space.
May 17, 2022

How do I reset my whole Photoshop? ›

Resetting your Photoshop Preferences
  1. Step 1: Open The Preferences Dialog Box. ...
  2. Step 2: Choose "Reset Preferences On Quit" ...
  3. Step 3: Click "Yes" To Delete The Preferences When Quitting. ...
  4. Step 4: Close And Relaunch Photoshop.
Jan 18, 2023

Could not complete request because scratch disks are full on Mac? ›

The Photoshop “scratch disk full” error usually presents itself when your hard disk is low on storage space. You can free up disk space on your Mac by removing duplicate files, clearing browser caches, emptying the Trash, deleting unused applications (and their leftover files), and so on.

How do I clear my Adobe scratch disk Mac? ›

How to Clear Photoshop Scratch Disk on Mac
  1. Open Photoshop on your Mac.
  2. Click the Edit button in the menu bar, hover your mouse over Purge, and select the item you want to clear or select All to remove all your caches in Photoshop.
  3. You will be prompted to a new window that warns your deletion cannot be restored.
Jul 21, 2022

Where is dust and scratches Photoshop? ›

The first step is to apply Photoshop's built-in Dust & Scratches filter. Go to Filter > Noise > Dust & Scratches. You don't have to go far to see what a mess the Dust & Scratches filter can do if used alone. This is with a radius of 46.

Where are my Photoshop files located? ›

With any open document, right-click (Mac: Control-click) on the Document Tab, and select “Reveal in Explorer” (Mac: “Reveal in Finder”) to open the folder that contains the file. This is a great way to locate your files on your computer!

How do I force delete all temp files? ›

How to delete temporary files in Windows
  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows + R keys at the same time.
  2. In the Open field, type %temp%, then press ENTER. ...
  3. Press the CTRL + A keys at the same time to select all the . ...
  4. Press the DELETE key, and then click Yes when the User Account Control window appear to confirm.
Jan 19, 2023

How do I delete temp files on disk cleanup? ›

To delete temporary files:
  1. In the search box on the taskbar, type disk cleanup, and select Disk Cleanup from the list of results.
  2. Select the drive you want to clean up, and then select OK.
  3. Under Files to delete, select the file types to get rid of. To get a description of the file type, select it.
  4. Select OK.

Why is my disk space always full? ›

For many computer users, most of the disk space used is by applications and games. If you find that you no longer use certain programs, you can uninstall and remove them from your hard drive. Again, Windows provides the ability to easily get rid of any unwanted programs that we may have on our computer.

Is it OK to delete temp files in Mac? ›

Most of it is system junk, in other words, temporary files and caches. If you are overloaded with temporary files and too much cache data, it will highlight this, and you can safely delete everything, saving you time and space.

How do I delete cache and temp files on Mac? ›

Click on Safari and then on Preferences. In the Preferences window, click the Advanced tab and make sure the checkbox next to Show Develop menu in menu bar is selected. Select Develop in the menu bar at the top of the screen and select Empty Caches. Your cache and temporary files have been cleared.

Where is Photoshop scratch disk Windows 10? ›

A scratch disk is automatically located in your main hard drive, which would be the C: drive for most of us. Photoshop provides an option to shift that location elsewhere, namely to another internal or external hard drive that has ample space to save Photoshop's temporary files and data.

How do I delete Photoshop temp files in Windows 10? ›

Start Menu > enter %temp% to get to your appdata temp directory. Ctrl-a to select all in that directory. Delete to move it to the trash can.

Where are Photoshop temp files stored? ›

The default path for temp files is C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Temp.

How do I delete a file in Photoshop? ›

1 Correct answer
  1. Drag the title bar so it's in its own window.
  2. Cmd + click the title bar.
  3. Click the folder to go to the Finder.
  4. Cmd + Delete to delete the file.
  5. Close the file in PS; it is already deleted.

How do I clear memory in Photoshop? ›

Purge memory

You can improve system performance by freeing up unused memory and scratch disk space from Photoshop to make it available to other programs. To do so, choose one of these options: Edit > Purge > All. Edit > Purge > Undo.

Why are my scratch disks full Mac? ›

The Photoshop “scratch disk full” error usually presents itself when your hard disk is low on storage space. You can free up disk space on your Mac by removing duplicate files, clearing browser caches, emptying the Trash, deleting unused applications (and their leftover files), and so on.

How do I clear Windows temp files? ›

To delete temporary files:
  1. In the search box on the taskbar, type disk cleanup, and select Disk Cleanup from the list of results.
  2. Select the drive you want to clean up, and then select OK.
  3. Under Files to delete, select the file types to get rid of. To get a description of the file type, select it.
  4. Select OK.

How do I clear Adobe cache on Mac? ›

Delete any Adobe cache files
  1. Open Finder.
  2. Click the Go menu and choose Library (if you don't see Library, press the option key).
  3. Open the Application Support folder.
  4. Open the Adobe folder.
  5. Open the Common folder.
  6. Delete the Media Cache and the Media Cache Files folders.
Mar 8, 2022

How do I uninstall and delete in Photoshop? ›

How to uninstall Creative Cloud apps
  1. Open the Creative Cloud desktop app. ...
  2. On the All Apps page, select the More actions icon next to the app you want to uninstall. ...
  3. In the drop-down list, select Uninstall.
  4. Select Cancel, Remove or Keep, based on your preference.
Apr 11, 2022

Does uninstalling Photoshop delete files? ›

Uninstalling Photoshop does not delete your image files (including PSD).

What does Ctrl delete do in Photoshop? ›

Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts for Fills

Alt/Option + delete fills a layer with the current foreground color. ⌘/Ctrl + delete fills a layer with the current background color. Shift + delete Brings up a fill dialog box with different options.

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