Critical Regression: Remove Tool fails with "Program Error" in Photoshop 27.5–27.8, works correctly in 27.3
1. Executive Summary
A reproducible regression has been identified in Adobe Photoshop affecting the Remove Tool starting from version 27.5 onward.
On identical hardware and system configuration, the Remove Tool fails consistently with a generic error:
“Could not complete your request because of a program error.”
The issue is 100% reproducible and does not depend on image type, tool mode, or GPU acceleration settings.
Rolling back to Photoshop 27.3 immediately resolves the issue, strongly indicating a software regression introduced after 27.3.
2. Severity Assessment
- Severity: High
- Impact: Core tool failure (Remove Tool)
- Workaround: Version rollback to 27.3
- User impact: Blocks AI-assisted object removal workflow entirely in affected versions
3. Environment
Application
- Adobe Photoshop 27.8.0 (Release)
Operating System
- Windows 11 64-bit
- Build: 26200.8737 (Insider build)
Hardware
- CPU: Intel Hybrid Architecture (24 cores / 32 threads)
- RAM: 64 GB
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070
- VRAM: 12 GB
GPU / Drivers
- DirectX Feature Level: 12.2
- OpenCL: Enabled
- GPU Acceleration: Enabled
- Driver Version: 32.0.15.9649
4. Problem Description
The Remove Tool fails immediately upon use.
After painting over any object and releasing the mouse, Photoshop displays:
“Could not complete your request because of a program error.”
No processing occurs and no partial result is generated.
5. Reproduction Steps
- Open Adobe Photoshop
- Open any image
- Select Remove Tool
- Apply Remove Tool stroke over any object
- Release mouse
6. Expected Result
Object is removed successfully using Remove Tool processing pipeline.
7. Actual Result
Immediate failure with:
Program Error dialog
No output generated.
8. Frequency
- 100% reproducible
- Occurs in every tested image
- Occurs in every execution attempt
9. Regression Analysis
| Version | Result |
|---|---|
| 27.3 | ✅ Works correctly |
| 27.5 | ❌ Fails (first observed occurrence) |
| 27.8 | ❌ Fails consistently |
Conclusion:
The issue was introduced between versions 27.3 and 27.5.
10. Scope Testing
The issue is independent of:
- Image resolution
- File format
- Generative AI mode ON/OFF
- GPU acceleration ON/OFF (assumed)
- Scratch disk availability
- System memory availability
11. Diagnostics Summary
- GPU correctly detected (RTX 4070)
- OpenCL enabled
- DirectX 12.2 supported
- GPUSniffer completes successfully
- No plugin failures detected
- No memory or disk constraints
- No driver blacklisting observed
12. Troubleshooting Performed
- Reinstalled Photoshop
- Tested multiple versions (27.3, 27.5, 27.8)
- Verified identical system configuration across versions
- Confirmed rollback to 27.3 resolves issue immediately
- Verified GPU acceleration is enabled and functional
- Tested multiple images and workflows
13. Technical Assessment (Hypothesis Only)
Based on reproducibility patterns, the issue appears to be a regression in the Remove Tool execution pipeline introduced after 27.3.
Potential areas of investigation:
- Remove Tool AI processing pipeline
- GPU dispatch layer (CUDA/OpenCL routing)
- Program Error exception handling path
- Changes introduced in 27.5+ Remove Tool architecture
- Interaction with Windows 11 24H2 Insider builds (possible contributing factor)
14. Attachments (recommended)
- Screenshot of error dialog
- Photoshop System Info output (full dump)
- Sample image used for reproduction
- Optional screen recording of failure
15. Key Observation
The issue is fully isolated to Photoshop version changes:
Same machine
Same OS
Same GPU
Same drivers
Same images
Different Photoshop version = different result
This strongly indicates a software regression rather than hardware or driver issue.
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