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dan_9799
Participant
June 10, 2025
Answered

Bridge and Photoshop Keep Freezing — How Can I Reinstall Without Losing Settings?

  • June 10, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 508 views

I'm running the latest non-beta versions of Creative Cloud, Photosop and Bridge.

I'm running on a fairly powerful Mac Mini and when the apps work, I have no need for more speed.  

 

But Bridge and Photoshop, especially Bridge keep lockng up.  Sometimes locking up my whole computer.

 

I've been using PS and everything for a long time and I think a clean start might help.  However I'd like to keep by keyboard shortcuts in in PS and my layout in Bridge.

 

Is there a way I can uninstall and reinstall everything?

Correct answer D Fosse

Uninstall/reinstall rarely fixes anything. Completeley resetting preferences is usually what it takes. This returns the application to clean, out-of-the-box factory state.

The Preferences contain a lot more than your own user settings. It's the entire application configuration, including lots of under-the-covers parameters. Corrupt preferences usually look like application bugs and are frequently mistaken for that.

 

Settings and preferences are rewritten on every application exit. That makes them prone to corruption from irregular shutdowns. Migrating preferences to new application code in a new version may expose latent problems from accumulated small errors.

 

Move the whole Photoshop Settings folder from the user account to the desktop. Next time you launch Photoshop, a fresh new Settings folder will be rebuilt. Yes, you will lose your settings, but that seems to me preferable to an application that doesn't run at all.
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/preferences.html#reset-preferences  

2 replies

Trevor.Dennis
Community Expert
Trevor.DennisCommunity Expert
Community Expert
June 11, 2025

@dan_9799  A simple way to save your shortcuts, would be to save them top a Custom workspace.  

I share workspaces and shortcuts between the release and beta versions, but I primarily use Windows and don't know the Mac file path.  This page will tell you were to find things

https://helpx.adobe.com/nz/photoshop/kb/preference-file-names-locations-photoshop.html

 

D
DanBaumbach
Known Participant
June 12, 2025

Thank you.

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
June 10, 2025

Uninstall/reinstall rarely fixes anything. Completeley resetting preferences is usually what it takes. This returns the application to clean, out-of-the-box factory state.

The Preferences contain a lot more than your own user settings. It's the entire application configuration, including lots of under-the-covers parameters. Corrupt preferences usually look like application bugs and are frequently mistaken for that.

 

Settings and preferences are rewritten on every application exit. That makes them prone to corruption from irregular shutdowns. Migrating preferences to new application code in a new version may expose latent problems from accumulated small errors.

 

Move the whole Photoshop Settings folder from the user account to the desktop. Next time you launch Photoshop, a fresh new Settings folder will be rebuilt. Yes, you will lose your settings, but that seems to me preferable to an application that doesn't run at all.
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/preferences.html#reset-preferences  

    D
    dan_9799Author
    Participant
    June 10, 2025

    Thank you.  I'll try that.

     

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