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JustinT2000
Participant
June 23, 2026
Answered

Scratch disk full - Photoshop is frozen - How do I not lose my unsaved work?

  • June 23, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 51 views

Please help! I got the scratch disk full error and after I dismissed it the screen froze and I can't click on anything. Photoshop is still open. How do I resolve the issue and not lose my unsaved work? I am on Windows.

    Correct answer LAMY2017

    Have you searched adobe.com for the term, “photoshop disk full”?

    Troubleshoot scratch disk full errors in Photoshop

    Your scratch disk drive doesn't have enough free space

    Free up at least 100 GB of space on your primary scratch disk drive.

    Windows: Delete the files beginning with Photoshop Temp in C:\ drive.

    macOS: Clean up your Macintosh HD drive or move files to an external drive.

    Restart Photoshop to see if the error is resolved.  ← will cause data loss

    2 replies

    D Fosse
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    June 24, 2026

    It’s probably too late and I don’t see how you can save the file. Your only hope is to use Windows Explorer and move as much as you possibly can off the disk, let the machine sit for a while and see if Photoshop registers the additional space without a restart. Which I honestly doubt it will.

     

    For the future - the scratch disk is not an abstract Photoshop setting. It’s real, physical disk space. When it runs out, the system freezes, and the fact that this happened shows you have so little that your whole machine may freeze up at any moment. Then you have much bigger problems than Photoshop or this single file.

     

    As a rule of thumb, you should never allow your system drive to fill up beyond 70% or so.

    LAMY2017Correct answer
    Legend
    June 23, 2026

    Have you searched adobe.com for the term, “photoshop disk full”?

    Troubleshoot scratch disk full errors in Photoshop

    Your scratch disk drive doesn't have enough free space

    Free up at least 100 GB of space on your primary scratch disk drive.

    Windows: Delete the files beginning with Photoshop Temp in C:\ drive.

    macOS: Clean up your Macintosh HD drive or move files to an external drive.

    Restart Photoshop to see if the error is resolved.  ← will cause data loss

    Larry