Which "Helper" Apps Can I Terminate?

I’m pretty certain your problem is disk space, and the scratch disk is only half the story. Smart objects and most of the new AI-based advanced functions do not use the scratch disk, but write temporary working data to the system TEMP directory (system pagefile). This is always on your system drive, directly under your user account. And then there’s all kinds of system processes that also use the system pagefile. If the pagefile has nowhere to go, the whole system chokes.

In short, raster image editing will eat up vast amounts of disk space and you need to make sure you have enough. 95GB can be gone in less than a minute.

One other thing that can slow things down is the GPU and driver. While the 1660 is a bit on the old side it should still work. But try a new driver just to rule that out. Make sure to install the Studio driver, not the Game Ready driver. Check “clean install” to remove all traces of the old driver.

So far the only that improves the situation is adding all my drives to the scratch list with the boot (SSD) drive last on the list and the drive with the most space first.   I tried to clear the “Restore Photo Cache” but all the the Adobe online directions point to a directory that has almost nothing in it and doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Neural Filters.

First I am on Win11, so MacOS process information is not relevant.  Yes I know how to run SysInfo and I terminated a number of things, but there was nothing major going on like MalwareBytes scanning.  I am using V27 because the Neural Filters were crashing on a regular basis in previous versions and V27 seems to be a little better (only one crash in 60-70 photos).

As requested:

Adobe Photoshop Version: 27.8.0 20260610.r.13 4081857  x64 (final, Release)
Number of Launches: 98
Operating System: Windows 11 64-bit
Version: 11 or greater 10.0.26200.8737
System architecture: Intel CPU Family:6, Model:7, Stepping:1, AVX2, AVX-512, HyperThreading
Physical processor count: 8
Logical processor count: 16
Processor speed: 2496 MHz
Built-in memory: 32530 MB
Free memory: 20853 MB
Memory available to Photoshop: 25000 MB
Memory used by Photoshop: 70 %
Crash Handler: Adobe
DCX Version: 9.22.0
SAM SDK Version: 15.1.0
ACP.local Status:
 - SDK Version: 5.11.0
 - Core Sync Status: Reachable and compatible
 - Core Sync Running: 7.8.10.1
 - Min Core Sync Required: 4.3.66.28
Live Edit Client SDK Version: v6.1.1
Adobe Firefly: Please use any generative AI feature to view the latest version.
OpenColorIO version: 2.5.2
C2PA library version: Adobe CAI SDK: adobe_api/1.64.0
NGL Version: 1.42.0.5
Chalkboard: Disabled.
Chalkboard Doc Create: Disabled.
D3D12Warp renderer: Disabled.
Precise Color Management for HDR Display: Disabled.
Alias Layers: Disabled.
Highbeam: Enabled.
Image tile size: 1024K
Image cache levels: 4
Font Preview: Medium
HarfBuzz Version: 11.0.0
TextEngine: ATE 7.11.0 (9f0ecee)
 ======= GPU
Native API stable: True
OpenCL API stable: True
GPUDeny:               0
GPUForce:              0
useGPU:                1
useOpenCL:             1
isGPUCapable:          1
isGPUAllowed:          1
GPUName:               NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER
GPUVendor:             NVIDIA
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER  NVIDIA_GEFORCE_GTX_1660_SUPER, NVIDIA
IsNativeGPUCapable:    1
IsOpenCLGPUCapable:    1
HasSufficientRAM:      1
  GPU accessible RAM:                 5,966 MB
  Required GPU accessible RAM:        1,500 MB
UseGraphicsProcessorChecked:   1
UseOpenCLChecked:              1
Windows remote desktop:  0
Windows available feature level:     12.1
Windows required feature level:      12.0
Windows has required feature level:  1
Display: 1
  Display Bounds: (0, 0) -> (1920, 1080)
  Display scale: 1
  Main Display
  Display Type: SDR
  Display Profile: sRGB IEC61966-2.1
 ------- Sniffer output
[0 ms]
  Launch GPUSnifferThread

[1 ms]
  Start RunAllAPIs

[1 ms]
  C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2026\sniffer.exe -baseTimeMS=49465052 -comment=Photoshop Version: Adobe Photoshop 27.8.0 20260610.r.13 4081857 x64

[3 ms]
  Start GetSnifferResult

[18253 ms]
  Start sniffer 2026-07-12 05:06:13
  # Photoshop Version: Adobe Photoshop 27.8.0 20260610.r.13 4081857 x64
  C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2026\sniffer.exe -baseTimeMS=49465052 -comment=Photoshop Version: Adobe Photoshop 27.8.0 20260610.r.13 4081857 x64
  
  {598 ms}
  Start platform native
    # displays:                   1
    Display 0
      Display:                      \\.\DISPLAY1
      Main:                         TRUE
      Built in:                     FALSE
      Stereo:                       FALSE
      Bounds:                       (0, 0) -> (1,920, 1,080)
      Dimensions:                   (1,920 1,080)
      Display scale:                1
      Physical size:                (0 0)
      Pixel size:                   (0 0)
      Dynamic range:                (0 1)
      Attached Device:              (DeviceID name=NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER index=0)
    
    # devices:                    1
    Device 0
      Name:                         NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER
      Preferred:                    TRUE
      Power Envelope:               UNKNOWN
      Attachment:                   UNKNOWN
      # attached displays:          1
        \\.\DISPLAY1
      GPU accessible RAM:                5,966 MB
      VRAM:                              5,966 MB
      Dedicated System RAM:                  0 MB
      Shared System RAM:                17,055 MB
      API version:                  12.1 (12.1)
      Device version:               12.0 (12.0)
      Vendor name:                  NVIDIA
      Model:                        NVIDIA_GEFORCE_GTX_1660_SUPER
      Driver date:                  2026-06-11  000000.000000-000
      Driver age:                   1 month
      Driver version:               32.0.16.1062
      Supports UMA:                 UNSUPPORTED
      D3D-ID:                       8644
  End platform native
  {3433 ms}
  
  {3433 ms}
  Start platform OpenCL
    # displays:                   0
    
    # devices:                    1
    Device 0
      Name:                         NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER
      Preferred:                    TRUE
      Power Envelope:               DISCRETE
      Attachment:                   UNKNOWN
      # attached displays:          0
      GPU accessible RAM:                6,442 MB
      VRAM:                              6,442 MB
      Dedicated System RAM:                  0 MB
      Shared System RAM:                     0 MB
      API version:                  3.0 (OpenCL 3.0 CUDA)
      Device version:               3.0 (OpenCL 3.0 CUDA)
      Vendor name:                  NVIDIA
      Model:                        NVIDIA_GEFORCE_GTX_1660_SUPER
      Driver date:                  UNKNOWN
      Driver age:                   UNKNOWN
      Driver version:               UNKNOWN
      Bandwidth:                    276 GB / s
      Compute score:                244.879
      Device name string:           NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER
      Device vendor string:         NVIDIA Corporation
      Platform name string:         NVIDIA CUDA 
      Platform vendor string:       NVIDIA Corporation
  End platform OpenCL
  {17963 ms}
  
  Exit code kExitNormal
  End sniffer 2026-07-12 05:06:30
[kStatusNormal, kExitNormal]

[18352 ms]
  Finish RunAllAPIs

[18382 ms]
  Finish GetSnifferResult

 ------- Sniffer output
 ======= GPU
License Type: Subscription
Serial number: 90970490387307083177
GUIDBucket: 
Composite Core GPU (comp_core_gpu): on 
Composite Core Threads (MultithreadedCompositing): on 
Composite Core UI (CompositingDocumentTabUI): off 
Composite Core Feature Prefs (CompCoreFeaturePrefs): off 

Application folder: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2026\
Temporary file path: C:\Users\johne\AppData\Local\Temp\
Photoshop scratch has async I/O enabled
Scratch volume(s):
  Startup, 929.7G, 95.1G free
Required Plugins folder: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2026\Required\Plug-ins\
Primary Plugins folder: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2026\Plug-ins\

Installed components:
   ACE.dll   ACE 2026/03/16-15:31:09   26.G.363513f   26.G.363513f
   act_tracing.dll   Adobe Common Toolkit   1.0.70   
   AdobeGrowthSDK.dll   Adobe Growth SDK   1.4.0.206   
   AdobeLinguistic.dll   Adobe Linguistic Library   69ef127   
   AdobeOwl.dll   Adobe Owl   5.5.0   
   AdobePDFL.dll   PDFL 2026/03/10-19:11:41   26.G.a61aa2c   26.G.a61aa2c
   AdobePIP.dll   Adobe Product Improvement Program   8.2.0.16   
   AdobeSVGAGM.dll   AdobeSVGAGM   26.G.76b11ac   26.G.76b11ac
   AdobeXMP.dll   Adobe XMP Core 2025/12/08-20:50:21   25.G.d20e466   25.G.d20e466
   AdobeXMPFiles.dll   Adobe XMP Files 2025/12/08-20:50:21   25.G.d20e466   25.G.d20e466
   AGM.dll   AGM 2026/03/16-15:31:09   26.G.363513f   26.G.363513f
   AID.dll   AID DLL   1.0.0.58   
   AIDE.dll   AIDE 2026/03/17-10:23:39   26.G.9e4b1c4   26.G.9e4b1c4
   aifm.dll   AIFM   1.0   23.68434
   AILib.dll   Adobe Illustrator 2026   30.0.0   
   aiport.dll   AIPort   1.0   23.68434
   ARE.dll   ARE 2026/03/16-15:31:09   26.G.363513f   26.G.363513f
   AXE8SharedExpat.dll   AXE8SharedExpat 2025/12/15-18:34:26   25.G.64f06ab   25.G.64f06ab
   AXEDOMCore.dll   AXEDOMCore 2025/12/15-18:34:26   25.G.64f06ab   25.G.64f06ab
   BIB.dll   BIB 2026/03/16-15:31:09   26.G.363513f   26.G.363513f
   BIBUtils.dll   BIBUtils 2026/03/16-15:31:09   26.G.363513f   26.G.363513f
   concrt140.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   CoolType.dll   CoolType 2026/03/16-15:31:09   26.G.363513f   26.G.363513f
   CRClient.dll   Adobe Crash Reporter Client DLL   26.5.0.202506270759_7140322   
   cudart64_12.dll   NVIDIA CUDA 12.4.127 Runtime   6,14,11,12040   
   DirectML.dll   DirectML Redistributable Library   1.15.4+241025-1615.1.dml-1.15.fac7597   
   dnssd.dll   Bonjour   3,0,0,2   
   dvaaccelerate.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvaadameve.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvaappsupport.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvaaudiodevice.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvaaudiotoolkit.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvacore.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvacrashhandler.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvaevefactory.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvamarshal.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvamediatypes.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvametadata.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvametadataapi.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvametadataUI.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvanet.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvaplayer.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvascripting.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvastorage.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvatemporalxmp.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvatransport.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvaui.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvauxphost.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvauxpui.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvavulcansupport.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dvaworkspace.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   dynamic-torqnative.dll   Unified Extensibility Platform   uxp-9.3.0-uxp   
   dynamiclink.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   ExtendScript.dll   ExtendScript 2022/08/18-12:50:45   82.4   82.4
   filterport.dll   FilterPort   1.1   BUILDVERSION
   icucnv77.dll   International Components for Unicode    Build 14.3.3.9087c7c   
   icuin77.dll   International Components for Unicode    Build 14.3.3.9087c7c   
   icuuc77.dll   International Components for Unicode    Build 14.3.3.9087c7c   
   ippcc.dll   ippCC. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Color Conversion.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippcck0.dll   ippCC. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Color Conversion.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippccl9.dll   ippCC. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Color Conversion.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippccy8.dll   ippCC. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Color Conversion.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippcore.dll   core. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Core Library.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippcv.dll   ippCV. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Computer Vision.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippcvk0.dll   ippCV. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Computer Vision.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippcvl9.dll   ippCV. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Computer Vision.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippcvy8.dll   ippCV. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Computer Vision.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippi.dll   ippIP. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Image Processing.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippik0.dll   ippIP. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Image Processing.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippil9.dll   ippIP. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Image Processing.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippiy8.dll   ippIP. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Image Processing.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ipps.dll   ippSP. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Signal Processing.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippsk0.dll   ippSP. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Signal Processing.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippsl9.dll   ippSP. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Signal Processing.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippsy8.dll   ippSP. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Signal Processing.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippvm.dll   ippVM. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Vector Math.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippvmk0.dll   ippVM. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Vector Math.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippvml9.dll   ippVM. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Vector Math.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   ippvmy8.dll   ippVM. Intel(R) Integrated Performance Primitives. Vector Math.   2021.6 (r0xbffe3c5b)   
   JP2KLib.dll   JP2KLib 2025/12/10-16:41:35   25.G.5526fbf   25.G.5526fbf
   libcrypto-3-x64.dll   The OpenSSL Toolkit   3.0.19   
   libifcoremd.dll   Intel(r) Visual Fortran Compiler   10.0 (Update A)   
   libiomp5md.dll   Intel(R) OpenMP* Runtime Library   5.0   
   libmmd.dll   Intel(R) C/C++/Fortran Compiler   Mainline   
   libssl-3-x64.dll   The OpenSSL Toolkit   3.0.19   
   LogSession.dll   LogSession   8.2.0.16   
   mediacoreif.dll   Adobe DVA 2025   25.2.0   
   mfc140.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   mfc140chs.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   mfc140cht.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   mfc140deu.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   mfc140enu.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   mfc140esn.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   mfc140fra.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   mfc140ita.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   mfc140jpn.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   mfc140kor.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   mfc140rus.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   mfc140u.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   mfcm140.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   mfcm140u.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   mkl_avx2.2.dll   Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library   2022.1   
   mkl_avx512.2.dll   Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library   2022.1   
   mkl_core.2.dll   Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library   2022.1   
   mkl_def.2.dll   Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library   2022.1   
   mkl_mc3.2.dll   Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library   2022.1   
   mkl_sequential.2.dll   Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library   2022.1   
   mkl_vml_avx2.2.dll   Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library   2022.1   
   mkl_vml_avx512.2.dll   Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library   2022.1   
   mkl_vml_def.2.dll   Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library   2022.1   
   mkl_vml_mc3.2.dll   Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library   2022.1   
   MPS.dll   MPS 2026/03/13-21:58:34   26.G.1e11f13   26.G.1e11f13
   msvcp140.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   msvcp140_1.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   msvcp140_2.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   msvcp140_atomic_wait.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   msvcp140_codecvt_ids.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   onnxruntime.dll   Microsoft® Windows® Operating System   1.23.0   
   onnxruntime_providers_openvino.dll   Microsoft® Windows® Operating System   1.23.0   
   onnxruntime_providers_shared.dll   Microsoft® Windows® Operating System   1.23.0   
   opencv_world4120.dll   OpenCV library   4.12.0   
   openvino.dll   OpenVINO toolkit   2025.2.1-19180-b76ccb46ae6-epalmer/2025_2_patch_mem_weights   
   openvino_auto_batch_plugin.dll   OpenVINO toolkit   2025.2.1-19180-b76ccb46ae6-epalmer/2025_2_patch_mem_weights   
   openvino_auto_plugin.dll   OpenVINO toolkit   2025.2.1-19180-b76ccb46ae6-epalmer/2025_2_patch_mem_weights   
   openvino_c.dll   OpenVINO toolkit   2025.2.1-19180-b76ccb46ae6-epalmer/2025_2_patch_mem_weights   
   openvino_hetero_plugin.dll   OpenVINO toolkit   2025.2.1-19180-b76ccb46ae6-epalmer/2025_2_patch_mem_weights   
   openvino_intel_cpu_plugin.dll   OpenVINO toolkit   2025.2.1-19180-b76ccb46ae6-epalmer/2025_2_patch_mem_weights   
   openvino_intel_gpu_plugin.dll   OpenVINO toolkit   2025.2.1-19180-b76ccb46ae6-epalmer/2025_2_patch_mem_weights   
   openvino_intel_npu_plugin.dll   OpenVINO toolkit   2025.2.1-19180-b76ccb46ae6-epalmer/2025_2_patch_mem_weights   
   openvino_onnx_frontend.dll   OpenVINO toolkit   2025.2.1-19180-b76ccb46ae6-epalmer/2025_2_patch_mem_weights   
   pdfport.dll   PDFPort 2020/11/19-11:34:27   79.625377   79.625377
   Plugin.dll   Adobe Photoshop 2026   27.8   
   PlugPlugExternalObject.dll   Adobe(R) CEP PlugPlugExternalObject Standard Dll (64 bit)   12.0.0   
   PlugPlugOwl.dll   Adobe(R) CSXS PlugPlugOwl Standard Dll (64 bit)   12.0.0.14   
   PSCloud.dll                                                   1.0.0.1   
   PSRes.dll   Adobe Photoshop 2026   27.8   
   PSViews.dll   Adobe Photoshop 2026   27.8   
   ScCore.dll   ScCore 2022/08/18-12:50:45   82.4   82.4
   SVGRE.dll   SVGRE   26.G.26f6fc0   26.G.26f6fc0
   svml_dispmd.dll   Intel(R) C/C++/Fortran Compiler   Mainline   
   vcamp140.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   vccorlib140.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   vcomp140.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   vcruntime140.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   vcruntime140_1.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   vcruntime140_threads.dll   Microsoft® Visual Studio®   14.42.34438.0   
   VulcanControl.dll   Vulcan Application Control Library   7.2.0.34   
   VulcanMessage5.dll   Vulcan Message Library   7.2.0.34   
   WinRTSupport.dll   Adobe Photoshop Windows RT Support   1.0.1.0   
   Unified Extensibility Platform  uxp-9.3.0-uxp
   UPIC  2.6.0

Required plugins:

   Accented Edges 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Adaptive Wide Angle 27.8 - from the file “Adaptive Wide Angle.8bf”
   Angled Strokes 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Average 27.8 - from the file “Average.8bf”
   Bas Relief 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   BMP 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Camera Raw 18.4.1 - from the file “Camera Raw.8bi”
   Camera Raw Filter 18.4.1 - from the file “Camera Raw.8bi”
   Chalk && Charcoal 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Charcoal 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Chrome 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Cineon 27.8 - from the file “Cineon.8bi”
   Clouds 27.8 - from the file “Clouds.8bf”
   Color Halftone 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Colored Pencil 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Conté Crayon 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Craquelure 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Crop and Straighten Photos 27.8 - from the file “CropPhotosAuto.8li”
   Crop and Straighten Photos Filter 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Crosshatch 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Crystallize 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Cutout 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Dark Strokes 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   De-Interlace 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Dicom 27.8 - from the file “Dicom.8bi”
   Difference Clouds 27.8 - from the file “Clouds.8bf”
   Diffuse Glow 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Displace 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Dry Brush 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Entropy 27.8 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
   Export Color Lookup Tables 27.8 - from the file “Export3DLUT.8be”
   Extrude 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Fibers 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Film Grain 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Filter Gallery 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Fresco 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   GigapixelApplyImageDataFilter NO VERSION - from the file “TopazGigapixelAIApply.8bf”
   GigapixelGatherImageDataFilter NO VERSION - from the file “TopazGigapixelAIGather.8bf”
   Glass 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Glowing Edges 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Grain 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Graphic Pen 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Halftone Pattern 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Halide Bottlenecks 27.8 - from the file “HalideBottlenecks.8bx”
   HDRMergeUI 27.8 - from the file “HDRMergeUI.8bf”
   Hidden NO VERSION - from the file “TopazRemaskAutomation.8li”
   HSB/HSL 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   IFF Format 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Ink Outlines 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   JPEG 2000 27.8 - from the file “JPEG2000.8bi”
   Kurtosis 27.8 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
   Lens Blur 27.8 - from the file “Lens Blur.8bf”
   Lens Correction 27.8 - from the file “Lens Correction.8bf”
   Lens Flare 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Liquify 27.8 - from the file “Liquify.8bf”
   Matlab Operation 27.8 - from the file “ChannelPort.8bf”
   Maximum 27.8 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
   Mean 27.8 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
   Measurement Core 27.8 - from the file “MeasurementCore.8me”
   Median 27.8 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
   Mezzotint 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Minimum 27.8 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
   Mosaic Tiles 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Multiprocessor Support 27.8 - from the file “MultiProcessor Support.8bx”
   Neon Glow 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Note Paper 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   NTSC Colors 27.8 - from the file “NTSC Colors.8bf”
   Ocean Ripple 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   OpenEXR 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Paint Daubs 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Palette Knife 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Parametric Filter NO VERSION - from the file “MaterialFilter.8bf”
   Patchwork 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Paths to Illustrator 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   PCX 27.8 - from the file “PCX.8bi”
   Photocopy 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Picture Package Filter 27.8 - from the file “ChannelPort.8bf”
   Pinch 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Pixar 27.8 - from the file “Pixar.8bi”
   Plaster 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Plastic Wrap 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Pointillize 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Polar Coordinates 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Portable Bit Map 27.8 - from the file “PBM.8bi”
   Poster Edges 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Radial Blur 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Radiance 27.8 - from the file “Radiance.8bi”
   Range 27.8 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
   Render Color Lookup Grid 27.8 - from the file “Export3DLUT.8be”
   Reticulation 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Ripple 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Rough Pastels 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Save for Web 27.8 - from the file “Save for Web.8be”
   Save for Web Drover 27.8 - from the file “Save for Web Drover.8be”
   ScriptingSupport 27.8 - from the file “ScriptingSupport.8li”
   Shear 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Skewness 27.8 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
   Smart Blur 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Smudge Stick 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Solarize 27.8 - from the file “Solarize.8bf”
   SP Substance Suite NO VERSION - from the file “MaterialSuite.8li”
   Spatter 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Spherize 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Sponge 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Sprayed Strokes 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Stained Glass 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Stamp 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Standard Deviation 27.8 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
   Substance 3D Viewer NO VERSION - from the file “Substance3DViewerForPs.8bi”
   Sumi-e 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Summation 27.8 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
   Targa 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Texturizer 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Tiles 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Topaz Adjust 5 10.0 - from the file “tladjust5ps_x64.8bf”
   Topaz Adjust AI 18.0 - from the file “tltopazadjustaips_x64.8bf”
   Topaz Clean 3 10.0 - from the file “tlclean3ps_x64.8bf”
   Topaz DeNoise AI 18.0 - from the file “tltopazdenoiseaips_x64.8bf”
   Topaz Detail 3 10.0 - from the file “tldetail3ps_x64.8bf”
   Topaz Gigapixel AI NO VERSION - from the file “TopazGigapixelAIAutomate.8bi”
   Topaz InFocus 10.0 - from the file “tlinfocusps_x64.8bf”
   Topaz Lens Effects 10.0 - from the file “tllenseffectsps_x64.8bf”
   Topaz Mask AI 18.0 - from the file “tltopazmaskaips_x64.8bf”
   Topaz Mask AI Automation 10.0 - from the file “MaskAIAutomation.8li”
   Topaz Photo AI NO VERSION - from the file “TopazPhotoAI.8bf”
   Topaz Photo AI NO VERSION - from the file “TopazPhotoAIAutomate.8bi”
   Topaz ReMask 5 10.0 - from the file “tlremask5ps_x64.8bf”
   Topaz Sharpen AI 18.0 - from the file “tltopazsharpenaips_x64.8bf”
   Topaz Simplify 4 10.0 - from the file “tlsimplify4ps_x64.8bf”
   Topaz Studio 2 18.0 - from the file “tltopazstudio2ps_x64.8bf”
   Torn Edges 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   TPAIApplyImageDataFilter NO VERSION - from the file “TopazPhotoAIApply.8bf”
   Twirl 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Underpainting 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Vanishing Point 27.8 - from the file “VanishingPoint.8bf”
   Variance 27.8 - from the file “statistics.8ba”
   Water Paper 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Watercolor 27.8 - from the file “Filter Gallery.8bf”
   Wave 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   WIA Support 27.8 - from the file “WIASupport.8li”
   Wind 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”
   Wireless Bitmap 27.8 - from the file “WBMP.8bi”
   ZigZag 27.8 - from the file “Standard MultiPlugin.8bf”

Optional and third party plugins:

   TPAIGatherImageDataFilter NO VERSION - from the file “C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2026\Plug-ins\TopazPhotoAIGather.8bf”

Duplicate and Disabled plugins:

   Topaz Photo AI NO VERSION - from the file “C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2026\Plug-ins\TopazPhotoAI.8bf”
   Topaz Photo AI NO VERSION - from the file “C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2026\Plug-ins\TopazPhotoAIAutomate.8bi”
   TPAIApplyImageDataFilter NO VERSION - from the file “C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2026\Plug-ins\TopazPhotoAIApply.8bf”
   TPAIGatherImageDataFilter NO VERSION - from the file “TopazPhotoAIGather.8bf”

Plugins that failed to load: NONE

Unified Extensibility Platform - Extensions:

   Home Screen (Loaded) 10.9.0.13 - from the file "Required Folder"
   CmdN: 1.32.8
   FMS: 1.18.11
   UAM: 1.40.0
   UAB: 2.18.0-17
   UAB4: 5.235.2
   SAM.js: 10.0.697
   AXT: 1.0.8
   PTF: 0.8.40
      Loaded at: 3875 ms - launch time impact: 353 ms
   ccx-timeline (Prepared) 3.1.12.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
   CCX Commenting UXP Webview (Loading) 30.20.1.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
      Loaded at: 61391 ms - launch time impact: 0 ms
   CCX Sharesheet UXP (Prepared) 30.31.8.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
   Unified Account Menu (Loaded) 1.50.0.0 - from the file "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe/UXP/Extensions\com.adobe.uam\"
      Loaded at: 4938 ms - launch time impact: 0 ms
   Share Panel (Loaded) 1.0.35.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
      Loaded at: 4953 ms - launch time impact: 0 ms
   In app notifications (Loaded) 10.0.905.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
      Loaded at: 4953 ms - launch time impact: 0 ms
   TourBox (Loaded) 1.0.0.0 - from the file "Plugin Marketplace"
      Loaded at: 72250 ms - launch time impact: 1 ms
   Content Credentials (Loaded) 0.59.19.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
      Loaded at: 57719 ms - launch time impact: 330 ms
   CC Libraries Panel (Prepared) 4.14.50.0 - from the file "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe/CEP/Extensions\CC_LIBRARIES_PANEL_EXTENSION_4_14_50\"
   CAPTURE: 2.0.41  STOCK: 4.2.7
   Neural Filters (Prepared) 1.15.0.105 - from the file "Required Folder"
   Parametric Filter (Prepared) 1.0.0.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
   Photoshop Adjustments Panel (Loading) 2.3.27.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
      Loaded at: 61391 ms - launch time impact: 1 ms
   Photoshop UXP Export-As (Prepared) 5.12.17.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
   Photoshop In App Messaging (Loading) 5.0.0.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
      Loaded at: 61391 ms - launch time impact: 0 ms
   Information Alert (Prepared) 0.5.0.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
   Photoshop Selection Feedback (Prepared) 0.5.0.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
   Plugins Panel (Prepared) 1.6.9.0 - from the file "Required Folder"
   Substance 3D Viewer Plugin for Photoshop (Prepared) 1.0.0.0 - from the file "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe/UXP/Extensions\com.adobe.substance-3d.viewer.ps\"
   IC popup message (Loaded) 1.0.0.0
      Loaded at: 57938 ms - launch time impact: 0 ms
   Multilayer Protection (Loaded) 1.0.0.0
      Loaded at: 57938 ms - launch time impact: 0 ms
   Discover Panel (Loading) 2605.142.0.509 - from the file "Required Folder"
      Loaded at: 61547 ms - launch time impact: 0 ms
   Scan time: 2 ms - entries: 59 

Extensions:

   Libraries  1.0.0 - from the file “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\CEP\extensions\CC_LIBRARIES_PANEL_EXTENSION_4_14_50\index.html”
   com.adobe.stock.panel.licensing-embedded  4.0.35 - from the file “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\CEP\extensions\CC_LIBRARIES_PANEL_EXTENSION_4_14_50\extensions\stock-panel-licensing\index.html”
   com.adobe.capture.extension  2.0.41 - from the file “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\CEP\extensions\CC_LIBRARIES_PANEL_EXTENSION_4_14_50\extensions\capture\capture.html”
   Export As  4.8.16 - from the file “C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2026\Required\CEP\extensions\com.adobe.photoshop.crema\index.html”
   Export As  4.8.16 - from the file “C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2026\Required\CEP\extensions\com.adobe.photoshop.crema\index.html”
   com.adobe.cclibraries.manager  1.0.0 - from the file “C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\CEP\extensions\CC_LIBRARIES_PANEL_EXTENSION_4_14_50\manager.html”

Installed TWAIN devices: NONE
 

Other background processes are probably competing with PS for resources. Things like real-time backups, OS updates & antivirus scans can really drain computer performance. 

Is there any proof that the helper applications are overloading the computer? On mine, with a document open in Photoshop in the background, in macOS Activity Monitor I did a quick search for “creative cloud” and the total CPU usage of the several processes it found is pretty close to zero. I also searched for “adobe” and it was the same result, far below 1% CPU usage. I don’t see any reason to terminate these processes.

It’s important to get this right, because if you let yourself become distracted by processes that are not the real problem, you’re missing the real problem causing the slowdowns, whatever it is.

These processes have absolutely no impact on Photoshop performance. This is not the problem. Disabling them will not help.

Please post the full Help > System Info from Photoshop.