Brush Tool not working to edit mask

[scenicshutterbug]

I normally use the brush tool with a mask highlighted to refine the selection to be used for the mask.  I just tried doing that in the beta version (25..12.0) and it is not working properly.  Brush flow and opacity set to 100%.  Layer opacity set to 100%.  The brush will only sporadically paint (see image below.)  There is nothing selected on the image which would be restricting where the brush is applied.   The solid red areas were part of the original mask.  The dotted red areas are what the brush would paint when trying to refine the mask.   I am running on a Windows 11 platform and everything is working properly on the production version (25.11).   

[Sameer K · Accepted solution]

Hey, @scenicshutterbug. Welcome to the Photoshop Community. I'll move this post to Photoshop Beta. I'll need more info to help you figure this out. Please share the system info from Photoshop Help > System info > Copy and paste into a text document > upload and attach here. Are you using any stylus input or just the regular mouse and keyboard?

In this case, you can begin by resetting the Brush tool itself. Right-click on the Brush Tool icon in the Toolbar menu and select Reset Tool.

If this does not help, ensure no stale preferences in your Photoshop. Go to the location of the preference folder below and rename it to backup.

• Windows 10/11: Users/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings
• You can press Press the Windows key > Enter 'Run' > Enter %APPDATA%\Adobe
• Rename the Adobe Photoshop folder by adding a .old at the end. (Adobe Photoshop 2024 > Rename > Adobe Photoshop 2024. old), You can restore these preferences later if needed.(https://adobe.ly/4860qM9)
• Restart the computer.

These changes will give a fresh start to Photoshop as a fresh install. Let me know how it goes.

Thanks!

Sameer K

(Use '@mention' to tag me when you reply)

[scenicshutterbug]

Hi @mention.  I was using Wacom tablet and stylus but had the same problem when I tried using the mouse.  In this case, resetting the brush tool seemed to solve the problem.  However, I have attached the system informatin you requested in case there is something odd in there that may have been causing the problem.

Thank you for your help.

scenicshutterbug

[Sameer K]

Glad to know it worked out!

Additionally, you have two GPUs on your machine. The power-saving Intel UHD 630 Graphics & the high-performance Nvidia 1660. The drivers for Intel graphics are 23 months old

My two recommendations:
1 - Update the graphics drivers using Intel's Drive Assistant (auto-detect) program.
2 - Follow step 6 in the content here to configure the default GPU for Photoshop: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/troubleshoot-gpu-graphics-card.html

This should directly help how Photoshop works. Thanks!
Sameer K