P: Photoshop hangs when using smart objects

@Andreas Resch I don't think a solution was posted or update to the software resolving this has been released so why would you risk doing the same thing you already know causes the issue?

Aaaand once again Photoshop freezes while duplicating smart objects by ALT-dragging them. And again the crashpad handler process was launched but no crash log window appears which means, no chance to get my work back. Thanks Adobe for wasting another 20 minutes of my work time that I have to reproduce now.

I found this thread while looking for a solution to two similar issues that just started happening in the last week or so. I have Adobe CC set to update automatically so I do not know for sure what version I was on when this started happening. Currently I am on Photoshop 24.1 // Mac OS Montery 12.6 // Macbook Pro M1 Max. 

ISSUE 1: When saving a smart object after editing it, I get an "Updating Smart Object" progress bar that does not advance. I have to force quite Photoshop. It does not happen all the time, but frequently enough that it is a major inconvenience and disrupts my workday.

ISSUE 2: If I've already applied Camera Raw filter settings to a smart object and try to open Camera Raw filter again to make adjustments Photoshop/Camera Raw freezes and I can't use either one and have to force quit.

I tried the following suggestions in this thread and another related thread– reset my preferences, uncheck performance settings, check the box for Photoshop in Full Disk Access. None of these worked.

My Photoshop files are housed on a removeable SanDisk 4TB hard drive. I decided to try moving a file that was giving me issues to the desktop. Moving the file to my desktop and opening it from there fixed both issues.

This is great, but there is still an issue somewhere.  I've been working with my files housed on a removable drive for years and never had this issue. Is there a Photoshop or MAC OS preference reason that these issues would arise now?

Once again an issue related to smart objects (and probably layer effects). I just wanted to duplicate a smart object layer within a group with a layer style active (just a stroke) by ALT-dragging the layer. Photoshop is hanging now. They white arrow marker was constantly active. After switching to another window, I can't switch back to Photoshop any more - the windows won't regain focus. Photoshop seems to do some calculations in the background as the GPU load is at about 10% all the time for the Photoshop task. 

It's not the first time that Photoshop is acting weidly when using smart objects and layer styles. This combination isn't only very slow it's also prone to errors. 

Here's a screenshot of the processes involved with Photoshop. Some crashpad handler is among them, but no crash report popped up.

Well that's interesting. One wonders now what prevents this from happening on some machines. Maybe we will have answers soon. Cheers. 

I reproduced it on macOS. So think it's happening on both.

Yeah. Those bars are from a Nik plugin. I just used it to better illustrate the sequential process of the individual smart filters being run through. That progress bar popping up helps with that. But it seems as if the same happens when the Camera Raw filter is used. Every individual instance is recalculated. It just happens without any visual feedback. Photoshop just seems to be stuck. It even happens on a Gaussian blur. It's just not that extreme as Gaussian blur is faster than Camera Raw or the Nik plugin.

Did you test it on a Mac or under Windows? It does not seem to happen on Macs. 

Thanks for forwarding it. 

OK. I was able to get the sample file. I am seeing the behavior where the first place of the Camel into the document with Smart Objects take a long time the first time and is instant the next time it is dragged and dropped.

That said, those progress bars (black box with yellow/orange progress bars) you're seeing aren't Photoshop's. Those are probably coming from a plug-in or panel.

I've asked an engineer to take a look at the slowness on first place issue.

I did another test on a modified sample file. I've swapped all the Camera Raw smart filters for Nik Color Efex smart filters. These are a bit slower to calculate and they show a progress bar when they update as well. So the sample file now has around 20 smart object layers and a Nik smart filter on each on them. 

I did two tests now. I started Photoshop fresh each time, openend the sample file and a little file showing a camel. 

Test 1 - Dragging the camel into the sample file. As you can see in the screencast (link below) each layer recalculates its smart filter, which in the case of this Nik filter takes quite a time in total. After all that is done, I dragged the camel over again. This time it's placed in an instant.

Test 1 - Screencast 

Test 2 - I flattened the camel file before dragging it into the sample file. As you can see in the second screencast, the placement happens instantly.

Test 2 - Screencast 

So it seems that the same thing is happening to the original sample file with the Camera RAW filters. With the difference that one can't see the process of all the Camera RAW filters being updated.

So the question now is, why all the filters are being updated when I drag a transparent layer into the file - and only for the first time. This does not seem to happen on Macs which is interesting. Maybe this info helps to find a solution.

You said exactly where that you did a complete clean install of the OS in either threads?

https://www.techtarget.com/searchitchannel/definition/clean-install?amp=1