Scratch disk problem with MacOS Sequoia 15.3.1 and Photoshop 26.4.1

[Ron_Hunt]

I'm using Photoshop 26.4.1 on an M1 Mac Mini (16GB RAM, 1TB Storage) and I'm having a problem with my external scratch disk dismounting and crashing Photoshop in the process. The scratch disk is a 1TB Samsung NVME drive connected through a Sonnettech Echo 20 dock. This setup has been working fine while I was still using Mac OS Ventura but since I upgraded to Sequoia at Photoshop's suggestion, this setup hasn't worked.

I also tried using the previous 2024 version of Photoshop with the same results.

It usually begins when I try to open a file with MacOS reporting that the scratch drive has been dismounted and scolding me for doing that. Often, however, when I check... the disk has automagically remounted to the desktop. Soon afterwards, Photoshop completely crashes.

I've sent crash reports to both Adobe and Apple but, foolishly, didn't include my email address when I sent my report to Adobe. 

I realize that my Mac is seriously underpowered and hope to rectrify that shortly, but I don't really do a lot of AI stuff... just basic photoshop stuff. Cleaning up photos, cropping and stuff like that.

Are there any things I can try to perhaps fix this problem. I haven't done anything yet, except try the earlier version of Photoshop. But I'm up against a deadline and need to do something fairly quickly.

--Ron

[ExUSA]

Try using a Thunderbolt/USB-C SSD plugged in directly, or just use the internal SSD for scratch space. 1TB is enough if you store photos on an external drive. I have an M1 mini and it works great with a USB-C scratch SSD.

[Ron_Hunt]

Thanks for the reply. Seems yours is the only one I've gotten... oh, well.

As I'm sure you know, the M1 Mini is pretty much devoid of ports, which is why I sprung for the Echo 20 Thunderbolt Dock. At the moment, I have my display uisng one of the Thunderbird ports on the Mini and the dock plugged into the other Thundbolt port. I do have a couple of USB 3 type A ports on the back of the Mini, but I don't have an SSD drive and cable to plug into it. Maybe I'll look into that tomorrow. The Samsung drive uses a type C cable.

I've check the Samsung drive and it seems to be OK, but then I'm no expert on this stuff. It was working flawlessly prior to upgrading the Mini to Sequoia, so I don't know.

I would really prefer not using the internal SSD for scratch space. What really worries me is that I don't know if this is an Adobe problem, or a Mac OS problem but something is causing the drive to dismount on it's own.

Thanks again. I appreciate it. 

[ExUSA]

The internal drive is by far the fastest and should be the first one used.

I have an LG Thunderbolt display and have a Satechi dock plugged into that which works perfectly.

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

I can second @ExUSA 's advice and get a Saatchi dock for your M1 Mac (same model I have) and use exclusively USB-C when using an external for your Scratch Disk. I have a smaller HD so it's not an option after Sequoia and Adobe/Microsoft apps installed so an external SSD USB-C connected through my Saatchi dock is my only option.

[Ron_Hunt]

Thanks for the suggestion, Kevin. I briefly considered the Satechi dock for my Mini but really wanted extra Thunderbolt ports so I decided to get the Sonnettech Echo 20 instead. And, except for a few blips, it's been a pretty good investment. It has an internal slot that accepts a M2 NVMe drive and that's what I've been using for temporary files... not scratch files... but temp storage. Works fine although it's a bit slow compared to my other drives.

Anyway, I think (fingers crossed) that I may have found the problem, or at least a workaround. I have been using the 10GB/sec USB ports on the front of the dock, mainly because I've been too lazy to go fishing around behind the back of the dock for the Thunderbolt ports. On a lark, I decided to try using the Thunderbolt port and see if that made a difference. And, it seemed to work. Why, I don't have a clue. As I said in my original post, I've been using those front facing USB ports without incident until I upgraded to MacOS Sequoia.

Anyway, thanks again for your suggestion and reply. I really do appreciate it.

[Kevin Stohlmeyer]

At least on my dock at work and at home (two different brands) the front ports are not powerful/fast enough to support the read write speeds for an external scratch disk. They are mainly for charging or connecting peripherals like a keyboard or mouse.

[Ron_Hunt]

I guess I've been lucky to be able to use those front ports as long as I have. As I said in my original post, I don't do a great deal of deep editing... don't have dozens of layers open, etc. That's probably why it's worked as long as it has. I did notice that everything was a bit snappier when my scratch drive was plugged into a Thunderbolt port. Hopefully, it's fixed. We'll see... I have LOT's of photos to go through this weekend.

Thanks again, to both you and ExUSA for your replies and suggestions. They're been most helpful!