Skip to main content
corrinat80310400
corrinat80310400
Participant
July 14, 2018
Question

Could not initialize photoshop because the scratch disks are full?

  • July 14, 2018
  • 9 replies
  • 6287 views

So I know what my my problem is, I just need more disk space, but I have no idea where to find my disk space? I can't even open photoshop, I can't go to my preferences... I tried clearing up space on my MacBook but that isn't working either. Do I need to buy more disk space? If so, where do I go? I am extremely frustrated and I need to get work done. Thank you

This topic has been closed for replies.

9 replies

jimg3670
jimg3670
Participant
March 21, 2019

i got it to work, its about timing when the window opens saying scratch disks are full, ctrl alt at the same time,,, worked for me..

notinks
notinks
Participant
October 21, 2019

Now I am getting this message when I try to perform an edit rather than when first opening Photoshop. Any ideas?

T
Test Screen Name
Legend
February 20, 2019

Before the message and just after starting it. It may take some experiments to get the timing.

I assume you have a bigger disk ready to use?

brendanw12345678910
brendanw12345678910
Participant
February 11, 2019

I had the same problem but then I found this post and it worked, for me...

"I just had the same problem and found this on the Adobe photoshop support website (Optimize performance Photoshop CC):

Note:

If Photoshop cannot launch because the scratch disk is full, hold down the Cmd + Opt keys (Mac) or Ctrl + Alt keys (Windows) on launch to set a new scratch disk.

I was able to reset the scratch disk and so far Photoshop is launching fine. Hope this helps someone!"

    notinks
    notinks
    Participant
    February 20, 2019

    At what point do you hit Ctrl + Alt? I get the "could not open" message as soon as I click on open.

    T
    Test Screen Name
    Legend
    December 13, 2018

    Yes, Photoshop is the only one that works that way. Mikenasty, where your apps are installed is irrelevant. The default scratch disk is your system drive, so how big other drives are doesn't matter until you change settings. How much space is on your SYSTEM drive?

    M
    mikenasty
    Participant
    December 13, 2018

    Bump. I have 3.7 TB of space and I am still having this issue. I do have creative cloud installed on the C: drive and my adobe apps and store are stored on a separate 4 TB drive. PS is the only Adobe app I am having this issue with. I have Illustrator, premier, after effect, light room and media encoder installed fine, however PS is the only one with this issue. I was not able to start the app at all

    Dan Rodney
    Community Expert
    Dan RodneyCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 14, 2018

    Here are some links that I think will help you:

    How to check your Mac's free hard drive space | Macworld

    How to free up storage space on your Mac - Apple Support

    — Adobe Certified Expert & Instructor at Noble Desktop | Web Developer, Designer, InDesign Scriptor
    T
    Test Screen Name
    Legend
    July 14, 2018

    The scratch disk is just your disk. Your disk doesn't have enough room for what you want to do.

    Exactly how much space do you have? That's the starting point. You could delete a million tiny files and not have enough.

    corrinat80310400
    corrinat80310400Author
    Participant
    July 14, 2018

    I have about 6 GB left, and I have gotten rid of many tiny files, but seems not to work? Do I need to remove files from within the scratch disk or what? I know you can access the scratch disks when you go to preferences, but how do you actually see what is inside them?

    R
    Ronald Keller
    Legend
    July 14, 2018

    When Photoshop is not running there is nothing inside the scratch disk. (unless Photoshop crashed but it should delete the contents when restarting).

    The scratch disk is simply empty space on your hard drive. If you have more than one drive you can allocate another than the c drive or more than one drive to use as scratch space.

    6 GB is way too small.

    Derek Cross
    Community Expert
    Derek CrossCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 14, 2018

    For a short-term solution close and then reopen your computer.

    Mylenium
    Mylenium
    Legend
    July 14, 2018

    Impossible to say anything. You have not provided any actual system info. Typically this error doesn't mean at all that you are really running out, but rather that the relevant parts of your disk/ volume are inaccessible. By default PS will simply use the system volume, so start by checking its status and user permissions using the disk utility.

    Mylenium

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices