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Benjeeeman
Benjeeeman
New Participant
October 8, 2017
Answered

Error reading machine specific preferences

  • October 8, 2017
  • 7 replies
  • 69516 views

whenever I open Photoshop it gives me an error message saying "error reading machine specific preferences. They will be reset to defaults". sure enough, they are, why does it keep giving me this error message and how can I fix it.

Correct answer Akash Sharma

Hi cryptoj0e,

It seems that your startup Photoshop preferences are corrupt. It could be beacuse you've had upgraded to this version from a previous version of Photoshop or you have some 3'rd party plugins preventing the app to launch.

Please restore your preferences to default following this article Preferences in Photoshop  and let us know if that helps.

Thanks,

Akash

7 replies

J
Jerry237302558v4h
New Participant
March 24, 2022

I'm having this same issue, on a PC. I am A Photo Editer and I'm Editing Pics Of TIG Welding Helmets. But Now Error Reading Machin.

pjy86534130
pjy86534130
Participating Frequently
February 28, 2025

well its feb 2025 and now I have it. checked c drive and I've 122GB space free

A
AndrewThe1st
Participating Frequently
July 29, 2021

This happens regularly, and on more than one computer. Different hardware, yet every few days or so, my preferences reset.
Even after a reformat. Today was the first time I noticed the message.

A
AndrewThe1st
Participating Frequently
July 29, 2021

I should also add, that it happens not every few days, but for sure happens on every payment anniversary date.
I am behind a firewall, so I manually connect it when I need to.
I am thinking this is some kind of software protection thing. And it is really annoying.

E
Enrico Guerri Photography
New Participant
January 19, 2021

Good day, I have the same issue that happens often at PS startup.

I read about the file preferences, but why it happens often?

The space available in hdd is more or less 300GB.

    S
    Samir Alhubaishi
    New Participant
    November 4, 2020

    This error occurs when you don't have enough space on your hard drive. Clear at least 15 GB off your hard drive and it should work fine.

      M
      Mr Mouse
      New Participant
      November 5, 2020

      I have this same problem and I'm pretty sure that 1.1 TB is enough storage space.

        N
        nevermind71
        New Participant
        July 5, 2020

        I have the same error, I have the restored the preferences, did not work. The same error again and again

        K
        Khamsa Graphix
        New Participant
        June 2, 2019

        How can i open preferences when photoshop is not opening?

          cryptoj0e
          cryptoj0e
          New Participant
          October 10, 2017

          I'm having this same issue, on a PC.  Along with this issue, my PS freezes every time I try to resize an image.  These two issues started on the same day.

          Akash Sharma
          Akash SharmaCorrect answer
          Brainiac
          October 13, 2017

          Hi cryptoj0e,

          It seems that your startup Photoshop preferences are corrupt. It could be beacuse you've had upgraded to this version from a previous version of Photoshop or you have some 3'rd party plugins preventing the app to launch.

          Please restore your preferences to default following this article Preferences in Photoshop  and let us know if that helps.

          Thanks,

          Akash

          Benjeeeman
          BenjeeemanAuthor
          New Participant
          October 13, 2017

          Thanks for the help, it really did work.

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