Photoshop 27.1 Freezing

[Linns2]

I am using Photoshop 27.1  with MacOS Tahoe 26.1 and for the first time ever Photoshop is freezing on me while working with adjustment layers. I have to force quit and then end up with a recovered file. Is there anything to help stop this?

Thank you for any assistance.

[Aleke · Accepted solution]

Hi @Linns2, thanks so much for reaching out!
Could you share a bit more detail about what’s happening? Does this occur with every file or just a specific one? And does it happen with all adjustment layers? Do you see any error messages?
As a first step, it might help to reset Photoshop preferences. Just make sure to back them up first since this will remove custom settings like brushes and workspaces. You can follow the steps here: https://adobe.ly/4rkDWB2
Thanks a lot for your help!
Alek

[Linns2]

Hi  @Aleke

Thanks for your quick response.  I happened to be working on one file and it kept recurring with different adjustment layers even after a restart. There were no error messages. I could not adjust the sliders and then Photoshop just froze. I just began on another file and noticed when I go to Save, the photo disappeared yet I was still able to Save it and appeared normally in the folder. I have no idea where it disappeared to at that moment. I will try your suggestion. TY.

So far so good on the reset preferences. I noticed the library has so many earlier versions of Photoshop settings from 2021 to 2026 including path files with a question mark. Can I safely remove all those earlier versions?

[Aleke]

Hi @Linns2!
If you’ve already copied all the files you want to keep into the current version’s folder, then it should be perfectly fine to remove the older version folders.
Just a quick note: the preferences folder stores custom settings like brushes and workspaces. If there’s anything you’d like to keep, make sure to back those up before deleting.
Hope that helps!
Alek

[Linns2]

Thank you @Aleke