Photoshop and building a new PC

[RosaPerry]

Hi All,

It’s been 14 years since I had my custom-built PC made, and it’s still going strong—even running Photoshop 26.1! My system is running Windows 10, which can’t upgrade to Windows 11, and while my graphics card still supports Photoshop for now, I know that won’t last forever. Plus, with Microsoft ending support for Windows 10 next year, it’s time to prepare for the next chapter.

This PC has truly been a dream machine. But as I plan for a new custom build, I want to make sure I transition Photoshop seamlessly.

Question 1
I’ve forgotten how to deactivate Photoshop on my current PC. Is there a specific protocol I should follow to properly remove it? ( I remember you had to deactivate Photoshop once upon a time 🙂 )

Question 2
How can I transfer my settings, filters, and plugins to the new PC? Are there specific folders I should copy from my current system?

I’d appreciate any tips or guidance to ensure a smooth transition while I still have access to my old PC.
Looking forward to responses.

Thank you!

[Ged_Traynor]

@RosaPerry you just need to sign out of the Creative Cloud app on your old PC, should you need to you can deactivate the old device from you Adobe account

As for the settings, see the below link, some plug-ins may need to be reinstalled

https://helpx.adobe.com/ie/photoshop/using/preset-migration.html

[RosaPerry]

@Ged_Traynor 
Thanks so much Ged for your answer. I appreciate it very much!

[D Fosse]

Yay - custom build is the way to go. You don't have to fight all the third-party manufacturer modifications and add-ons that only get in the way and cause problems. A clean, basic Windows install is what you want.

What I would recommend is that you migrate as little as possible. Save out actions, brushes and other stuff that can't be easily recreated from your current machine, and reload them on the new. Other than that, take the few minutes to set it up fresh.

Here's why: Preferences and settings are rewritten on every application exit, as opposed to read-only program files. Any kind of irregular application shutdown can potentially corrupt them, and small errors tend to accumulate. It's always a good thing to start with clean sheets and fresh preferences at regular intervals, like a new version or a new install. Get rid of the old debris.

The preferences contain the whole application configuration, not just your own user settings. Corrupt preferences can cause the weirdest behavior. A lot of the "bugs" people report here are in reality corrupt preferences.

[RosaPerry]

@D Fosse 
Thank you for your answer.
I agree with what you've written. So in saying that, I must do a clean install of Plugins and Filters as well? 

[D Fosse]

I would certainly recommend it.

[RosaPerry]

@D Fosse 

Thank you!

[Conrad_C]

If you start using your new installation and you realize you’re missing something important that you use, like a brush preset, a keyboard shortcuts preset, or an action, there’s an Adobe web page that you might want to bookmark, linked below. It lists the file system locations of many Photoshop settings and preset files.

You can use that list to locate the settings file you need in the last backup of your old installation, and then of course you can copy it to the same path location in the new installation. (Don’t forget that step of making a complete backup of the previous system before decommissioning it.)

The web page below lists the Mac file locations first, so scroll about halfway down that page to find the list for Windows.

Preference file functions, names, locations | Photoshop

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/preference-file-names-locations-photoshop.html

[RosaPerry]

@Conrad_C 
Thank you so much for your helpful comments. I really appreciate the link that will enable me to access my Photoshop preference files. It's so scary when I get the new build and not having my Photoshop filters and plugins and having to install them from scratch.