photoshop froze and won't crash on its own

[Leia Jiang]

Photoshop froze and it is not responding at all. I am afriad it won't give me a recovered file if I end task because it didn't last time. What am I supposed to do?

[kevin stohlmeyer]

Specs? OS version, PS version, RAM, HD space, scratch disk space, Graphics Card(s), etc.

[TheDigitalDog]

Try resetting your Photoshop preferences. Press and hold Alt+Control+Shift (Windows) or Option+Command+Shift (Mac OS) immediately after launching Photoshop. You will be prompted to delete the current settings.

(Mac OS only) Open the Preferences folder in the Library folder*, and drag the Adobe Photoshop CS Settings folder to the Trash.

This action only affects the items found in the preferences dialog box. Numerous program settings are stored in the Adobe Photoshop Preferences file, including general display options, file-saving options, performance options, cursor options, transparency options, type options, and options for plug‑ins and scratch disks. Brushes (and lots of other setting) are not affected by the above instructions for deleting preferences. You may wish to make a screen capture of the settings in the Preferences dialog to reset them prior to deleting of this file.

Also: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/preferences.html

*To manually delete Photoshop preferences:
Quit Photoshop.
Navigate to Photoshop's Preferences folder:
MacOS: Users/[user name]/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings
Windows 10: Users/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings

Note:
The user Library folder is hidden by default on macOS. To access files in the hidden user Library folder, see How to access hidden user library files.
https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/access-hidden-user-library-files.html
Drag the entire Adobe Photoshop [Version] Settings folder to the desktop or somewhere safe for a back-up of your settings