Remove tool causes memory to max out after a few uses and freezes Photoshop

[Brian_Ackin]

This bug has been reported before, but persists, making editing arduous.

It only became a problem recently, so I feel it is a version issue, say after 25 or so. I have not downgraded as of yet, but may have no choice.

After a few touch ups (nothing major, like skin blemish), the tool will freeze and then memory use will ramp up until entirely maxed out (64 GB). I see it in the Task Manager graph. After about two minutes (if a person was willing to wait), a dialog box pops up saying there is no more memory to complete task. When closed, I can save the image and proceed.

This has happened each and every time I edit an image and I cannot go more than 5 uses before this happens. 

I contacted support over the phone and was told to increase memory usage under performance. I does not help and resetting preferences also does not help.

This issue needs to be fixed as I feel the remove tool is one of the core tools users now rely on.

If it would be helpful to downgrade to a previous version, please advise.

[D Fosse]

Photoshop maxing out its memory allocation is perfectly normal. It will always do that pretty quickly. It's how it's supposed to work.

There is no such thing as "enough memory", no matter how much you have. The amount of working data PS needs to move around vastly exceeds RAM. That's why Photoshop uses a scratch disk to be able able to handle all the data. The scratch disk is Photoshop's main memory. RAM is a fast access cache holding current data.

The scratch file holds all history states for all open documents, plus overhead for advanced functions. You should have at least 250 GB or so free space for most "normal" work - for very big files you may need up to a TB or so.

The advice to increase PS memory allocation is bad advice, and it never helps. Quite the opposite, it can choke the rest of the system, causing everything to slow down. Don't go above 70% or so.

The remove tool is extremely memory-intensive. That's the price for magic. There's no free lunch.

[Ged_Traynor]

@Brian_Ackin "After a few touch ups (nothing major, like skin blemish), the tool will freeze and then memory use will ramp up until entirely maxed out (64 GB). I see it in the Task Manager graph. After about two minutes (if a person was willing to wait)"

I've just tested this using the Remove Tool with Photoshop version 25.3.1 and not seeing the issue here, I've used the Remove Tool constantly for 5 minutes during the test and the RAM on my system has not excited 12GB, with Photoshop using about 4.2GB of that

[Brian_Ackin]

Hi there,

Thanks for your quick response. I'm glad it's working for you. I don't understand why it worked for me last year without issue but all of a sudden has become a problem. The only thing I can think of in terms of major changes to my system are Windows updates and Photoshop updates. No new hardware to speak of. I update my drivers regularily.

Alas, I may try downgrading my version and see what happens. Thanks again.

[Brian_Ackin]

Hi D Fosse,

Thanks for your quick response. I hear you, but if the tool freezes the entire program for two minutes after a few touch ups, then it is a useless tool. As mentioned, it worked beautifully a few months ago and then suddenly has this issue which leads me to think it is either a Photoshop issue, Windows issue, or an AMD issue.

Thanks again, Brian

[Brian_Ackin]

This is what happens. Just did it again.

[Ged_Traynor]

@Brian_Ackin I couldn't test on the most recent version of Photoshop because of the stupid AI tutorial at startup, but that's another story or should I say horror story 🤣

I'm using Windows 11 23H2 latest release BTW, I seem to remember another thread with a user having the same issue that you mentioned but can't fine that thread

Have you tried changing the Remove Tool Processing to More Stable instead of Faster in Photoshop preferences

[D Fosse]

Just tried it, no problems here either. Photoshop will use its allocated memory, as it should, but it does not go above that no matter how frantically I use the Remove Tool. I basically covered the whole 60 MP image two times over.

Faster vs More stable didn't seem to make much difference, the latter is just a little bit slower.

More to the point, everything is fully responsive and instant the whole time. Switching to different tools picks up without missing a beat.

Maybe your problem is that you have now set the memory allocation too high? Back it down to 70 or so if you have.

[Brian_Ackin]

@Ged_TraynorHey there,

I've gone back and forth. It really doesn't seem to make much difference. But perhaps the Windows update is more to the point in terms of memory management. If so, then I'm out of luck. 😞 Thanks for helping out.

[Brian_Ackin]

@D FosseHi again,

Well, the problem started when I was 70 percent. I called in and was told to increase, to no avail. So, as mentioned by Ged_Traynor, it might be outside of Photoshop and having to do with the Windows build I have. Thanks for taking a look.

[Brian_Ackin · Accepted solution]

UPDATE:

It would seem this issue is version dependent. I downgraded to 25.1 (thought I don't know at what version it starts again) and the remove tool now works without fail. I hope this helps others.

Thanks, Brian

[Carlos de Leon]

Thanks for documenting this issue, Brian. I was having an identical problem with a system setup similar to yours. However, after downgrading to PS 25.1, per your insight, the Remove Tool works flawlessly again. Hopefully, the next PS build will remedy the issue. 

[Brian_Ackin]

No problem. I haven't gone up the versions as of yet, so perhaps it begins quite close to the current version. For the moment, I'm happy at 25.1. Reply if you happen to go up and find a later version. 🙂

[Carlos de Leon]

Will do. 

[Carlos de Leon · Accepted solution]

Something you may want to try in the event you're still having issues with your Remove Tool. Hopefully, this helps.

[Brian_Ackin]

Hmmm, very interesting! I will defintely give it a shot. Thanks so much!

[Brian_Ackin]

Hi Carlos,

Yes, I updated to 25.7 and it would seem that this solves the problem. No freezing or memory maxing out. Thanks for your efforts!

[Clocktowerphotography]

Hi Carlos,

I'm on 25.7.0 and I still have the problem with the remove tool maxing out memory.  I've set the Image processing to Stable in the preferences and set the pen tool to presure sensitive and it still occurs.  It doesn't happen all the time but fairly often.  It doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason as to when it's going to happen or how big of a job you are removing.  I also tried selecting each object then clicking the checkmark to remove.  I've also tried remove after each stroke.

I'm on a PC i9 with 64G.B. of Ram.  Are you on a PC or Mac?