PSD corrupting files

[defaultgc4nz649rprx]

I have photoshop version 22.41 and I have to work from windows to a mac. I have an external drive that is configured to work on both devices. 

I had at least  3 photoshop files that have been corrupted and I can't open them. What's going on?

[davescm]

The recomendation is always to save to a local drive and copy to an external drive.

https://helpx.adobe.com/ca/photoshop/kb/networks-removable-media-photoshop.html

A bad connection on an external drive can cause corruption that you don't see until you try and open the file

Dave

[D Fosse]

I have an external drive that is configured to work on both devices.

By @defaultgc4nz649rprx

That in itself is a problem because that means it is exFAT-formatted. But the exFAT file system really hasn't worked well in later versions of MacOS, and the general advice is to avoid it in favor of native file systems (HFS+ and APFS).

As a very minimum precaution, never work directly to/from the external drive (from either OS). Always work to local drive, then copy over.

Another often overlooked cause of corruption is loose cables and connectors. It only takes a little accidental bump to break connection for a microsecond. Be very careful to not touch the drive when any read or write is going on. This isn't a problem for hard-wired internal drives, but there's a lot of wear and tear with external drive cables.