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Suddenly ALL of my settings in Photoshop have DISAPPEARED

Participant ,
Mar 22, 2021 Mar 22, 2021

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This is a recurring problem. I have reinstalled Photoshop but this continues to happen. It is a very serious issue. I need to get my settings back. And all of my patterns and colors. I have not made any changes to the app whatsoever but when I switched it on today, ALL of my settings and saved patterns etc are GONE. I can't afford to keep losing work like this. The last time this happened, the agent removed all trace of Photoshop from my laptop and it was reinstalled from scratch. This has happened AGAIN,

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Adobe
Community Expert ,
Mar 23, 2021 Mar 23, 2021

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All preferences and custom settings are stored in your machine's user account - not the program files.

 

Each major Photoshop version has its own main folder in the user account. When you update to a new major version (like from v21 to v22), you need to take steps to migrate these settings, if not, you get a new default set.

 

If you don't uninstall the old version, all the settings are still intact there. I suggest you turn off automatic updates. 

 

If settings are deleted outside of these scenarios, there is a problem with the user account in your operating system. You may not have the necessary permissions in your account.

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Participant ,
Mar 23, 2021 Mar 23, 2021

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According to the technician who shared my screen, there are NO FILES in the user accoount. You are missing the point. Photoshop is RESETTING ITESELF TO FACTORY DEFAULTS. This has nothing to do with me. I have not updated. This is a bug and I want it reported. It is a recurring problem.

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Participant ,
Mar 23, 2021 Mar 23, 2021

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I lose all of my recorded actions and presets along with my preferences. They just default to factory settings on their own.

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Community Expert ,
Mar 23, 2021 Mar 23, 2021

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I understand you're angry, but Photoshop doesn't just "reset itself". The real problem in that case is that your user account doesn't have the necessary read and write permissions. That's an operating system issue, not a Photoshop issue.

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Participant ,
Mar 23, 2021 Mar 23, 2021

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Please eleaborate. What do I have to do to get the correct permissions. I have been using The Creative Cloud for years and have had several technicians on my machine who have not told me this or fixed the problem. Photoshop IS RESETTING itself. Automatic updates are always OFF.

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Community Expert ,
Mar 23, 2021 Mar 23, 2021

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Are you full administrator on your machine, or do you have a limited user account? This sometimes happens in e.g. a corporate environment. It can also happen with laptop setups.

 

One thing that sometimes helps with this, is to right-click the PS icon in the start menu, then "run as administrator". It should normally only be necessary to do this once. This can often fix permissions problems:

start.png

 

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Participant ,
Mar 23, 2021 Mar 23, 2021

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I am the Administrator on this computer. It is mine. I always sign in as Administrator. So therefore this is an incorrect solution. 

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Community Expert ,
Mar 23, 2021 Mar 23, 2021

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OK. You seem to have made up your mind already, and there isn't much we can help you with here. Good luck.

 

If you're still convinced this is a Photoshop bug (that no one else sees), then you can report it on the feedback site, which is the official bug report channel, monitored by Adobe staff.

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Participant ,
Mar 23, 2021 Mar 23, 2021

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That is NOT what I am saying. You said that I must be signed in as Admin. I said I always am. What else can you suggest?

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Participant ,
Mar 23, 2021 Mar 23, 2021

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Incidentally, the problem most certainly IS SEEN when I report it every time it happens. Just because YOU haven't seen it doesn't mean it isn't seen. You can look at all the transcripts on my account trying to resolve this issue.

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Participant ,
Mar 23, 2021 Mar 23, 2021

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Please will you accept my apology. I realize I was overwrought and lost my cool, coming across as rude. I would be grateful if someone will troubleshoot this issue with me.

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Community Expert ,
Mar 23, 2021 Mar 23, 2021

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OK, it's fine, don't worry 🙂

 

Try to run as administrator once first. Even if you already are administrator, it should repair errors.

 

This is really a case for a Windows expert, which I'm not. But I have enough experience with Photoshop to know that the entire preferences folder doesn't just vanish.

 

Preferences can become corrupt, however. This is because they are resaved/rewritten every time Photoshop exits - as opposed to program files that are read only. So errors accumulate. That usually just causes erratic behavior. But you can try to reset them anyway.

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Participant ,
Mar 23, 2021 Mar 23, 2021

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I ran the program as Administrator and it did not resolve the issue. All I can tell you is this. A few weeks ago an Adobe technician completely removed all trace of Photoshop from my computer because of this recurring problem. I had hoped that would remove anything that was corrupted. The problem is this. Without any updating or tampering of any kind whatsoever, Photoshop reverts to factory settings as if never peviously used. I don't know what a Windows expert would be expected to look for. 

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Participant ,
Feb 05, 2023 Feb 05, 2023

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Wow, just wow! Do you believe me now????? How damn rude.

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New Here ,
May 18, 2021 May 18, 2021

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I'm with you... Adobe screwed up and there is a bug. And, if they do an update and don't hold your existing preferences and assets, that IS A BUG!

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Participant ,
May 18, 2021 May 18, 2021

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Right? Thanks for your comment. 

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New Here ,
Oct 01, 2021 Oct 01, 2021

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Same thing just happened to me , yes I'm admin , the update reverted all my setting to those I was using a year ago . Adobe need to sort this out , 3 hours of tech support doing even more damage 

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New Here ,
Jan 31, 2022 Jan 31, 2022

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Same thing just  happened to me with the 2022 update.
I am also administrator of my computer. All my previous presets files in 2019, 2020 and 2021 folders have been erased.

This is very anoying.

 

 

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New Here ,
Feb 03, 2022 Feb 03, 2022

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Same here I am the admin on my computer and it just updated and took out all my presets and actions including extra plugins ---does it everytime ---

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New Here ,
Feb 05, 2023 Feb 05, 2023

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I've been having this problem too, not sure if you still are. The only thing I have managed to do is that I saved my brush presets in another folder not in the adobe files. Everything else I just have to reset manually unfortunately. 

 

Now I understsand this problem a lot because sometimes I will open my photoshop and my old settings will be back. Other times settings from a previous time this happened will be back. Then I will open it the next day and it will all be gone again. This includes all my previous work I had I have to find in the folder its in instead of being able to just click on it from the opening screen. 

 

Does anyone have a good solution to this? Until then this is the only thing that I'm able to do. 9=

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Explorer ,
Sep 15, 2022 Sep 15, 2022

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Same here. Definitively a bug.

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Community Expert ,
Feb 06, 2023 Feb 06, 2023

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Perhaps try a thorough reset of Photoshop preferences?

(read this entire post before acting please)

Resetting restores Photoshop's internal preferences, which are saved when Photoshop closes.

If they become corrupt then various issues can occur.

 

Here’s some info on how to do that:

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

Manually removing preferences files is the most complete method for restoring Photoshop to its default state: 

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/preferences.html#Manually

 

Note re macOS: The user Library folder is hidden by default.

To access files in the hidden user Library folder, see here for how to access hidden user library files.

https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/access-hidden-user-library-files.html

 

Unexpected behavior may indicate damaged preferences. Restoring preferences to their default settings is a good idea when trying to troubleshoot unexpected behaviors in Photoshop. check out the video

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/preferences.html#reset_preferences

 

Learn how to access and modify Photoshop preferences and customize per your frequent workflows

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

 

And here’s an earlier forum discussion as an aid to understanding

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-discussions/quick-tips-how-to-reset-photoshop-pre...

 

You may want to backup your settings and custom presets, brushes & actions before restoring Photoshop's preferences.

Here is general info about that:  https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/preferences.html#BackupPhotoshoppreferences

 

 

Before you reset your preferences

in case of future issues, I suggest you make a copy as Adobe may need one to check problematic references. 

Quit Photoshop.
Go to Photoshop's Preferences folder

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


  [on MacOS see: Users/[user name]/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings

  Note for those on macOS: - be aware that the user Library folder is hidden by default on macOS.

  https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/access-hidden-user-library-files.html

  In the Finder, open the “Go” menu whilst holding down the Option (Alt) key.

  Library will now appear in the list - below the current user's “home” directory. ]

 

Now you can drag the entire Adobe Photoshop [Version] Settings folder to the desktop or somewhere safe as a back-up of your settings.

 

 

Note for those on macOS:

Preference preservation is affected by macOS permissions,

you’ll need to allow Photoshop ‘Full Disk Access’ in your Mac OS Preferences/Security and Privacy

 

 

 

It may even be time to reinstall Photoshop.

 

It’s recommended that you use the Adobe CC cleaner tool to remove all traces first.

(See above about preserving preferences though! Its worth preserving them unless they are corrupted.)

 

https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/cc-cleaner-tool-installation-problems.html

Uninstall Photoshop BUT make sure to choose the option “Yes, remove app preference”.

 

Once that process finishes, start the installation process and look into the “Advanced Options”. Uncheck “Import previous settings and preferences” and choose to “Remove old versions”.

 

I hope this helps

neil barstow, colourmanagement net :: adobe forum volunteer

google me "neil barstow colourmanagement" for lots of free articles on colour management

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New Here ,
Jul 03, 2023 Jul 03, 2023

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LATEST

Same here

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