There are numerous potential causes for file damage:
Still, file damage is rare. If you determine one or more of your files is corrupted, determine the cause to prevent further issues while you try to recover your file.
If your image appears corrupted on screen and the damage does not save to the exported file or print, the cause is likely your graphics card or driver.
See Troubleshoot Photoshop graphics processor (GPU) and graphics driver issues.
The first thing to determine is if the corruption is limited to one file or occurs with several, so you can limit the potential damage.
If it's one file, the cause could be a glitch with the computer that you haven't noticed, or thought wasn't connected.
If it's more than one file, look for patterns:
If you can find a pattern that indicates they shared common hardware, test your cables, try a different port, or use a different hard disk or use a hard disk instead of a network drive.
If files were corrupted recently and they don't have a time limitation, you could have a malfunctioning RAM module.
If you've added any software to your computer around the time the images were corrupted, there could be an issue with that application or update. Check for software updates or determine if your applications have recently been updated, or disable the application. Although rare, virus protection software, backup software, and font management software can try to write to files before they're saved, causing damage.
Try any or all of these options to recover your file.
Open any backed-up copies of your image to determine if one was saved before the corruption occurred.
If you've had one of these error messages, your filename extension may not match your file format:
When you open an image in Photoshop, one of the following errors occurs:
See Error: "[Filename].psd could not be opened" | Opening images | macOS.
When you open a PSD file, you get an error:
When a file has been corrupted, you can sometimes get the file back as a composite. The appearance of the file is maintained, but the layers are lost.
To open an image that contains damaged layer data with its composite:
A composite file cannot be recovered from a file when the option to maximize PSD and PSB file compatibility is turned off in Photoshop's preferences.
Customers have suggested these recovery utilities. Adobe does not support them and has not tested with them. However, we hope that they help recover your file.
Avoid unforeseen power loss and power glitches by using a battery backup and surge protector for computers and other electronics.
Regular backups can allow you to salvage a version of your file that you saved before the corruption.
See Backup and Restore in Windows.
See Back up your Mac.
Enable file recovery in Photoshop's preferences. If you experience a crash, Photoshop recovers your work when you restart it.
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