Photoshop lags, freezes, or runs slowly

Try the suggested solutions on this page if Photoshop lags, freezes, stutters, or runs slower than expected on your computer.

  Discontinuation of 3D features in Photoshop

Photoshop’s 3D features will be removed in future updates. Users working with 3D are encouraged to explore Adobe’s new Substance 3D collection, which represents the next generation of 3D tools from Adobe. Additional details on the discontinuation of Photoshop’s 3D features can be found here: Photoshop 3D | Common questions on discontinued 3D features.

Look up your issue in the Symptom column below and try the solutions listed against it.

Symptom

Suggested solutions

When you launch Photoshop, it freezes either at the splash screen displaying 'Loading Halide Bottlenecks...' or freezes/crashes during startup. This issue is caused by corrupt color profiles or really large preset files. To resolve this issue, update Photoshop to the latest version. If updating Photoshop to the latest version doesn't solve the problem, try removing the custom preset files. For instructions, see Photoshop freezes at launch.

Slowness or lags while using certain tools or features like Scrubby Zoom, Animated Zoom, Panorama, HDR, Filters, Brushes, Select And Mask, etc

Slowness at launch

  • If Photoshop was running well earlier, but has recently become slow, reset preferences.
  • Skip loading third-party plug-ins. To do so, close Photoshop and then launch it again while pressing down the Shift key.
  • Disconnect any external peripherals or drives.
  • Disable any antivirus software installed on your computer.

Slowness while accessing assets on network drives

Note: Adobe Technical Support only supports using Photoshop and Adobe Bridge on a local hard disk. It's difficult to re-create or accurately identify network- and peripheral-configuration problems. 

Copy the asset to a local drive, edit in Photoshop, and then upload again to the network drive.

Slowness/crashes when Photoshop is used together with peripherals like specific printers, Wacom tablet/Cintiq, etc

  • Follow the suggestions in Photoshop crashing due to libcef.dll.
  • Update to the latest version of your peripheral’s driver.
  • Try using Photoshop with a different peripheral unit.
  • Contact the manufacturer of your peripheral for additional support.

Issues with untested/uncertified hardware (GPU, etc). Using Photoshop with uncertified hardware is not recommended.

  • Disable GPU use. Deselect Preferences > Performance > Use Graphics Processor.
  • Ensure that the driver for your device is updated. If the problem began after you updated a driver, roll back to a previous version of the driver.

Photoshop consumes all of the customer’s system resources, such as CPU

 

  • Try the solutions proposed in High CPU usage due to CEPHTMLEngine.
  • Ensure that your computer/OS is optimized in general. For example, use the MSConfig utility on Windows computers.
  • Kill unnecessary processes running in the background on your computer.
  • If necessary, upgrade your computer, so that it has more resources.

Slowness or lags while working with heavy-sized assets or assets with multiple layers/files/artboards

 

  • Increase memory allocation for Photoshop to 80-85%.
  • Flatten any heavy layers which may be causing problems.
  • Adjust cache size. Ensure that you choose the right cache preset for the type of document you're working with.
  • Improve your computer’s hardware configuration. For example, add more RAM. Having a modern processor—for example, multi-core i3 5th generation or later processor with clock-speed 2.6 GHz or higher—may help.

Slowness while saving files or exporting assets

 

  • At the OS level, tweak system virtual memory/page size. Consult the documentation for your operating system (Windows or macOS).
  • Ensure that your computer has adequate free hard disk space.
  • Ensure that you have write permissions to the location to which you’re saving the file.
  • Ensure that you’re not saving the file to a network drive. That use case is unsupported.
  • Add scratch disks for Photoshop’s use (Preferences > Scratch Disks).

Issues when Photoshop is used on high-resolution monitors

At the OS level, try switching to a lower-resolution display mode. Consult the documentation for your operating system (Windows or macOS).

General slowness/crashes while using Photoshop


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