Recover damaged or corrupted Photoshop files

When Photoshop files become damaged or refuse to open, the issue typically stems from file corruption, mismatched file extensions, or graphics card problems. While file corruption is rare, identifying whether it affects a single file or multiple files helps determine the cause and appropriate recovery method.

When attempting to open a PSD, PSB, or other Photoshop-compatible file, you may encounter error messages such as "Could not complete your request because it is not a valid Photoshop document," "Could not complete your request because an unknown or invalid JPEG marker type is found," "Could not complete your request because the file-format module cannot parse the file," "Could not complete your request because of a program error," or "This is not a valid Portable Document File (PDF) document. It cannot be opened." The file may fail to open completely, display incorrectly on screen, or exhibit visual corruption, such as scrambled pixels or missing content.

Before attempting recovery, determine whether the corruption affects a single file or multiple files. If several files are corrupted, look for patterns and were they saved to the same location, created around the same time, or edited during a system event like a power outage or software update? This helps identify whether the cause is a one-time glitch or an ongoing hardware or software problem.

The following solutions address the most common causes of file corruption, listed in order of likelihood:

Recover the file from a backup

Open the file as a composite

Layer data is corrupted, but the flattened composite preview remains intact. This recovery method only works if Maximize PSD and PSB File Compatibility was enabled when the file was originally saved.

Correct the filename extension

If the file still won't open, the filename extension may not match the actual file format:

The filename extension doesn't match the actual file type, preventing Photoshop from correctly identifying the file format.

For guidance on determining the actual file type, use Determine the file type of a document.

Disable the graphics processor

If the image appears corrupted on screen but exports or prints correctly, the graphics card is likely the cause:

Your graphics card or graphics driver is causing display corruption that doesn't affect the actual file data.

If the corruption disappears, update your graphics driver and re-enable GPU acceleration. For complete graphics troubleshooting steps, use Troubleshoot Photoshop graphics processor (GPU) and graphics driver issues.

When multiple files are corrupted, or recovery methods fail, hardware or software problems may be the cause. Check for patterns indicating shared hardware (the same drive, network location, or removable media), run hardware diagnostics to check for RAM or hard-disk issues, and review recently installed software that might interfere with file saving. For systematic troubleshooting of system-level issues, use Basic troubleshooting steps to fix most issues.

If self-service recovery fails, third-party recovery utilities may help salvage your file. Adobe does not test or officially support these tools, but some users have successfully recovered files using PSD Parse Online, PSD Recover, or PSD Repair.

To prevent future file loss, turn on automatic file recovery in Preferences > File Handling by setting Automatically Save Recovery Information Every to 5 or 10 minutes. Save files to the safest locations and Creative Cloud (which maintains multiple backup versions), internal hard disks formatted as APFS/HFS+ (macOS) or NTFS (Windows), or as a last resort, USB drives. Avoid saving directly to network servers or shares, which are more vulnerable to corruption during the save process. For complete prevention strategies, use Set file saving preferences.

For additional error-specific troubleshooting, use Program error when opening .psd files and Invalid JPEG Marker error.