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Troubleshoot crash or freeze in Photoshop

Unable to open Photoshop? Photoshop crashes or freezes on launch?

We're here to help!

Fix common crash issues in 6 simple steps

  1. Check for a Known issue in Photoshop.
  2. Force quit and restart Photoshop or restart your computer.
  3. Update Photoshop to the latest version
  4. Reset Photoshop’s preferences
  5. Troubleshoot GPU and graphics driver
  6. Keep your macOS or Windows operating system up to date.

Other troubleshooting tips

Disable the GPU to quickly narrow down the issue

In some cases, having the latest driver may not cure all problems related to video adapters and drivers.

The quickest and easiest way to determine if the problem is with your video adapter or driver is to disable the Use Graphics Processor preference.

  • Go to Photoshop's Preferences Performance and uncheck Use Graphics Processor and restart Photoshop.
    For help with accessing preferences, see Adjust preferences in Photoshop.

For more information, see Troubleshoot Photoshop graphics (GPU) and graphics driver issues.

Identify a problematic plug-in

To quickly determine whether Photoshop is crashing due to a problematic optional or third-party plug-in, do the following:

  1. Close Photoshop.
  2. Hold down the Shift key and launch Photoshop. A dialog appears during the launch that reads Skip loading optional and third-party plug-ins.
  3. Click Yes to skip loading optional and third-party plug-ins.
  4. Launch Photoshop.

If Photoshop launches successfully, an installed optional or third-party plug-in is causing the problem. For more information, see Photoshop plug-ins troubleshooting.

Reset the Photoshop font cache

A bad font or fonts can cause general performance issues, including crashes or hang when launching or using Photoshop. The Photoshop font cache contains the enumerated list of fonts and font features installed on the system that Photoshop can use. Deleting this font cache file will allow Photoshop to create a new one.

macOS

  1. Quit Photoshop and the Creative Cloud desktop app.
  2. Navigate to: /Users/[user name]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop.
  3. Delete the CT Font Cache folder and empty the Trash.

Windows

  1. Exit Photoshop and the Creative Cloud desktop app
  2. Navigate to \Users\[user name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop <version>
  3. Delete the CT Font Cache folder and empty the Recycle Bin

For more information, see Troubleshoot fonts.

Crash with anti-virus software installed

If you encounter a Photoshop crash with anti-virus software installed, disable or uninstall your anti-virus software or contact your anti-virus software maker (e.g. Avast antivirus).

Full disk access on macOS

Lack of correct permissions can cause crashes, slow performance, launch issues, and cross-app workflow issues with Photoshop on macOS. Watch this short video to learn how to provide full disk access to Photoshop on macOS.

Is Photoshop still crashing?

As a last resort, if you cannot resolve the problem, try reverting to a previous app version.

For more information, see Install previous versions of your Creative Cloud apps.

Need more help?

If you need more help, share information about your crash issue and crash log to help Adobe resolve the issue for you. For details, see Submit a crash report.

You can also participate in Adobe Photoshop Community to find answers to some common questions or issues or share your ideas. We'd love to hear from you!

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