Basic troubleshooting steps to fix most issues

This document contains basic troubleshooting steps that should solve most problems you can encounter while using Photoshop. Try all the steps below before posting on the forum or contacting support for Photoshop-specific issues.

The most commonly asked support question is "Photoshop doesn't recognize my new camera's raw files. How to I get Photoshop to open my raw files?"

For solutions, see Photoshop or Lightroom doesn't support my camera.

You can fix many problems by simply making sure that your Adobe software is up-to-date. See Keep Photoshop up to date.

You can fix many problems by simply making sure your operating system is up-to-date.

• For macOS, see Get software updates for your Mac.
• For Windows, see Windows Service Pack and Update Center.

Adobe recommends that you perform your own testing on a non-production partition to ensure that brand-new operating systems work well with your current hardware and drivers.

Not seeing the available updates? Are your applications showing as trials? See Available updates not listed.

If you can't activate Photoshop, or applications are appearing as trials, then a firewall or host file might be blocking the software from talking with the activation server. See Troubleshoot connectivity issues. For the October 2018 release of Photoshop, see Troubleshooting licensing errors | CC 2019.

If you're experiencing image rendering issues, slow performance, or crashes, the cause could be a defective, unsupported, or incompatible graphics driver. See GPU and graphics driver troubleshooting steps.

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. See Disable the GPU to quickly narrow down the issue.

For specific errors, see the following:

• “Graphics hardware not officially supported for 3D”
• "Photoshop has encountered a problem with the display driver, and has temporarily disabled enhancements which use the graphics hardware"

If a tool in Photoshop isn't working properly (for example, the crop tool crops a tiny little gray square, or painting with a brush paints the wrong color or nothing at all), try resetting the tool settings:

• Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) the Tool Preset Picker in the Tool options bar and choose Reset Tool to reset the active tool, or choose Reset All Tools to reset all tools to their factory default settings.

• Crosshair: If you see a crosshair (Precise) cursor instead of the normal brush tip or other tool shape, try toggling the Caps Lock key off. 
• Incorrect Brush size: On macOS, the painted result is smaller than the brush cursor size you see on screen, determine if you have an increased Cursor Size specified in your System Preferences: Accessibility > Display settings. 

If a tool or multiple tools are missing from the Toolbar, try resetting Toolbar customization to the default. To do this, select Edit > Toolbar and click Restore Defaults in the right-hand column.

You can also use the comprehensive search experience within Photoshop to search and identify tools. Use the keyboard shortcut Command/Control + F  to get the search dialog box, type the tool you're looking for, and select your desired result. By default, Photoshop activates the tool and highlights it in the UI. For more information, see Photoshop search.

Reverting Photoshop’s preferences to their factory-fresh state can solve many issues (including program errors, strange tool/interface behavior, etc). See Restore preference files to default.

Many issues arise from using incompatible plug-ins created for previous versions of Photoshop in a newer version or simply by installing plug-ins incorrectly. See Photoshop plug-ins troubleshooting.

Many problems can occur when you use third-party fonts, including crashing or hangs when selecting the Type tool or when making the Character panel active/visible. A bad font or fonts can also cause general performance issues when launching or using Photoshop. Validate and remove duplicate or troublesome fonts to improve stability and text tool performance. See Troubleshoot fonts.

If none of the troubleshooting steps above solve your problem, your problem may be user permissions–related. Using the Repair Permissions command repairs permissions for the operating system, but not for applications, such as Photoshop.

Create an admin user account to identify permissions problems. For instructions on creating an admin user account, see the following: 

Mac OS:

• Set up users on your Mac

If you still experience trouble on Mac OS, try repairing the permissions on the disk. For details, see Repair disk permissions with Disk Utility.

Windows:

• Create a local administrator account

After you create the admin user account, log in to the new user and run Photoshop to see if the problem goes away.

Sometimes, third-party extensions and other utilities can interfere with Photoshop’s operation.

If you start your computer in safe mode, third-party extensions and utilities are turned off, which can help solve your problem.

Mac OS:

• Starting up in safe mode: On Mac OS, safe mode disables all third-party extension and startup items and runs only required kernel extensions and Apple-installed startup items.

Windows:

• Start your computer in safe mode: On Windows, safe mode starts Windows with a limited set of files and drivers.

If Photoshop runs normally in Safe Mode, it could be due to a driver (printer/device) or extension (system or plug-in). Drivers, can have unique problems running in 64bit or 32-bit. Run Photoshop in 32-bit mode or vice versa.

Windows:

The 32-bit versions of Photoshop CC 2015 and CC 2014 are not installed on 64-bit versions of Windows, by default:

To run Photoshop CS6 or CC on Windows as a 32-bit application:

To run Photoshop CC 2015 or CS6 on Windows as a 64-bit application:

macOS:

Photoshop CS6 & CC is available only as a 64-bit application on macOS.

Several update errors are caused by missing or modified files required by Photoshop, due to disk clean-up utilities such as CleanMyMac or MacKeeper. Keep your clean-up utilities up to date or discontinue its use. If you're facing trouble installing Photoshop or Bridge updates, see:

• Troubleshoot Creative Cloud download and install issues
• Error downloading or updating Creative Cloud apps. 

If you're having trouble installing Camera Raw updates, see Camera Raw plug-in installer.

In the unlikely event of a Photoshop crash or program error, the following sources of information provide vital clues for diagnosing what went wrong:

• Crash reports
  • Interpret a Photoshop crash report
    
• Log Collector tool
• System info
• Program error log
  • Locate the program error log on your system here:
    macOS: Users/<user_name>/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop CC Settings <version>/PSErrorLog.txt
    Windows: Users/<user_name>/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop CC <version>/Adobe Photoshop CC Settings <version>/PSErrorLog.txt

If you're experiencing performance issues while using Photoshop, see:

• Photoshop lags, freezes, or runs slowly

If you have a how-to question or question about changes in behavior between Photoshop versions, see the following: 

• Common questions
• New features summary
• Top issues

If you need additional general troubleshooting help, see the following:

• Resolve issues that occur when you download, install, update, or launch Creative Cloud apps
  
• Troubleshoot system errors, freezes | Mac OS 10.x | Adobe software
• Troubleshoot system errors, freezes | Windows | Adobe software

If you need help with app installation/downloads or your Creative Cloud membership, see the following:

• Download and installation 
  
• Adobe ID, sign-in, and account
• Manage your Creative Cloud membership