I’ve tried to collect a set of basic troubleshooting steps that should solve most problems encountered while using Photoshop. If you happen to encounter a crash, be sure to submit all crash reports. If you submit a crash report for a known issue to Adobe with your email address, we can email you a solution for correcting the problem.
Please try all the steps below prior to reporting a problem, posting on the forums or contacting support for Photoshop specific issues.
If your issue is related to How To or changes in behavior between versions, please see the following article: Photoshop FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
If your issue is with getting up and running, please see the following document: Help with Downloading, Installing or Activating
Table of Contents:
- Get The Latest Camera Support
- Install Adobe Application Updates
- Install Operating System Updates
- Install Video Card Driver Updates
- Disable & Troubleshoot OpenGL/Graphics Processor
- Reset Tool Settings
- Restore Preferences
- Troubleshoot Plug-ins
- Troubleshoot Fonts
- Troubleshoot User Permissions
- Boot in “Safe Mode” to Troubleshoot System Add-Ons and Utilities
- Run in 32-bit or 64-bit
- Additional Information
Get The Latest Camera Support
Far and away, the most commonly asked support question is how to get raw file support for the latest cameras. All your questions are answered in the following article:
Install Adobe Application Updates
Many problems are fixed by simply making sure your Adobe software is up-to-date:
Install Operating System Updates
Make sure operating system is up-to-date as well:
- Macintosh: http://www.apple.com/softwareupdate/
- Windows: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/service-packs-download
Install Video Card Driver Updates
- Windows XP: http://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite/kb/update-graphics-driver-windows-xp.html
- Windows 7: http://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite/kb/update-graphics-driver-windows-7.html
Disable & Troubleshoot OpenGL/Graphics Processor
In some cases, having the latest driver may not cure all problems related to graphics cards and drivers. The quickest and easiest way to determine if the problem is with your video card or driver is to disable the OpenGL Drawing/Use Graphics Processor preference. Directions here:
See this document: Error: “Graphics hardware not officially supported” in Photoshop 13.1 if the following error appears when you open Photoshop CS6 after updating to version 13.1 and 3D functionality is unavailable:
Have you recently installed Windows 8?
There is a known issue with the AMD ATI Radeon Catalyst Display Driver 12.4 driver. Directions to correct the issue here:
Reset Tool
If a tool in Photoshop is misbehaving (e.g. The crop tool crops a tiny little grey 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 (Macintosh) on the Tool Preset Picker in the Tool options bar and select “Reset Tool” to reset the active tool, or “Reset All Tools” to reset all tools to their factory default settings
Restore Preferences
Returning Photoshop’s preferences to their factory fresh state can solve many issues:
Troubleshoot Plug-ins
Many issues arise from using older, incompatible plug-ins created for previous versions of Photoshop in a newer version or simply by installing plug-is incorrectly. In general:
DO:
- Check the plug-in manufacturer’s website for the latest version of your plug-in
- Use the manufacturer’s plug-in installer to install their plug-ins
DO NOT:
- Do not point Photoshop’s “Additional Plug-ins” preference (Preferences>Plug-Ins…) at a previous version of Photoshop’s ‘Plug-Ins’ folder.
- Do not manually drag plug-ins from a previous version of Photoshop’s plug-ins folder to a newer version of Photoshop’s ‘Plug-Ins’ folder
If you encounter unexplained problems or crashes in Photoshop, use the following documents to determine if plug-ins are the problem:
Troubleshoot Fonts
Many problems can occur when using 3rd party fonts, including crashing or hangs when selecting the Type tool or making the Character panel 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 impove stability and text tool performance:
If font names appear more than once in the font menu in Photoshop CS6 on Mac OS X:
Troubleshoot User Permissions
If none of the troubleshooting steps above solve your problem, it may be user permissions related. Simply using a Repair Permissions command is not always bulletproof. I highly recommend trying a new Admin user account to verify a permissions problem prior to trying to repair permissions.
- Macintosh: http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/#useraccounts (Be sure to change the “New Account:” pop-up from [Standard] to [Administrator] when creating the new user)
- Windows XP: http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/404/kb404859.html
- Windows 7: http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/create-local-administrator-account-windows.html
Once the Admin user account is created, log into the new user and run Photoshop to see if the problem goes away.
Boot in “Safe Mode” to Troubleshoot System Add-Ons and Utilities
Sometimes, 3rd party extensions and other utilities can interfere with Photoshop’s operation. On Macintosh, Safe Mode disables all third party extension and startup items and only runs required kernel extensions & Apple-installed startup items. On Windows, Safe Mode starts Windows with a limited set of files and drivers.
To boot your computer in “Safe Mode”:
- Macintosh: Hold down the Shift key while starting up your computer: More info here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564
- Windows XP: http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/boot_failsafe.mspx?mfr=true
- Windows 7: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Start-your-computer-in-safe-mode
- Windows 8: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/windows-startup-settings-including-safe-mode
Run in 32-bit or 64-bit
If Photoshop runs normally in Safe Mode, chances are a driver (printer/device) or extension (system or plug-in) may be the cause. Sometimes drivers have unique problems running in 64bit or 32-bit. Try running Photoshop in 32-bit mode or vice versa.
Windows:
Run Photoshop CS5 or CS6 on Windows as a 32-bit application:
- Close Photoshop
- Navigate to the Program Files (x86) > Adobe > Adobe Photoshop CS5 or the Adobe Photoshop CS6 folder
- Double-click the Adobe Photoshop CS5.exe or the Adobe Photoshop CS6.exe file
Run Photoshop CS5 or CS6 in Windows as a 64-bit application (if your version of Windows and your hardware supports 64 bit):
- Close Photoshop
- Navigate to the Program Files > Adobe > Adobe Photoshop CS5 or the Adobe Photoshop CS6 folder
- Double-click the Adobe Photoshop CS5.exe or the Adobe Photoshop CS6.exe file
Macintosh
Note: Photoshop CS6 is a 64-bit only application on Mac OS X.
Run Photoshop CS5 on Mac OS X as a 32-bit application:
- Select the Adobe Photoshop CS5 application file, installed by default in the Applications/Adobe Photoshop CS5 folder.
- Choose File > Get Info, and select Open in 32 Bit Mode. (Deselect this option to run Photoshop CS5 in 64-bit mode)
Additional Information
- Please try all the steps above prior to reporting a problem, posting on the forums or contacting support for Photoshop specific issues.
- If your issue is related to How To’s or changes in behavior between versions, please see the following article: Photoshop FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
- If your issue is with getting up and running, please see the following document: Help with Downloading, Installing or Activating
Please see the following documents for additional general troubleshooting:
Comments
Have Album Starter Ed. 3.2, registration time has expired. Not techy so didn’t know about that. When I try to save pix off my camera, they seem to automatically go into this program. I can see thumbnails of the pix but can’t get at them. Need some kind of a “key” to unlock? What do I have to do to get access to my pictures?
This document should help you out Connie: http://kb2.adobe.com/community/publishing/531/cpsid_53164.html
In addition: Before resetting the preferences, resetting tools is a good idea: http://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/image_size_defaulting_back_to_1inch_by_xinch_after_cropping#reply_6033199
Good idea. I’ll work it back into the post.
Hi
When i try to use the lens correction function in CS6 i get this message:
“CS6 Error Message Could not complete the Lens Correction Command because the file could not be found.”
I also got this message in CS5. While I get some function in Bridge i would much prefer to use it in CS6.
Thanks for any help with this problem
Hi Mel,
If none of the troubleshooting steps on this page solved this issue, post more details here so we can help: http://phtshp.us/report_a_problem
When you post the issue, please include your system info. Directions for sharing your system info from Photoshop:
http://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/photoshop_how_do_i_share_my_system_information
I recently purchased Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 on my computer running Windows 8. The software seems to have installed properly; however, I receive a Windows error message when I attempt to open the program. The program will not open.
I was told that this software will work in a computer running Windows 8. My computer exceeds all of the other requirements needed to run this software. Can someone give me advise on how I can make this work?
Thank you
Johannes Bos
What is the error message you’re getting Johannes?
Have you tried to uninstall and reinstall yet?
Try installing with the 4.2 update installer — http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=5488
CS6 Processing Prophoto in ACR , opening in PS for conversion through SEP2 then saving as PSD and Tiff. No matter what route is taken the Tiff saves come result overexposure. A large file jpeg is correct, psd is correct but not even image processor can provide a correct tiff. Files are approx. 217MB. All applications up to date and opened PS with the 3 finger reset all preferences. Just can’t figure out why this is happening. The common denominator is in the flattening. All files flattened before save produce a lighter saved image. Thanks for help in understanding. This happens whether working in Prophoto or Adobe RGB spaces. Thanks if this rings a bell with anyone.
Hi Patricia, what is SEP2? If you post more details we can help you here: http://phtshp.us/AskAQuestion
I am getting fed up with not being able to load my Photoshop Elements 9 onto my new laptop with Windows 8, can any one help me please.
Post more details here and we can help: Help with downloads, install and updates: http://forums.adobe.com/community/download_install_setup
We cannot open saved e-mails as they come up with the Adobe icon and cannot open old e-mails. Is there a solution to this. Any help will be appreciated. Thank you.
Not sure which product you are using. Post more details to the pertinent forum and we can assist you there: http://forums.adobe.com/index.jspa
I purchased Premier Elements 11 and it will not wrote to a DVD. It constantly hangs after I create the DVD menu.
Post more details on the Premiere Elements forum, we can help you there: http://forums.adobe.com/community/premiere_elements
Windows 8. is there no info on drivers etc for win 8 every site I visit talks about every windows but 8 I upgraded from win 7 (huge mistake) there seems to be no support for new users and win 8 will not load many of my applications that worked perfectly in win 7
any help available?
What card do you have? I’m seeing newer drivers Win 8 on both the nVidia and ATI sites.
When I open my Premeire Elements 11 I get this message
“We have detected an incompatible display driver. To get a faster playback performance, please update your display driver.
Display driver details :NVIDIA Corporation-Geoforce GTX 260M/PCIe/SSE2 3.0.0″
I went through the NVIDIA site to update the driver and everything seems to be updated. No other video programs are showing any issue..is there something that I can do on the Adobe side to fix this issue. Any advice would be greatly appreciated…
Can you post more details here including the driver version you’re using:
http://phtshp.us/report_a_problem
The Elements team can help you there.
I run Lightroom 4.3 on a new Windows 8 pc (Lenovo T430s). I have problems exporting from LR4.3 when I try to specify the file size (limiting it to 2 meg). I get an export operations message listing files that could not be written. All files are written, however, the file sizes range from 1 meg to 5 meg. Is anyone else having this issue? Any suggestions?
when I try to use my photoshop cs4 in an user account, i have an error, but when I use the administrator account works perfectly fine. Can you tell me what files or folders needs to be running as an admin. I am working for a school so we need the users account. thank you
Hi Juan,
Here are a list of the files that Photoshop needs write/read access to:
http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/preference-file-names-locations-photoshop.html
I am having trouble getting complete install of Photoshop 7. I had this installed on my computer. My hard drive failed. Put in new 2 TB hard drive. The drive is virtually empty with tons of room. When I install ps7, I get a message that the scratch disc is full. It hasn’t even been installed complelely.
Photoshop 7 or Photoshop Elements 7?
We’ll need a bit more information, such as the the system you’re trying to install on.
Post more details on the Photoshop forum, we can help you there: http://adobe.ly/PS-U2U
or the Photoshop Elements forum, if that’s the product you have, so we can help you there: http://adobe.ly/PSE-U2U
I teach computer art and we have imac 21 inch first gen intels. Each has a dedicated graphics card with 256 megs vram. I use photoshop cs4 extended on all the computers which are basically all cones. However, some will do 3d and some wont. The ones that wont always freeze up when we convert a regular layer to a 3d postcard from layer. The computer then freezes and we are forced to restart photoshop. Any ideas why this is happening?
Hi John, do they all have the same graphics card? My best guess is the systems with issue have a different card or driver combo.
We’d need some more information. Can you post your full Photoshop system info here:
http://phtshp.us/report_a_problem
Directions for sharing your system info from Photoshop (this will provide a lot richer information for us to help):
http://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/photoshop_how_do_i_share_my_system_information
When I try to insert effect on adobe, a window ” could not complete your request because of a program error” pops up. How can I fix this?
On Adobe? Do you mean Photoshop? If so, what version?
My guess is making sure Photoshop is up-to-date and restoring your prefs would likely fix this issue.
I am having problems with my eye dropper tool, swatches and also any of my actions that contain a Stoke. Whenever i use these i have a error appear ” Could not complete the command because of a program error” I have reset all my tool preference and re-installed Photoshop. Problem keeps appearing .
Have you installed all the Photoshop updates? Have you tried running in Safe Mode or with a new Admin user account? http://bit.ly/Troubleshoot_PS
Hey, I’ve been having a weird problem with my Photoshop.
I can work with it normally, but the “Save As” window keeps popping up. It’s courteous enough to wait while I’m applying effects on the layers, but while I’m working on the image itself (like say, using the brush to color it), the window keeps appearing without warning. Even when I’m using the Transform tool, there’s this box saying “Apply the transformation before saving?” that also keeps appearing. And it’s something recent, too, I haven’t had this kind of problem before.
What could be causing it? How do I solve this?
Thanks in advance.
Are you on Mac or Win? Have you installed any 3rd party software or utilities on this system? I would suggest running in Safe Mode or creating a new Admin user account: http://bit.ly/Troubleshoot_PS
1. I’m on Win7 Ultimate.
2. What do you mean, 3rd party software? I don’t understand it.
3. I don’t know how to run on Safe Mode – unless you’re talking about booting Windows on Safe Mode and run PS (CS4, by the way) there. If so, I tried that and it didn’t work.
I even tried uninstalling and reinstalling it, but the problem persists. This is driving me nuts, I can’t even take a step in PS without the “Save As” opening up in my face.
Andy, did you try restoring your prefs? http://bit.ly/Troubleshoot_PS
If none of the troubleshooting steps in the link above help, Post more details on the Photoshop forum, we can help you there: http://adobe.ly/PS-U2U
I have an issue with adobe photoshop CS 6. when i open it there comes a pop up and following error is displayed.
photoshop has detected graphic hardware that is not officially supported. if you experience problems please uncheck the use graphic processor check box in the performance panel of preferences dialogue. but still problem continues.
I have tried alot to find new drivers as well but nothing is working can you please help me?
We’d need more information in order to help you, specifically what OS/version, what video card make/model and the driver version. Post more details on the Photoshop forum, we can help you there: http://adobe.ly/PS-U2U
Problem solved Had freezing problen in CS6. Software froze when open or new was used. Also did this from Bride and lightroom. Opened in safe mode and it worked fine. Remembered I had updated video driver a few weeks earlyer. Rolled back driver in device manager/properties and all is good and working. If your freezing on opening image, try rolling back video driver.
Great. Thanks for the update.