Fixed: Photoshop Scratch Disk Full Error

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Photoshop Scratch Disk Full Error means that the hard drive, partition on the hard drive, or other storage device that Photoshop is using to temporarily store its data is full and can’t hold any more information.

This can crash or freeze Photoshop because it can’t save any more information. If there isn’t enough free space on the scratch disk, Photoshop won’t work right and will show the “scratch disk full” error message.

If your Photoshop scratch disks are full, you should get rid of things like your Photoshop cache and temporary files that take up extra space. You can also upgrade to a larger hard drive or add more RAM to give your scratch drive more space.

Fixed: Photoshop Scratch Disk Full Error

Allow Photoshop More RAM Memory Usage

As mentioned above, RAM memory is important to store Photoshop files. Usually, Photoshop is set to take up 60% of your total RAM by default. In fact, In fact, you can fix the problem “could not complete the command because the scratch disks are full” by allowing it more RAM memory. Here is how:

1. Launch this program, then go to Edit > Preferences and click on Performance.
2. Inside the Preference window, you can adjust the Memory Usage to increase the RAM memory by pulling the triangle handle right towards.

Adjust scratch disk preferences

1. On macOS, hold down the Cmd + Option keys during the launch.
2. On Windows, hold down the Ctrl + Alt keys during launch.

Alternatively, you can tweak your Photoshop’s app scratch disk settings through the following steps:

1. Launch Photoshop and go to Preferences > Scratch Disks.
   1. On Windows, choose Edit > Preferences > Scratch Disks.
   2. On macOS, choose Photoshop > Preferences > Scratch Disks .
2. In the Preferences dialog, you’ll need to deselect or select the active check box to disable or enable a scratch disk. 
3. Now, click the arrow buttons to change the scratch disk order.
4. Click OK to apply the changes.
5. Now, restart Photoshop and see if the error is still occurring.

Free up additional disk space

1. Delete unnecessary temporary files from the scratch disk, or,
2. Move your files from the scratch disk and take them to another storage location.

Delete Your Temp Files

1. Press Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box. Type appdata and hit Enter.
2. Navigate to Local > Temp. Then you can find the files with ~PST or Photoshop Temp.
3. Then select all the temp files by holding Ctrl key and press Del key to delete all.
4. Restart your Photoshop to see if the Photoshop scratch disks are full error still persists.

Disable Auto-Recovery Saving

1. Open your Photoshop. Then navigate to the Edit (Win) or Photoshop (Mac) > Preferences and click on File Handling.
2. In the pop-up window, uncheck Automatically Save Recovery Information Every [N Minutes]. Then click OK to apply this change. After that, the size of your Photoshop temp files will be reduced. This might resolve the “Could not complete your request because the scratch disks are full” issue.

Defragment Your Hard Disk

If you don’t want to buy a new SSD, you might want to try defragmenting your hard drive instead. The “scratch disks are full” error can also happen even if there is enough space on the scratch disk.

This is because Photoshop needs free space on the scratch disk that isn’t broken up and is all in one place. So, if your scratch disk drive has a lot of free space, you may need to run a disk defragment.

What causes Scratch disks are full error?

When you work with large elements in Photoshop, it often makes a lot of temporary files. Photoshop might not work right if both the drive and the scratch disk are full. This is why the Photoshop error might not mean that your computer is broken.

When all of the temporary files on your computer’s RAM and scratch disk, you’ll get the “Scratch Disk is full” error. This error could also make you not want to make any other new files.

• Viruses or Malware infection.
• Photoshop misconfiguration, e.g., setting the blank page/image resolution to unreasonable figures like 1920×1080 inches instead of pixels.
• Improper PC shut down.

FAQ

Why is Photoshop saying scratch disks are full when I have space?

If you get an error message saying that the scratch disk is full, it usually means that you need to free up some space on the drive set as the scratch disk in Photoshop Preferences or add more drives for Photoshop to use as scratch space. 

How do I clear scratch disks when Photoshop won’t open?

If Photoshop cannot launch because the scratch disk is full, hold down the Cmd + Opt keys (Mac) or Ctrl + Alt keys (Windows) on launch to set a new scratch disk. I was able to reset the scratch disk and so far Photoshop is launching fine. Hope this helps someone!

What is taking up 100% of my disk space?

What causes high disk usage? If you’re at 100% disk usage in Windows 10, the issue could result from Windows itself or a variety of other programs. From Windows Superfetch, to a virus or malware, to outdated drivers or firmware, there are many causes. Often, your problem will be the result of several issues.