To prevent the Photoshop scratch disk is full error, you need to change how Photoshop uses your computer’s memory.
What Causes the Photoshop Scratch Disk Is Full Error?
The Photoshop scratch disk refers to your hard drive. Photoshop uses the hard drive as temporary swap space, or virtual memory, when your system doesn’t have enough RAM to perform an operation. If you only have one hard drive or partition in your computer, the scratch disk is the drive where the operating system is installed (for example, the C: drive on a Windows system). When that drive runs out of space, it prevents Photoshop from working properly. For example, if Photoshop crashes in the middle of an editing session, this improper shutdown may leave large temporary files on the scratch disk. Consequently, Photoshop may not be able to reopen, so you must perform some troubleshooting on the hard drive.
How to Fix the Photoshop Scratch Disk Full Error
Follow these steps in the order presented to troubleshoot the scratch disk is full error in Photoshop: To change the scratch disk location and establish additional scratch disks from Photoshop Preferences:
On Windows, select Edit > Preferences > Scratch Disks, or press Ctrl+Alt.On macOS, select Photoshop CC > Preferences > Scratch Disks, or press Command+Option.
