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How Do I Empty Scratch Disks in Photoshop Mac?

Last updated on January 25, 2023 @ 3:53 pm

When you use Photoshop, the program uses a certain amount of your computer’s RAM to store information about the image you’re working on. Photoshop also uses what’s called a “scratch disk” to store information about the image. The scratch disk is just a location on your computer’s hard drive where Photoshop can store information temporarily. When you save your image, the information on the scratch disk is copied to the location on your hard drive where you’ve chosen to save it, and the scratch disk is cleared out so that it can be used for another image.

If you try to open a file in Photoshop and you get the message “Could not complete your request because the scratch disks are full,” it means that Photoshop doesn’t have enough space on the scratch disk to store all of the information it needs about the image. This can happen if you’re working with a very large image, or if you have a lot of programs open at the same time and they’re all using the scratch disk.

To free up space on the scratch disk, you can do one or more of the following:

  • Close some programs. If you have other programs open that are using the scratch disk, closing them will free up space.
  • For example, if you have Adobe Bridge open, closing it will release some of its space on the scratch disk.

  • Save your file in a different format. When you save a file in Photoshop, you can choose what format to save it in. Some formats take up more space than others. For example, saving a file as a Photoshop PDF will usually result in a smaller file than saving it as a JPEG.
  • Reduce the size of the image. If your image is very large, reducing its size will also reduce the amount of space it takes up on the scratch disk.
  • Use a different hard drive for scratch disks. If your computer has more than one hard drive, you can choose which one to use for scratch disks. Using a separate hard drive for scratch disks can help improve performance because accessing files on different drives is faster than accessing files on the same drive.

If you’re still getting the “scratch disks are full” message after doing all of these things, try restarting your computer. This will clear out any programs that are using up space on the scratch disk but haven’t been closed properly. If you’re still having trouble after restarting, contact Adobe customer support for help.

PRO TIP: If you are considering emptying your scratch disks in Photoshop, be aware that this could potentially lead to data loss. Only attempt to do this if you are sure that you have a backup of all your important files.
Morgan Bash

Morgan Bash

Technology enthusiast and Co-Founder of Women Coders SF.