The Scratch Disk is where Photoshop stores information as you’re working on an image. It’s like a virtual chalkboard where Photoshop can do its math. The default location for the Scratch Disk is on your startup drive, but you can change it in the Preferences dialog box.
As you work on an image, the Scratch Disk fills up and when it’s full, Photoshop can’t write any more information to it. That’s when you see the warning, “Scratch disk full. ”
Here’s how to clean out the Scratch Disk and give Photoshop some room to work:
First, save your image. You don’t want to lose your work if something goes wrong. Then, go to Edit > Purge > All. This will clear the clipboard and the undo history. Next, go to Edit > Preferences > Performance. In the Memory Usage section, change the number next to “Maximum used”.
Make it lower than what it currently is. For example, if it’s currently set to 70%, change it to 50%. This will give Photoshop less memory to work with and force it to use the Scratch Disk more. Lastly, go to File > Save As. Save your image as a copy in a different format (like JPEG or TIFF). This will help reduce the file size and make it easier for Photoshop to work with.
Once you’ve done all that, restart Photoshop and try working on your image again. If you still get the “Scratch disk full” error message, you may need to increase the amount of RAM in your computer. More RAM will give Photoshop more memory to work with and help reduce the need for scratch disk space.
Conclusion:
If you’re getting the “Scratch disk full” error message in Photoshop, try these tips to free up some space. First, save your work and clear the clipboard and undo history.
Then, go into Preferences and lower the maximum memory usage. Lastly, save your image as a copy in a different format. If these tips don’t help, you may need to upgrade your computer’s RAM.
