If you were working on Photoshop and received a notification that states your scratch disk is full, chances are you have no idea what that is about. The thing is that it is actually a pretty common problem that many users tend to experience. But many still have no idea what it means or how to resolve it. Luckily, we are going to explain what it is and how to fix it. But before we do, it’s important to note that if you tend to work on creative projects such as photo editing or video editing, then you shouldn’t have to restrict yourself to using only one screen.
If you make use of a dual hdmi adapter, this device will allow you to expand your workspace and viewing experience considerably. This means better productivity and adaptability while working. But, putting that aside, let’s jump straight into the problem at hand.
Why Am I Getting This Error?
After all, when you are busy working on creative programs such as Photoshop, they will normally require sufficient working space, which is commonly referred to as virtual or cache memory. In the case of Photoshop, it will normally use this disk space to store all the temporary files that are part of the program. This includes; layers, backups, editing history, etc. And despite the fact that these are normally temporary, they will still need somewhere to be saved, hence the scratch drive.
How To Fix The Error Problem?
As such, if you ever see this error message appear on your Mac, it means that these temporary files have began piling up and have now consumed most of the space available. When this happens the best thing to do is to clear your cache. Moreover, it is essential to do this because it can often lead to a wide number of problems on your Mac, if you leave the problem unattended. You can take a look at an overview of your Mac storage space by heading to About This Mac > Storage.
From there, you can decide which files you want to keep and which ones to delete. If you decide to delete them, then we suggest using a cleanup tool like CleanMyMacX. This will help you safely get rid of these temporary files. Plus, it will ensure that your laptop and apps have sufficient space to operate at the best possible performance level. On the other hand, if you decide to transfer them onto an external storage device like an SD Card, then you will need a usb c sd card reader. In which case, we recommend that you check out Lention’s CB-CS15 model. It is a rather affordable and small hub that can be connected directly to your Mac, without using a cord. It features a powerful USB 3.0 port that can transfer data at a rate of 5Gbps. Plus, it also comes with two SD card ports that can transfer data at about 200Mbps. This makes it a very convenient and portable choice that should serve all your basic file transfer needs, especially if you tend to work remotely.
If the program is still not responding, something else to consider is to disable the auto-recovery setting. This setting basically saves all the data from your workspace automatically, in the event of an unexpected app crash or shutdown. However, what this does is it ends up creating so many temporary files that begin to pile up and consume a lot of system memory. You can disable this setting by heading to Photoshop > Preferences > File Handling. From there, you should be able to turn the feature off.
However, many users still tend to prefer to leave it on because it ensures that your data and work stay backed up at all times. This means there is less risk of losing all your work if something unexpected happens. In which case, you can perhaps decide to increase the time intervals between file-saves to help minimize the amount of memory being consumed. Or, if you have an external hard drive, you can keep it plugged into your Mac using docking stations. These devices will expand your connectivity ports and allow you to shift all the temporary file back-ups to be stored externally, instead of consuming your internal memory.
If you have tried everything and all else has failed, then your last best solution is to delete and reinstall the program to help alleviate the bugs that this current version is causing you. This is a common solution because system files can end up corrupted from time to time. This can then affect the program’s working condition completely. You can uninstall the problematic application by either deleting it from the applications folder or using a cleanup tool like CleanMyMacX, which ensures that any residual hidden files and data are also erased.
At that point, simply re-install Photoshop and you should be good to go! However, in most cases, an overly stuffed storage space is often the main cause of the problem, so it’s always best to run regular maintenance checks to help clear any temporary files, caches or back-ups that may be clogging up your internal memory.
