The “Scratch Disk Full” error is something that anybody who uses Adobe Photoshop or Final Cut Pro on a daily basis will eventually run across. Photoshop often crashes with this warning, and it becomes impossible to complete any task. Fortunately, you have landed on this guide: it explains not only the reasons behind the “Scratch Sisk Full” error but also clearing your scratch disk to keep running your PC smoothly.
Why Does the “Scratch Disks Full” Error Occur?
Temporary files are the most common cause of the “scratch disks full” warning. They often rush onto your drive, barely leaving anything behind. When you exit Photoshop too quickly, it doesn’t completely delete your work. It may leave some files behind, resulting in temporary files. Other possible causes for “Scratch Disk Full” include pace limits, full-disk partitions, and limited RAM.
How to Clear Scratch Disk on Mac?
“Scratch Disk Full” is a constant issue if users can’t figure out how to delete the temporary files. Well, here is a workaround to your problem
1. Remove the photoshop cache.
Remove selected Photoshop caches using the program’s built-in tool. Without automated clearing, these caches may multiply and quickly fill up the scratch disk. You may remove individual caches by selecting them, or you can select “All” to clear everything.
2. Delete the temporary files.
You may find these files by selecting “Go” from the Finder’s menu. Select the “Go to Folder” option. Enter “/tmp” into the box. After this, a directory listing should display. As long as you have saved your data and closed the app, you may safely remove these files and retrieve the space on your scratch disk.
3. Free up unused space on your hard drive.
Examine the files on the disk to see if there is something you can get rid of. In most cases, there is something, so you may go ahead and remove those old files to make scratch space. Or you may just use a different method, such as copying the data to an external hard drive or cloud service like iCloud.
4. Swap out your temporary storage.
The empty space on your Mac’s hard disk is quickly shrinking; what’s next? Changing your scratch disk to a different drive can be a good idea. If you need a scratch disk for macOS and don’t already have one, a solid-state drive (SSD) is your best bet.
5. Stick to the 15% rule.
Maintaining a free disk space of 10–15% is not a hard and fast rule, but it is a commonly recognized best practice. For 256 GB of storage, the minimum allowed size is 25 GB. You’ll have plenty of storage space for things like rendering Photoshop files, making backups of projects, etc.
If you follow this guide, you shouldn’t worry about the “scratch disk full” message ever again. If you want to make something really unique in Photoshop, you must try something different the next time, as you will experience the app version that works effortlessly.
