Adobe Photoshop crashing on startup, especially right after the welcome screen or while ‘measuring memory is one of the most common complaints among Photoshop users, and it’s almost always fixable without reinstalling everything from scratch. Corrupted preferences, a bad font, yes! don’t download fonts from everywhere just because they’re free. An outdated graphics driver, and conflicting plugins are also amongst the usual suspects.

Confirm you’re on the latest version first

Open the Creative Cloud desktop app and check for a Photoshop update before troubleshooting further, since Adobe regularly ships fixes for startup crashes tied to specific driver and OS combinations.

Step 1: Reset photoshop’s preferences

Launch Photoshop and immediately hold Alt+Control+Shift (Windows) or Option+Command+Shift (Mac), then confirm when asked if you want to delete the current settings. Corrupted preferences are one of the leading causes of Adobe Photoshop crashing on startup.

Step 2: Update your graphics driver

An outdated graphics driver is a very common cause of startup crashes. Visit your graphics card manufacturer’s website (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel), download the latest driver for your specific model, and restart your computer after installing it.

Step 3: Delete the font cache

A single bad font can cause Photoshop to crash before it even fully opens. Close Photoshop and the Creative Cloud app, navigate to the Adobe Photoshop folder in AppData (Windows) or Application Support (Mac), and delete the CT Font Cache folder so Photoshop rebuilds it fresh.

Step 4: Launch without third-party plugins

Hold Shift while launching Photoshop to start it without loading optional and third-party plugins. If it opens normally this way, move plugins out of the Plug-ins folder one at a time to identify which one is causing the crash.

Step 5: Check your scratch disk space

Photoshop needs free space on its scratch disk (usually your main drive) to start properly. Free up at least a few gigabytes of space, or change the scratch disk under Preferences > Scratch Disks once you can get the app open.

Step 6: Temporarily disable antivirus software

Some antivirus programs interfere with Photoshop’s startup process. Temporarily disable yours, try launching Photoshop, and if that resolves the crash, add Photoshop as an exception in your antivirus settings instead of leaving it off permanently.

Step 7: Repair or reinstall photoshop

If nothing else works, use the Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool to fully remove Photoshop, restart your computer, and reinstall it fresh from the Creative Cloud app. This clears out any deeper corruption that preference resets alone can’t fix.

We have a few other articles about some other software issue as well, check this one if you are having trouble with Discord or this one if you have an issue with Microsoft Teams.

Frequently asked questions

Why does photoshop crash right at measuring memory during startup

This stage is where Photoshop checks system resources and loads its core settings, so a crash here often points to corrupted preferences, a graphics driver conflict, or insufficient scratch disk space rather than a problem with a specific file you’re opening.

Will resetting preferences delete my custom brushes and actions

No. Resetting preferences only affects general settings like display, performance, and cursor options. Brushes, actions, and most other custom presets are stored separately and aren’t affected.

How do i know if a plugin is causing photoshop to crash

Launch Photoshop while holding the Shift key, which skips loading optional and third-party plugins. If Photoshop opens normally this way, a plugin is likely the cause, and moving them out of the Plug-ins folder one at a time will identify which one.

Does a bad graphics driver really cause photoshop to crash on startup

Yes, it’s one of the most frequently reported causes, since Photoshop relies heavily on the GPU for rendering. Installing the latest driver directly from your graphics card manufacturer’s website (rather than relying on Windows Update) often resolves it.