Photoshop Keeps Crashing or Won't Open

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

1. 1. Fully reset preferences

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   1. Quit Photoshop
   2. Hold Ctrl+Alt+Shift (Win) or Cmd+Option+Shift (Mac) at launch and confirm
   3. If it still crashes, move the whole Adobe Photoshop 2026 Settings folder to your desktop so a fresh one is rebuilt (back up actions and brushes first)
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. 2. Test without plug-ins

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   1. At launch hold Shift to skip optional and third-party plug-ins and see if it opens
   2. Remove recently added plug-ins and fonts
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. 3. Fix the graphics driver

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   1. Install the NVIDIA Studio driver rather than the Game Ready driver
   2. For a clean install use Display Driver Uninstaller then reinstall the driver
   3. On laptops set Photoshop to use the discrete GPU only in Windows Graphics settings
   Did this fix it? Yes No

4. 4. Isolate with GPU off

   1. Open Edit > Preferences > Performance and untick Use Graphics Processor (if it opens, the driver is the cause; this is a diagnostic, not a permanent fix)
   Did this fix it? Yes No

5. 5. Roll back or reinstall

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   1. Creative Cloud > Photoshop > Other versions to install the previous release
   2. Uninstall with the Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool and reinstall if nothing else works
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

Photoshop closes on the splash screen, freezes at "measuring memory", crashes when opening files, or crashes on exit, often right after an update (27.7 to 27.9.1 threads in 2026).

Why it happens

• Corrupted preferences/settings
• A third-party plug-in or font
• GPU driver conflict (for example an NVIDIA Game Ready driver or an OpenCL/DirectX crash)
• A buggy Photoshop release
• Hybrid laptop switching between integrated and discrete GPUs
• Leftover licensing or plug-in storage files

This guide also covers

• photoshop keeps crashing
• photoshop crashes on startup
• photoshop won't open
• photoshop crashing after update
• photoshop crashes on launch

The same problem in other apps

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