How Photoshop quietly eats a drive
When RAM runs short, Photoshop pages work data to a scratch file named Photoshop Temp followed by digits, usually in %TEMP%. On a clean exit the file is deleted; after a crash it stays, and five crashes later you carry tens of gigabytes of phantom weight on the boot drive. The scratch location is chosen in Edit → Preferences → Scratch Disks, where you can list several drives and Photoshop uses them in order. Keep the first one on a fast drive with real free space — the classic error means exactly that every drive on the list is too full.
The caches worth knowing by name
Each cache exists for a reason, and none of it is precious. The list below names the files worth finding before you blame the wrong drive.
- Photoshop Temp##### leftovers in %TEMP% after crashes — delete with Photoshop closed
- Camera Raw cache: Preferences → Camera Raw holds previews and adjustment data; the purge button clears it, and it rebuilds as you open files
- The central Bridge cache, if Bridge is part of your workflow — same deal, it regenerates on demand
- Edit → Purge → Clipboard / Histories: frees RAM mid-session, but it is not undoable — use it on a saved file
- Working .psd/.psb copies with all layers kept — old client folders in Downloads and Desktop are usually the real space hogs
- Old export batches: JPEG/PNG folders rendered for feedback rounds that ended long ago
A scratch setup that stops the error coming back
Point the first scratch slot at an SSD that is not your boot drive if you have one, and keep at least 20 percent of it free — Photoshop wants headroom, not the last gigabyte. Move the Camera Raw cache to a fast drive too; on laptops that spares the boot drive constant churn. If a crash week already happened, close Photoshop and sweep %TEMP% — Kleaner PRO picks up the orphaned Photoshop Temp files dead sessions left behind. And once a project is actually delivered, archive or delete its layered masters instead of letting the Downloads folder do the archiving for you.
Questions and Answers
Where are Photoshop scratch files located?
In %TEMP%, usually C:\Users\<name>\AppData\Local\Temp, named Photoshop Temp plus digits. With Photoshop closed they are safe to delete.
Is it safe to delete the Camera Raw cache?
Yes, via the purge button in Preferences → Camera Raw. You only pay slower first opens while the previews rebuild.
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