Mac OS · macOS
How To Fix “Scratch Disk Full” Error on macOS Ventura
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Answer
Scratch disk errors usually occur when one or several running applications use your system memory. To fix this, I suggest, first of all, closing apps that are running on your Mac. Use your Spotlight search to open up your Activity Monitor. On this window, navigate to the Memory section to find a list of apps and processes causing the scratch disk error. In my case, Photoshop and Google Chrome are the culprits of this error, and I will close Chrome to reduce the amount of memory needed while editing images.
Preview Apps in Activity Monitor
Scratch disk errors usually occur when one or several running applications use your system memory. To fix this, I suggest, first of all, closing apps that are running on your Mac. Use your Spotlight search to open up your Activity Monitor. On this window, navigate to the Memory section to find a list of apps and processes causing the scratch disk error. In my case, Photoshop and Google Chrome are the culprits of this error, and I will close Chrome to reduce the amount of memory needed while editing images.
Force Quit Applications
Use the shortcut command + tab to see which apps are running and use the shortcut command + Q to completely close them.
Clear RAM & Temporary Files in App
Some apps allow you to clear the scratch disk and temporary files. On Photoshop, navigate to Edit > Purge and select All. This is especially helpful when using the Creative Cloud to save your Adobe files.
3rd Party Memory Apps
Use of 3rd party apps that clear your RAM or memory and fix the scratch disk error you are getting. Open up your App Store application. Search for “clear RAM” and install one of these apps here. I will choose the Memory Diag app. Open the application, and you should see this new icon in your Menu bar.
You can preview how much free memory you can utilize and how much your apps are u…
You can preview how much free memory you can utilize and how much your apps are using up. Below, preview which apps are using up the most memory.
Video walkthrough
If it does not work
- What is a Scratch Disk?. A Scratch Disk is a portion of the hard drive that's set aside as temporary storage for various processes, such as video and photo editing, that require large amounts of memory.
- What causes the "Scratch Disk Full" error?. The "Scratch Disk Full" error occurs when the Scratch Disk is running low on space and can no longer accommodate the temporary data it needs to store.