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Could not use the tool because of a disk error.


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I just downloaded the new photoshop monthly subscription. Photoshop seemed to work on my one computer, but when in selection masking space attempting to use the selection tool brush, this error appears 'Could not use the tool because of a disk error.' I verified my disk in disk utility and the message continues to appear.
 

thebestcpu

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When I have heard of this happening, it was when disk space was getting considerably lwo and the scratch disk could no longer function correctly.

Please provide more info e.g.

OS - version
Photoshop version specifically (I assume the most recent download available yet would be good to verify)
Hardware specs eg total main memory and especially you Hard drive size and the free space available.

Its possible that your computer does not have enough resources or they are overloaded with too many processes running in prarllel.

That's my best guess of what is going on until you provide more details.

John Wheeler
 

Eggy

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My first ssd was 120 GB and of course I had to allocate my scratch disk and virtual mem on it.
I had similar problems then until I replaced my C disk with a 250 GB ssd and used the 120 GB ssd as 'workdrive' with the scratchdisk and virtual mem allocated to the 120 GB ssd. Problems solved...
 
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My first ssd was 120 GB and of course I had to allocate my scratch disk and virtual mem on it.
I had similar problems then until I replaced my C disk with a 250 GB ssd and used the 120 GB ssd as 'workdrive' with the scratchdisk and virtual mem allocated to the 120 GB ssd. Problems solved...

Thank you for this detail.

When I looked through the folders installed with the download, the generator plugin folder was empty. Could this also be a possible hindrance?
 

Eggy

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I don't believe so because the selection tool is not a plug-in.
 
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Yes, this I am aware of, but I figured perhaps there was a connection.
So, I cleaned up my hard drive and tried to use the selection tool again in mask mode and now the message does not appear, but the tool still does not work at all.
 

Eggy

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Maybe resetting the tools could help.

To reset your Tools panel back to its default layout, right-click (Win) / Control-click (Mac) on the Tool Presets icon, then choose Reset All Tools from the menu:

photoshop-reset-all-tools.png
 

thebestcpu

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I just downloaded the new photoshop monthly subscription. Photoshop seemed to work on my one computer, but when in selection masking space attempting to use the selection tool brush, this error appears 'Could not use the tool because of a disk error.' I verified my disk in disk utility and the message continues to appear.

I also like the idea of resetting your tool and/or resetting Photoshop Preferences. However, it would be good to verify exactly what you are doing step by step. You mention "when in selection masking space" and now I am not sure if you are creating a regular selection (with the marching ants over pixels) or if you are using the selection tool to modify a Layer Mask, etc. Debugging and providing better recommendations are best done when it is very clear on the actions your are taking and what is meant by "but the tool still does not work." I am sure it is very clear to you yet just keep in mind that when all we are doing is reading your text, we are blind relative to what you see on your screen.

Just a suggestion.

John Wheeler
 

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