Photoshop could not complete your request because of a program error

Photoshop could not complete your request because of a program error can be caused by several things. It is hard to pinpoint the cause of the error and so we have to go through a process of elimination to find out what is causing this error.

Photoshop could not complete your request because of a program error

There are a few instances when this error will show up; however, Photoshop will use this error message for many reasons. This is the reason it is so hard to find out the true cause. From reasons as simple as a bad image to actual problems with your computer system. There may be cases where the error will only show up for a specific image file while others will load without incident. Whenever you have issues, it is best to start the diagnosis with the simplest things first. This Photoshop could not complete your request because of a program error may show up when you are working on a large image file. The cause could be:

1. Disable Fast Startup
2. Image Extension
3. Computer Resources Low
4. Photoshop Preferences
5. Disable Graphics Processor
6. Minimum System Requirements not met

1] Disable Fast Startup

Whenever there is an error with any program, a system restart can sometimes fix it. There may be issues with other programs in the background and the system needs to restart. Shutting down may not help if your computer has Fast Startup enabled. When Fast Startup is enabled, the computer will hold things in memory so that it can start faster after a shutdown. This causes problems not to be fixed after the computer is shut down. The best way to get these issues cleared is to do a restart which will empty the RAM.

If you want to shut down and have the memory emptied, hold Shift then press Shut Down, or disable Fast Startup in power settings.

When you disable Fast Startup, you may notice that it is greyed out, just look above it and you will see Change Settings that Are Currently Unavailable. Click the words and you will see the options get clickable. You can then uncheck Turn on Fast Startup then go to the bottom of the window to Save Changes.

2] Change Image File Extension

Whenever you get the error when you try to open a specific image file, while others work it could mean that the image extension may need changing. You can change the file extension to .jpeg or .png and this may fix the issue. You may try to see if the image will open in another program; if it does open, you can save it and try Photoshop again.

You can change the file extension from the file folder, but you would need to enable the Windows option for showing file extensions.

To enable the showing of file name extension, go to the top of the open folder and click View, then from the drop-down menu go to Show then check File Name Extension. You will notice that the files will now show their extensions such as .jpg or .exe etc. you can edit these extensions.

You will, however have to confirm the change. Changing the file extension can cause problems with files so do so only if you must.

3] Computer Resources Low

Photoshop and other graphic software are resource intensive; they use up a lot of system resources. Your computer may meet the minimum system requirements; however, you may have many programs open. Photoshop could not complete your request because of a program error, which sometimes shows up while working on an image. This may be because the Image is quite large, and the system resources are running low due to other open programs. Before the error message shows up, you may notice the system fan running longer and harder than usual. That may indicate that the computer is using up a lot of resources. This is also an indication that your cooling system is not adequate. Computers will slow down if there is high demand for resources, which produces more heat, but the cooling system can’t keep up.

Photoshop requires enough RAM to work properly. When enough RAM is not available, it will use free space on available drives to use as Scratch Disc and save data there. When your disc space is low, Photoshop may freeze or become unresponsive or give an error message.

If the scratch Disc is full, you can go to Photoshop’s Performance Settings to set another fast drive with more free space as Scratch Disc by using the arrow buttons.

4] Reset Photoshop Preferences

Sometimes when Photoshop displays errors, it can be a result of problems with the preferences. The Preference file may be corrupt or there may be some conflict. Resetting the preferences may fix this issue so it would help to give it a try.

In later versions of photoshop, you can reset the Preferences by using the Reset Preferences On Quit button right on the Preferences window.

You may manually reset preferences by removing the preferences folder. This method ensures all preferences and any user presets which may be causing a problem are not loaded. To try this method close Photoshop and then navigate to the location of the preferences folder.

They are located at:

Users/[user name]/AppData/Roaming/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [version]/Adobe Photoshop [version] Settings

If you do not see the files, they may be hidden, so you may have to view hidden files.

Remove the entire Adobe Photoshop [Version] Settings folder to somewhere safe for a backup of your settings. Open Photoshop and new preferences files will be created in the original location.

You can also reset the preferences by using the keyboard shortcut when you restart Photoshop. To reset Photoshop’s preferences using the keyboard, quit Photoshop, hold down the Ctrl + Alt + Shift key and launch Photoshop. Click Yes in the dialog that asks, “Delete the Adobe Photoshop Settings file?”

Be sure to back up your preferences before resetting preferences.

5] Disable Graphics Processor

Disabling the graphics processor may cause Photoshop to render a bit slower since you would be disabling hardware acceleration. However, this may help to fix the Photoshop could not Complete your Request because of a Program Error.

Go to Photoshop’s Preferences > Performance and uncheck Use Graphics Processor and restart Photoshop.

6] Minimum System Requirements not met

This error can show up if your system does not meet the minimum requirements for running Photoshop. Check on adobe.com to see the system requirements of Photoshop and compare them to the specification of your system. There you will find system requirements for Photoshop. Compare these system requirements with your computer’s specifications. You can search for System Information on your computer to see a summary of the system.

These are the system requirements for Photoshop

Read: Illustrator vs Photoshop – When to use each?

How do you fix could not complete your request because of a program error in Photoshop?

You can fix this error by doing the following.  Remember that whenever you have errors, try to start with the easiest fix first.

• Computer Needs Restarting – Restarting the computer may clear up this error. Save whatever you can then restart the computer and try the operation again. If this does not help, try the other step.
• Image Extension – There may be a problem with the image extension so you may need to change it. Enable viewing extensions in windows then go to the file and click on it and change the extension. You will get a warning message. Click Ok to confirm and that will change the image extension. If this does not help, move to the next step.
• Computer Resources Low – This error can appear if the computer is running low on resources, you may have too many things open. Close some of the open programs, especially if you have two graphic editing software open. Save and close as much open software and this can be a big help.
• Photoshop Preferences – Resetting Photoshop preferences can help to fix this error. Back up the preferences to a safe place then reset the preferences and restart.
• Disable Graphics Processor – Disabling the graphic processor may help fix this error. Disabling the graphic processor will turn off hardware acceleration, but this sometimes fixes the error.
• Minimum System Requirements not met – The issue of not meeting the basic system requirements for Photoshop can cause this error. The system requirements for Photoshop must be met and preferably exceeded to avoid errors as you use Photoshop. Photoshop is a very resource-intensive software and will show errors especially when you work with large files. Be sure to check that your system meets or exceeds the minimum requirements for Photoshop. For a laptop, you may have to add RAM if there is not enough RAM to meet the system requirements. The best way however would have been to buy a computer with the required specifications for Photoshop. 

How to fix Can’t be opened because of program error Photoshop?

• Update Photoshop – Make sure Photoshop is up to date with the latest bug fixes.
• Check the system requirements – Ensure your system meets Photoshop’s minimum requirements for the latest version.
  If your graphics hardware is unsupported, you may need to update to more modern graphics hardware.
• Disable Generator –  Navigate to Preferences then Plug-ins then Uncheck Enable Generator (Newer versions of Photoshop),
• Reinstall your graphics driver – Check with the website of the manufacturer of your graphics card, and check if there are any updates. Update the driver for your graphics card.
• Restore Photoshop’s default preferences – Restore Photoshop preferences to the default by using the Reset Preferences on Quit button on the Preferences Setting window (newer version of Photoshop). You can reset preferences by removing them from the folder, restart photoshop and Photoshop will write new preferences. You can also reset preferences by closing Photoshop, then restarting Photoshop and holding Ctrl + Alt + Shift then pressing the Photoshop icon to start Photoshop. You will be asked to confirm deleting Photoshop preferences, click OK.
• Turn off GPU acceleration – Disabling the graphics processor may cause Photoshop to render a bit slower since you would be disabling hardware acceleration. However, this may help to fix the error. Go to Photoshop’s Preferences > Performance and uncheck Use Graphics Processor and restart Photoshop. If this step helps, perform further GPU troubleshooting.
•  Revert to the previous version of Photoshop –  If none of the above suggestions help, back up your preferences/settings folder then roll back to the previous version of Photoshop. 

How do you fix could not complete your request because an unexpected end of file was encountered?

This error can be caused by a connection issue, your internet connection may be unstable and cause errors in a file downloaded. This can also be an issue with your browser when you were downloading a file. This may be an error caused by the file extension being changed due to a system or program error. You can avoid this connection by using a strong internet connection or using a wired connection.

• This error can be caused by using incompatible Photoshop versions. You may have used one version to create the file and tried to use another version to open it, this can cause the error.
• This error can also be caused by Photoshop quitting unexpectedly before saving properly, a computer system crash, or a program crash, this could corrupt the file and the error may show up when trying to access the file.
• The error can be caused by low disc space and photoshop does not have enough space to space the PSD file.
• The error can be fixed depending on what caused it. If it is an internet connection issue you will have to fix that issue and then download the file.
• If it is caused by incompatible versions of Photoshop, you will need to use the same version of Photoshop that was used to create the file to open it.
• If the error is caused by unexpected program closure or system crash, you may have to redo the file.
• If the error is caused by low disk space, you may have to increase the disk space or increase the partition size of the disk.

Could not save as a PDF because of a program error Photoshop

The error Could not save as a PDF because of a program error in Photoshop may be fixed by any of the following methods.

• Make sure that Photoshop is updated with all the bug fixes. Also, check Adobe’s website to see if there are any known fixes for this error.
• You may also try hiding all the layers and then saving. you can easily hide all the layers by clicking and dragging down through the visibility icons. this will turn off the visibility for all the layers.
• You may also try rolling back to a previous version of Photoshop. Try to remember if the error started after you updated Photoshop. If this is the case, or if you don’t remember, roll back to the previous version of Photoshop. Be sure to back up your Photoshop preferences to a safe location before you revert to a earlier version of Photoshop.

How can Unmet System Requirement cause the Photoshop could not complete your request because of a Program Error?

Photoshop could not Complete your Request because of a Program Error can be caused by the high demand of Photoshop on a system that does not meet the minimum requirements. Photoshop requires a good graphics card, if this is not met then the system will slow down, crash or display the error. The same can happen if the rest of the requirements are not met.

How can changing the File Extension help?

If all the other image files that you are using load smoothly, you should try changing the extension of the troublesome image file to .jpeg or .png. These formats are widely used and usually, pictures are saved in this format. Changing the extension may help the file to load. If changing the extension does not help, then the image may be damaged and may be unusable.