Avoid file corruption: Don't work on Photoshop files across a network (CS2/CS3/CS4/CS5)

If you’re experiencing frequent file corruption, you may want to re-examine your workflow. If it consists of working on your Photoshop files directly from a network or removable media, such as a Zip disk or Jump drive, that could be to blame. Opening or saving files across a network or removable media can cause serious problems to your files, ranging from performance issues to data loss and file corruption.

Some common errors from a corrupted file:

“Could not complete this operation because this file is in an unknown format.”

“This document has been damaged by disk error. The most likely cause of this error is a defective disk drive, SCSI, or SCSI termination. Pixels may be damaged. Open anyway?”

“Could not complete the request because the file is locked.”

“Could not save because of a disk error.”

Not only do we not recommend saving your files across a network, it isn’t a workflow supported by Adobe. With good reason: There are so many different server configurations, with different variables, such as networking protocols, platforms, software, routers, and peripherals, just to name a few, there’s no way their technical support team can re-create every scenario to help solve your problems.

The best workflow is to copy the file from the network or removable media onto your local machine. Make your edits to the file, and then save it on your local machine. Then, copy the file back to the network or removable media.