How to Fix “Could not initialize Photoshop because an unexpected end-of-file was encountered” Error

Issue

The error “Could not initialize Photoshop because an unexpected end-of-file was encountered” happens when there are corrupted Photoshop preferences or application files.

Solution

Step 1: Address Possible Preference File Corruption

1. Navigate to the preferences folder on your system. Replace [user name] with your actual system username.
   • For Macs: /Users/[user name]/Library/Preferences/
   • For Windows: C:\Users\[user name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\
     
2. Locate and rename the “Adobe Photoshop [version]” folder to “Adobe Photoshop [version].old”.
3. Restart Photoshop. The software will recreate the preferences folders.
4. Run Photoshop to check if the issue is resolved.
5. If Photoshop runs without error, copy the files inside “Adobe Photoshop [version].old” back to the “Adobe Photoshop [version]” folder.
6. Launch Photoshop again to see if the error persists. If the error returns, delete the “Adobe Photoshop [version]” folder and restart Photoshop to generate a new set of preferences.

Step 2: Reinstall Photoshop If Preferences Aren’t the Issue

If the problem isn’t solved, it may be the application files that are corrupt. You can fix this by reinstalling Photoshop:

• Open the Creative Cloud Desktop app.
• Navigate to Apps > All apps.
• Locate “Photoshop”, click on the menu, and select “Uninstall”.
• When prompted to keep preferences, choose “Keep”.
• Once uninstalled, reinstall Photoshop through the Creative Cloud Desktop app.