Premiere Pro Crashing? Here’s Why and How to Make it Stop (Mac)

Why does Adobe Premiere Pro keep crashing on your Mac? If you’re asking this question, it means that you are already frustrated and in dire need of some answers. 

Premiere Pro might be crashing for many reasons, and knowing where to start is often the biggest challenge. Luckily, there are a few different ways to stop Premiere Pro from crashing so that you can edit your video in peace. 

Keep reading to know some of the possible causes of Premiere Pro crashing and the steps you can take to fix the problem. 

Scratch disk full error 

Intensive, large apps like Premiere Pro require a bit of hard drive space as virtual memory when enough RAM is not available to complete a task. The scratch disk is where files are stored temporarily when you’re performing process-heavy tasks like editing photos or videos. 

Temporary files are why you would see the Mac scratch disks are full error when using Premiere Pro. In case the program has crashed, and you’ve force-quit, the temporary files don’t disappear. These files are saved because the app thinks that you’ll use them later. If you see this error popping up, you need to clear the scratch disk and make space. One way to do so is by using CleanMyMac X and cleaning your disk space. You can also defragment your hard disk when the scratch disk is full. 

The Premiere Pro version is not updated

The app might be crashing because you did not update it to the latest version. Adobe engineers often introduce new updates to add new features or fix bugs. 

You must always check to ensure that you’re running the current version of the program. The newer builds typically have the solution for the problems being faced by the older version. So, simply updating the app might resolve the issues that you’re facing. 

Before updating the application, make sure to back up your media and sequence. 

Overheating 

Premiere Pro is an intensive app that uses a lot of resources on your Mac. Even though Macs are not generally known for overheating, they may heat up due to increased computation. Your device is automatically shuts down the app when the threshold is reached. 

In such a case, you need to keep a watchful eye and check if your Mac is getting heated. If so, make sure that the fans are working fine. It can also help if you manually give it some cool air. You can even go as far as bringing a fan base or cooling pad to keep your Mac computer cool. 

Reset Premiere Pro to factory settings 

Resetting the app to factory settings or trashing the preference is excellent for fixing a wide range of issues with the application. However, by trashing preferences, you will remove any preferences you might have changed in the application. So, make sure to note any personalizations that you may need later. 

To do this, press Option on your Mac while launching the application and release the key when you see the splash screen. The preferences and plugin cache can be reset at once by holding down Shift + Option on launch. Let go of the keys once you see the splash screen. 

A plugin issue 

Is the Premiere Pro application crashing on open? If so, it could be a plugin issue. The crash might occur because the program is trying to load the plugin, but it is not compatible with that application version. 

To find out if this is the case, copy the contents of the plugins folder to a safe place. The folder is located at /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/Plug-Ins/ on your Mac. 

You can even create a new desktop folder. Then, if you can open the application without a crash, you have found the culprit. Then, you can reintroduce the plugins one by one into the plugin folder until you’ve found the offender. 

Once you’ve found it, it is best to resolve the issue with the plugin’s developer. The plugin might require an update.

Outdate GPU drivers 

GPU support has been somewhat erratic in the past, but Premiere Pro CC support is much more stable. However, you must update GPU drivers and if you keep having crashed during playback, disabling GPU usage is the only Option. 

If the video looks corrupted or unexplained green pictures appear, it might be an overheated or faulty GPU. You may have to replace the graphics processor.  Finally, if nothing works, close every other program on your Mac and help to free as much memory as you can when running Premiere Pro. Hopefully, this will prevent crashes, and you can complete your task quickly.