Troubleshoot graphics processor (GPU) and graphics driver issues | Lightroom

Last updated on May 16, 2021

Overview

If you're experiencing any of the issues listed below, a defective, unsupported, or incompatible graphics processor (also called a graphics card, video card, or GPU) or graphics driver could be the issue. The solutions listed in this section can help you resolve the following issues:

Lightroom crashes on launch, crashes or freezes in general, or slows without explanation.
Moving basic develop sliders causes image brightness to flicker or shift colors unexpectedly
The message "Graphics processor acceleration has been disabled due to errors" appears under the Use Graphics Processor check box in Lightroom's Performance preferences.
Image previews and thumbnails look tiled or broken on Windows

Solution 1: Disable the graphics processor to quickly narrow down the issue

You can quickly determine if the issue is related to your graphics processor or driver by following these steps:

Launch Lightroom.
Navigate to one of the following:
- (macOS) Lightroom > Preferences > General
- (Windows) Edit > Preferences > General
Deselect Use Graphics Processor.
Quit and relaunch Lightroom.

If the problem goes away, your graphics processor or driver is likely the issue. See Solution 4: GPU and graphics driver troubleshooting steps for further troubleshooting steps.

If the problem still occurs, the graphics processor is not the cause. For additional troubleshooting, see:

Solution 2: Manually disable the graphics processor

If you can't launch Lightroom, or Lightroom crashes before you can clear the Use Graphics Processor check box, here's how to manually disable this preference:

Navigate to one of the following:
- (macOS) /Users/[username]/Library/Preferences/com.adobe.lightroomCC.plist
- (Windows) C:\Users\[user name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Lightroom CC\Preferences\Lightroom CC Preferences.agprefs
Note:

(Windows) Some of the folders you're looking for could be hidden. To view them, choose Start > Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Folder Options. In the Advanced area of the View tab, make sure that Show Hidden Files and Folders is selected, and then click OK.

(macOS) The user Library file is hidden by default on Mac OS X 10.7 and later. For temporary access to the user Library file, press Option and choose Go > Library in the Finder.
Open the file Lightroom CC Preferences.agprefs (Windows) / com.adobe.lightroomCC.plist (macOS) in a text editor.
Change the line useAutoBahn = true to useAutoBahn = false.
Save and close the file Lightroom CC Preferences.agprefs (Windows) / com.adobe.lightroomCC.plist (macOS).
Relaunch Lightroom.

Solution 3: Force Lightroom to use Windows DirectX or macOS Metal

If you run into crashing or redraw issues, try the following solution:

Go to Help > System Info and scroll to the Graphics Processor Info section in the System Info dialog box. Verify that the GPU is set to OpenGL.

OpenGL
Quit Lightroom.
Locate the Camera Raw GPU Config.txt file.
- (macOS) /Users/[user name]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRaw/GPU/Adobe Lightroom/Camera Raw GPU Config.txt
- (Windows) \Users\[user name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\GPU\Adobe Lightroom\Camera Raw GPU Config.txt
The user Library folder is hidden by default in macOS X 10.7 and later releases. Use the directions here.
Manually delete the Camera Raw GPU Config.txt file.
Relaunch Lightroom.

Solution 4: GPU and graphics driver troubleshooting steps

If you run into any of the issues listed above, try the following solutions in order.

Confirm that you're using the latest version of Lightroom.

Choose Help > Updates. For additional details, see the article Update Creative Cloud apps.
Confirm that your graphics card is compatible with Lightroom. To determine your graphics card make and model, see the section How do I determine the make and model of my graphics card?
Update your graphics card driver.

If you're experiencing any of the issues listed above, or Lightroom isn't accessing your graphics processor and your graphics card meets the minimum system requirements, update the graphics driver.

macOS:

Graphics drivers are updated via operating system updates. To make sure that you have the latest macOS updates, choose Software Update from the menu or the Updates tab in the App Store application.

Windows:

Download the most recent driver directly from your graphics card manufacturer's website:
Perform a clean installation of your graphics card driver

When upgrading the graphics card driver, it is recommended that you remove all previous versions of the graphics card driver from your computer before installing the new one. This is called a clean installation.

Once you’ve determined the make and model of your graphics card in your computer, follow your card’s manufacturer documentation and resources below:
- NVIDIA drivers: How to perform a clean installation of my Nvidia drivers?
- AMD drivers: AMD Clean Uninstall Utility
- Intel: Intel Driver & Support Assistant (Intel DSA)
After installing the updates, relaunch Lightroom. Turn on the Use Graphics Processor option in Preferences and retry the steps that caused the problem.
Note:
Windows Update won't always give you the latest and greatest drivers. You must go directly to your card manufacturer’s website to check for driver updates.

Be sure to choose the correct driver. Notebook drivers sometimes have a different name than similar desktop drivers.

Some video adapter manufacturers have other software that requires updating in addition to the video driver. Read the update instructions carefully, and contact the video adapter manufacturer directly if you don't understand the instructions.
Disable third-party graphics accelerators. Third-party GPU overclocking utilities and haxies aren't supported.
Multiple graphics cards with conflicting drivers can cause problems with GPU-accelerated or enabled features in Lightroom. For best results, connect two (or more) monitors into one graphics card.

(macOS)

Disable Automatic graphic switching on the Energy Saver tab in the System Preferences.

For more details, refer to Apple's documentation: https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT202043

(Windows)

If you must use more than one graphics card, remove or disable the less powerful cards. For example, assume that you have two different cards using two different drivers—an NVIDIA graphics card and an AMD graphics card. In this case, ensure that Lightroom has been assigned the High Performance graphics card rather than Integrated Graphics or Power Saving graphics card.

NVIDIA:
1. Right-click anywhere on the desktop and choose the NVIDIA control panel.
2. Click Manage 3D settings.
3. Click Program Settings and add Lightroom.exe. Change the preferred graphics processor to High-performance NVIDIA processor.
AMD:
1. Right-click anywhere on the desktop and choose the AMD Catalyst Control Center or Configure Switchable Graphics.
2. Click Browse and choose High Performance instead of Power Saving.
For additional instructions on how to set a specific card to be the primary graphics card on Windows, consult the graphics card manufacturer's driver documentation.
(Windows) If the previous step does not resolve the issue, consider disabling the graphics cards.

If you're using more than one graphics card in Windows, your high-end card might not be set as the primary card. To disable the lesser of the two cards, use the Device Manager on Windows. In the Device Manager, right-click the card's name and choose Disable.

Disabling a graphics card
Do not use Lightroom on a virtual machine (VM).

Running Lightroom under virtual machines (VMs) is not tested extensively nor officially supported because of known issues with features that rely on the graphics processor in VM environments.

After performing the troubleshooting steps above, you can confirm the results by enabling the Use Graphics Processor option in Preferences.
If none of the troubleshooting steps above solve the issue, your last option is to purchase a compatible graphics card, or completely disable the graphics processor using the following steps:
1. Launch Lightroom.
2. Navigate to one of the following:
  
  (macOS) Lightroom > Preferences > General
  
  (Windows) Edit > Preferences > General
3. Deselect Use Graphics Processor.
4. Quit and relaunch Lightroom.

GPU troubleshooting for Lightroom (Microsoft Store version)

If Lightroom (Microsoft Store version) is unable to use the GPU, try the following:

Quit Lightroom.
Type Graphics Settings in the search box and hit Enter.
Choose Universal app from the Choose an app to set preference drop-down menu.

Choose Universal app
Choose Adobe Lightroom from the Select an app drop-down menu and click Add.
Click Options in the dialog box that appears.
Select High performance and click Save.

Select High performance
Launch Lightroom.

More like this

Adobe

Get help faster and easier

New user?