How to Maximize Scratch Disk Performance in Adobe Premiere Pro

When you edit a project with Adobe Premiere Pro, your computer uses disk space to store files, such as captured video and audio, conformed audio and preview files. Scratch disk files are usually stored where you save the project. However, the larger and more complex your projects are, the more space they will take up. You can free up space on your computer by using scratch disks when saving large files.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. If your system has multiple disks, you can specify which disk Premiere should use when setting up a new project. Go to Edit, then Preferences, and then Scratch Disks. Specify which disk the program should use.

2. Set up scratch disks in Preferences dialog box after you start a project. Go to Edit, then Preferences and then Scratch Disks. Chose a location for each file type in the dialog box. .The program creates a subfolder for each file type and stores the folder’s files in it.

3. The pull-down menu will list three default locations: My Documents, Same As Project, and Custom. Choose "Custom," and then "Browse" to find any available folder.

4. If your computer has only one hard disk, consider leaving all scratch disk options at their default settings.

5. If you have more than one hard disk, specify only those partitions formatted for the NTFS file format as scratch disks. FAT32 partitions can not support files larger than 4 GB. You should use your fastest hard disks for capturing footage and storing scratch files and your slower disks for audio preview files and the project file.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not use Network drives or removable drives as scratch disk space. If scratch disk files are stored on removable media and the media are removed from the drive, the scratch disk won’t be available to Premiere Pro.