TechNote (Archived)

Colors Are Incorrect in Photoshop for Windows (for Example, White Appears Yellow)

Issue

Adobe Photoshop 7.x or earlier for Windows displays colors in an image or in the Color Palette, Swatches Palette, or Photoshop Color Picker incorrectly (for example, it displays white as yellow).

Solutions

Do one or more of the following:

Solution 1

Re-create your monitor ICC profile in Adobe Gamma:

1. Exit from Photoshop.

2. Choose Start > Settings > Control Panel.

3. Double-click Adobe Gamma.

4. Click Next in the Adobe Gamma Wizard dialog boxes.

Note: If you don't see a Next button, click Wizard to start the Adobe Gamma Wizard.

5. Click Save in the Save As dialog box.

For more information about Adobe Gamma, see "Calibrating with Adobe Gamma" in the online Photoshop Help.

Solution 2

Change the number of colors displayed by the video card:

1. Choose Start > Settings > Control Panel, and double click Display.

2. Click the Settings tab.

3. Choose a different color-depth from the pop-up menu in the Color Quality section (Windows XP) or Color menu (Windows 2000, Me, 98, NT4):

-- If the current color-depth is 16-bit or 32-bit, choose True Color (which may be designated as 24-bit color; 16,777,216 colors; or millions of colors).

-- If the current color-depth is True Color, choose 16-bit or 32-bit color.

4. Restart Windows and Photoshop.

Solution 3

Contact the video card manufacturer for an updated driver, or download one from the manufacturer's Web site.

Additional Information

A damaged ICC profile can cause colors to display inaccurately.

Changing the number of colors displayed by the video card can prevent conflicts between the video driver and incorrect colors.

Many video display adapter manufacturers update their software drivers frequently; check periodically for updated drivers, even if you are not seeing unexpected software behavior.