Acrobat Reader DC won't work; Adobe Acrobat DC does???

My computer (os 8.1) was working well with the Acrobat Reader DC.  Today it started opening my pdf files then overlaying them with an error message ("...AcroRd32.exe error; .... the referenced memory at 0x00000000 could not be read.  Click on OK to terminate the program" - see below).  Microsoft Help could not resolve the problem and said I should contact Adobe.  Adobe wouldn't talk with me about correcting the problem yet happily sold me monthly access to Adobe Acrobat DC.  I've deleted then reinstalled Acrobat Reader DC with no improvement.  Can anyone tell me how to correct this problem or is it simply a way to get folks to buy the monthly access to Adobe reader.  BTW, Adobe Acrobat DC works perfectly (for $12.99/mo).