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T
TomGinTampa
Participant
January 22, 2026
Question

Acrobat reader hangs up shortly after launching.

  • January 22, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 88 views

I'm currently using Acrobat Reader (64 bit) version 2025.001.21078. Recently, after launching, it goes into a weird state where it is non responsive. When I place the mouse cursor on the Adobe taskbar icon, it shows the icons/tabs for the PDF files which are open but instead of displaying the thumbnails for each file, there is what I call the whirling dervish (blue circle rotating clockwise). Nothing I have tried has addressed this.

 

I have folwed several recommendations:

Repairing the Acrobat Reader install

Exempting Acrobat Readere from Norton Antivirus.

Updating Acrobat Reader

 

Nopne of these worked. I'm not sure what might have brought this on. There have been a couple of minor Windows Security updates in the past week bt nothing major. I frequently have 15-20 PDF files open but nothing out of the ordinary recently. I suppoe I could turn off the "Open files that were open when Adobe was shut down" and have it start with no files open, if anyone thinks that would help.

 

Any suggestions?

2 replies

S
Shagufta3102187
Participant
January 22, 2026

Hi TomGinTampa,

Thank you for reporting this issue and for the detailed information about what you've already tried. To help us investigate this further, could you please provide the following details:
  1.  OS Version
  2. Did this issue start recently after a recent update?
  3. Please collect the fresh logs from the machine with the latest version and crash Logs
  4. Does the issue occur if you open only 2-3 PDF files instead of 15-20?

    Thanks    !
    Shagufta
    Randy Hagan
    Community Expert
    Randy HaganCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 22, 2026

    Is your hang an interruption that clears up? Or does the app lock up on you, and you have to restart Adobe Reader?

     

    You're correct to identify that having many files open can be a drag on your system. Especially if you're working with a typical office laptop or desktop, rather than a high-end workstation with lots of RAM and free storage space. I'd try working with one file at a time, and see if the problem clears up. If it does, then try two, then maybe four or five, until you reach a number where the problem gets severe again.

     

    I'm pretty sure that 15-20 at a time will be a drag on your system. But you may find out that working with 4 or 5 isn't such a big deal. Once you know what the threshold is, you can stay on the safe side of it and hopefully work more efficiently.

     

    Hope this helps,

     

    Randy

    T
    TomGinTampaAuthor
    Participant
    January 22, 2026

    I have to use Task Manager to end Adobe Reader and then restart it.

    I have used the circumvention of disabling the Adobe Collaboration Synchronizer because I was also getting the message about 2 instances of Adobe Reader running and this was one of the circumventions 

    https://adcod.com/is-it-ok-to-disable-adobe-collaboration-synchronizer/  

     

    This appears to have helped for now.

     

    I will keep your comments about having too many files open in mind.

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