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R
RedCab2
Participant
March 27, 2012
Question

all of a sudden - can't open files

  • March 27, 2012
  • 4 replies
  • 61518 views

Running Adobe Reader 10.1.2 (current rev) on Win 7 (latest release)

Had been working fine. Now on some files (but not all) I get this error:

"there was an error opening this document. The file is damaged and could not be repaired."

Two comments:

(1) I uninstalled Adobe Reader, then rebooted, then reinstalled Adobe Reader from a fresh download. I still get the same error.

(2) I am able to open the same pdf files that don't open on this computer on another computer. So it must be this installation on this computer.

Since I've already uninstalled, not sure where to go from here...  Is there a mis-set configuration option in Reader causing this for only some files?

Thanks anyone for ideas...

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    4 replies

    R
    RedCab2Author
    Participant
    April 9, 2012

    Thanks for all those comments... today I went back to the original pdf that gave me trouble and it opens up normally.

    I have absolutely no idea why it is suddenly working... Adobe reader is still 10.1.2. Maybe something else has updated in the background?

    BTW, I have "enable protected mode at startup" button clicked "on".

    Oh well, it works now, so I guess I'll cross this one off my list...

    A
    Anonymous
    October 10, 2013

    I had the same issue with a file that we had on our corporate network drive.

    After an hour of research plus trial+error, I had to download and purchase the Full copy of this program: kernel for PDF Repair

    http://www.nucleustechnologies.com/pdf-repair-tool.html

    It was an emergency for me, hence, the purchase of the tool but it worked and I was able to repair the file and open it with no more error messages.

    Second issue I encountered with the same file after I repaired it: I was unable to print it.  The doc gave me an error every time I tried to print it.

    I had to download foxit (pdf reader) and print it using that program.

    http://www.foxitsoftware.com/Secure_PDF_Reader/

    M
    m_hotel
    Participant
    April 6, 2012

    Just started here - right about the time the 10.1.2 update installed itself on Win7.  Now ~50% of newly received PDFs are "damaged."

    I can save the PDF to a thumb drive and it opens/displays fin on the Mac using either Preview or Reader, but the same file on the same drive is reported as damaged by 10.1.2 on Win7.

    Bug?

    Allta Media
    Community Expert
    Allta MediaCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 9, 2012

    Have you tried to see if this might be related to Protected Mode? To check, try temporarily unchecking this under Edit > Preferences > General category "Enable Protected Mode at startup".

    A
    Anonymous
    March 28, 2012

    I'm also having a problem opening PDF files. I am unable to open any PDF in reader X or Acrobat 9. I get no error message the programs just do not launch. This has been going on for the past week. Oh and I'm running Windows 7. I've also posted the same comment here http://forums.adobe.com/message/4297091#4297091

    A
    Anonymous
    April 2, 2012

    Same problem here. Interesting fact, I can open the files on my android mobile phone, so the file is ok. But it just dont open anymore on my windows 7 machine. Not all files, just some, and only new ones I even tried to save an OpenOffice document as pdf and that one opened nicely.

    so all off a sudden soem pdf files dont open, and the files seems ok as they open on the phone.

    prisciliana_
    prisciliana_
    Inspiring
    March 28, 2012

    The first thing I'd recommend is that you make a copy of the files, and try to open the copy. If you can download them from the source using a different name, that would be best. The fact that the files opened on a different system makes me suspicious of the files (bad sector on the hard drive, for example).

    The next question is how did you uninstall? Did you use the Control Panel option to Uninstall Programs? You want a clean uninstall before re-installing.

    R
    RedCab2Author
    Participant
    March 28, 2012

    To respond:

    1) I did the uninstall from the Win7 control panel.

    2) I tried the suggestion to duplicate a file and try to open the copy. Still wouldn't open those files I'm having trouble with.

    3) I noticed that this problem only affects files which I recently received from external sources. I went back to some older files and found I could open them on this Win7 PC. As I pointed out earlier, I am successful opening all files on my other Win7 PC. So it's definitely related to this PC. Might the problem be incorrectly specified "preference" item on Adobe Reader (since re-installing didn't solve things).

    PS Just figured out that this forum is not compatible w/ Chrome. Now using Firefox.

    pwillener
    pwillener
    Legend
    March 28, 2012

    Files may get corrupted when copied / transferred / emailed / downloaded.

    The message "The file is damaged and could not be repaired" indicates that this may have happened.  Can you obtain a new copy of the file(s) you are unable to open?

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