[Reader][Win7] 21208 update breaks Acrobat Reader, won't start, missing dll

Here is latest update on my trying to restore a usable Adobe Reader version on Windows 7.  On 21 Feb morning I did all the things shown in this thread:  (1) removed broken version 25.001.21xxx  (2) cleaned traces with AdobeCleaner (3) loaded 32-bit version 22.003.20282  (4)  disabled Reader updater in Computer Management and in Services (5) changed the Adobe updater registry key from “3” to “0” - this is supposed to absolutely disable downloading and installing Adobe updates, (6) tested.   Did this on 4 computers.  All worked fine…..until approximately noon.  Then they all broke …..  version 25.001.21223 downloaded and installed anyway.  Adobe does not even recognize and conform to its own settings, especially the registry setting that says “no updates”.  It appears that Adobe is bypassing the update settings by simply forcing a totally new version on the user.

THIS IS INTOLERABLE.  Adobe has no business forcing updates/versions on users who do not want them, especially when the updates will no longer work.  The USER should be given the option whether or not to update, after the USER is told the consequences.  Adobe has no excuse to say “we no longer support Windows 7”… the users are NOT asking Adobe to “support” older Windows 7 versions….they are only asking that the working older versions be left alone.  If the user is happy with (or must use) these older versions ..  albeit with no further support .. they should be allowed to do so.  Microsoft no longer supports Windows 7 or 10, but even Microsoft does not force downloads on these users that disable the OS. 

Suppose I took my 2012 Toyota in for service at a dealership, and the dealer disabled the vehicle because it does not have all the electronic convenience/safety stuff that the later models have.  Does the dealer have that right, or do I still have the option to continue using the vehicle.

In this situation, Adobe could make the missing .dll available via download if that is all it would take to make the older versions function.  It is too risky to download this .dll for an unvetted source. 

Many older users (and my wife and I are in this category) do not have the means to continually buy new computers, and most do not have the computer knowledge to adapt older computers.  My wife said she had no ideal what to do when this error message appeared...she was in tears.

Adobe’s attitude is “WE know better than the USERS”.  If I look up the definition ARROGANT in Webster’s dictionary, I see the Adobe logo in the definition.  

For now, I must try to use Sumatra-pdf - it appears to meet my needs.

I created a little batch script and instructions to fix it, as I get dozens of error reports now so that I wanted to automate the crucial steps of the process, maybe it helps some of you.

If you have to use Acrobat Reader, here’s a list of download links to older versions (offline installer, DE and US version).

For private use, there are free tools that, in my experience, are faster and more flexible, for example SumatraPDF or PDF-XCange Editor (free version). At least they can help until Adobe has fixed the problem.

Tried 3 of the fixes posted here, didn’t work so i installed PDFSuiteInstaller a free program and uninstalled the Acrobat reader

Having the same Issue since yesterday 😞 

Same issue here, Acrobat Reader automatically uploaded the update tonight to my W7 PC and asked me to reboot.  Following the reboot the Adobe Reader is toast and I get pop up messages api-ms-win-core-winrt-l1-1-0.dll is missing as well as Error parsing C:\Windows\Microsoft.net\framework\v4.0.30319\config\machine.config  Parser returned error 0x80070005.  For some reason multiple attempts of going back to previous restore points fail (even in safe mode).  I need this fixed ASAP.

Idem pour moi que doit on faire svp merci

Now I can't even open files with another editor and I get an error.VCRUNTIME140.dll (or VCRUNTIME140_1.dll) I can't work anymore. Please reply.

Hi All,

The product team has identified the root cause and is working on a fix. We will provide an update soon after the fix is available with the public release.

Regards,

Anand Sri.

Looks like the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader version compatible with Windows 7 is 25.001.20997:
https://ardownload3.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/win/AcrobatDC/2500120997/AcroRdrDC2500120997_en_US.exe

(It’s 32-bit, and looks like its 64-bit version doesn’t exist.)

At least that’s the version that works under Windows 7, that downloads from a localized regional version (I replaced regional suffix with `en_US` in the distro URL) of the https://get.adobe.com/reader/ page (the default English version downloads the problematic version 25.001.21223 incompatible with Windows 7).

After installing the compatible version 25.001.20997, it makes sense to disable “Adobe Acrobat Update Task” in Windows Task Scheduler to prevent further auto-updating to incompatible versions. I also replaced all `*.exe` files in the `C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0` folder with `DoNothing.exe` that does nothing and closes itself immediately right after starting, thus effectively disabling autostart of corresponding applications.

And yes, a good developer NEVER blindly auto-updates to a version incompatible with the current OS version, and only auto-updates to the latest version COMPATIBLE with the current OS version.