Adobe Reader DC Crashes on WIN10 1607 due to Protected Mode (ON) or Compatibility Mode (OFF)

Question

I am having issues with Adobe Reader DC compatibility for Windows 10 1607.

On newly imaged clients Reader crashes after ~30 seconds.

I think that this has to do with Microsoft Updates for Windows 10 pushed in the past couple of months.

It doesn't matter if the install files are pushed via SCCM or downloaded from Adobe Website.

Once the Reader is installed the only way to keep it from crashing is to turn off bProtecedMode DWORD Value or delete it out of Registry.

I can not do that due to STIGs.

This is a GPO that is pushed to all of the machines and is tattooed in registry due to security measures on our network.

Is there a fix for this issue without disabling Protected Mode?

Also, I have found that enabling the compatibility mode for the USER to Windows 7 fixes the issue, but enabling the compatibility mode for ALL USERS to Windows 7 doesn't fix the issue. I did this via GUI and Command Line.

Command Script that I used for Current User (WORKS)

REG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers" /v "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\ Reader\AcroRd32.exe" /t REG_SZ /d "~ WIN7RTM" /f

Command Script that I used for Local Machine (DOESN'T WORK)

REG ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers" /v "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\AcroRd32.exe" /t REG_SZ /d "~ WIN7RTM" /f

Is there a reason why I'm experiencing this behavior?

Why does the Reader still crash when compatibility is enabled for all users, but works fine if it's enabled for current user? (Yes, I have sufficient admin privileges.)

The latest problem I am having is pushing this script via SCCM or GPO. The registry just will not take it.

It works just fine when I run the script or a .reg file from the desktop.

When it is pushed as a package via SCCM it shows installed in Software Center, but isn't showing up at all in the registry.

Same goes for a GPO. It will show up in gpresult, but it doesn't show up in registry.

Has anyone else encountered this issue?

Message was edited by: Izzy Mammadbayov

Tariq Dar · Answer

Hi Izzyrbryant,Sorry for the delay in response.I hope you already have found an answer/solution to this problem. Just want to check if the issue is still reproducible, if yes, would you help us with all the steps that you exhausted so far?If you already have found a workaround or a solution to this issue, please update this discussion with your findings that will help others.-Tariq Dar

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