Illustrator multiple problems while saving pdf and stops working. What the problem?

Hello Bill, thank you for your help!

I tried your method, but it seems I haven't had any success. I appreciate it, though.

It looks like this issue is beyond the solutions I've found so far.

This problem started after a couple of updates, but there hasn't been a solution yet.

I have this exact problem, and the update only fixed it temporarily. If I save a PDF with a 187 KB pic I get significantly different results depending on which version of AI I use. On version 30.2.8 is saves as 1777KB and version 29.8.11 the same files saves as 107KB with the EXACT same preferences and presets. I am uninstalling the newest update and going back to the older version. I have dealt with this for months and it isn’t getting fixed by adobe

Are you seeing any problems with other applications on your computer? If I was seeing error messages involving “I/O” (input/output) I would be running some hard disc cleanup tools, checking for various hardware driver updates and making sure any attached peripherals, such as a graphics tablet, were working properly.

Normally the Adobe CC Cleaner tool will get rid of any app corruption issues not solved by deleting Illustrator Preferences and/or signing out/in the Adobe CC account. Since the issue is persisting even after doing a clean uninstall-reinstall of Illustrator it makes me wonder if there could be another issue present in the computer system.

You said that you had done a reinstall but you did not mention whether you had deleted your old preference files. Resetting preferences restores the program to its defaults which usually fixes performance issues.

To reset preferences:

For Macintosh Users: The User Library folder in which Illustrator’s preferences are stored is hidden by default on most Macintoshes. To access it make sure that Illustrator is closed and click on the desktop to launch a Finder Window (Command-N).With this window in column view follow the path User>Home folder (it’s the folder with an icon that looks like a house—it may have the user’s name rather than “Home”) and click on the Home folder. With the Option Key pressed choose Library from the Finder Go Menu. “Library” will now appear within the Home folder. Within the Library folder find the folder called Preferences and within it find the folder called “Adobe Illustrator <Version #> Settings” (earlier versions of Illustrator might just say “Adobe Illustrator”) and the file called “com.adobe.Illustrator.plist” and delete both that folder and that file. When Illustrator is next launched it will create new preference files and the program will be restored to its defaults.

For Windows Users: You can try the quick way of resetting on a PC which is to hold down Ctrl + Alt + Shift when launching Illustrator and respond affirmatively when asked if you want to reset. There have been some recent reports that the window asking if you want to reset is not popping up but that the prefs are being reset anyway. If this works great but if it doesn’t you may have to manually delete them.

To do so:

The preference files are hidden. To find them go to the Control Panel and open Folder Options and then click the View tab. Then select “Show hidden files and folders” or “Show hidden files, folders or drive options” in Advanced Settings. Then delete (or rename) the folder at the end of this path: C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator [version number]\ Settings\<Language>. Make sure that Illustrator is closed when you do this. When you relaunch the program it will create  new preference files and the program will be at its default settings.

The advantage of manually deleting preference files is that after you’ve reset up the program (make sure that no document window is open) to your liking, you can create copies of your personalized “mint” preference files (make sure that you quit the program before copying them—that finalizes your customization) and use them in the future to replace any corrupt versions you may need to delete.