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How to troubleshoot Acrobat not responding or freezing

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
July 18, 2025
21 replies
11107 views

Good afternoon,

There seems to be an issue after the latest update (25.001.20577) with Adobe Acrobat not responding. Sometimes Acrobat will freeze and we'll need to use task manager to close it out. Most of the time there's a long delay and Acrobat displays "Not responding" but will eventually load.

We've attempted to resolve this by running a repair. When this didn't work, we tried using Adobe Cleaner tools to remove Adobe and reinstalled from Creative Cloud.

I've seen posts from past years with a similar issue. I've tried everything suggested in those posts including turning off online storage options, disabling protected view, and disabling new acrobat.

Please advise. This is greatly affecting many of our user's workflows.

Correct answer BaniVerma

Hi all,

How do I troubleshoot Acrobat not responding or freezing?

If Acrobat stops responding or appears to freeze while opening, viewing, or scrolling through PDF files, follow this structured troubleshooting workflow sequentially until the issue is resolved. Beginning with the supported maintenance steps helps isolate whether the issue is related to the application, the PDF itself, or the local environment before moving to more advanced diagnostics.

Start with these steps, in order:

Update Acrobat to the latest available version.
Restart your computer.
Run Menu > Help > Repair Installation (Windows).
Test the same PDF again to determine whether the behavior has changed.

If Acrobat responds normally after one of these steps, no additional troubleshooting is typically required. If the issue continues, move to the workflow below.

Adobe troubleshooting resources:

Acrobat is not responding and shows a running instance error: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/troubleshoot/performance-issues/acrobat-run-error.html
Acrobat performance, crashes, and responsiveness: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/troubleshoot/performance-issues/acrobat-crashes.html
Troubleshoot PDF files that won't open: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/cant-open-pdf.html

Should I temporarily disable Protected Mode while troubleshooting?

Protected Mode is enabled by default and is Acrobat's primary sandboxing security feature. Leave Protected Mode enabled during normal use.

As part of troubleshooting, you can temporarily disable Protected Mode to determine whether a compatibility issue is contributing to the behavior. This is intended only as a diagnostic step, not a permanent configuration.

After testing, re-enable Protected Mode so Acrobat continues to benefit from its built-in security protections.

If temporarily disabling Protected Mode changes the behavior, it may indicate a compatibility issue in the local environment. Updating third-party security software, plug-ins, or other components is the recommended long-term solution, rather than leaving Protected Mode disabled.

Reference: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/protected-mode-troubleshooting.html

What if temporarily disabling Protected Mode changes the behavior?

If the issue is related to...	Recommended next step
Third-party security software	Update the security software and test again
Plug-ins or extensions	Update or temporarily remove incompatible plug-ins while testing
A specific PDF file	Test with other PDF files to determine whether the issue is document-specific
The Acrobat installation	Repair the installation (Windows) or continue with the remaining steps

The recommended long-term approach is to identify and resolve the underlying compatibility issue, rather than leaving Protected Mode disabled.

Reference: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/protected-mode-troubleshooting.html

What should I do if the issue persists?

If Acrobat continues to stop responding after you've worked through the steps above in order, collect Adobe Acrobat Diagnostics logs while reproducing the issue and share them with Adobe Support.

Acrobat Diagnostics collects product logs, process information, and relevant system information that can help Adobe Support investigate application responsiveness, crashes, and performance related behavior more efficiently.

If the issue still isn't resolved after contacting Support, you can also check or post in the Acrobat community, where other users and Adobe staff may have encountered the same issue.

References

Acrobat Diagnostics: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/acrobat-diagnostics.html
Contact Adobe Support: https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html
Acrobat community: https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat/ct-p/ct-acrobat

Thanks,

^BS

BaniVerma

Correct answer

Community Manager

Hi all,

How do I troubleshoot Acrobat not responding or freezing?

If Acrobat stops responding or appears to freeze while opening, viewing, or scrolling through PDF files, follow this structured troubleshooting workflow sequentially until the issue is resolved. Beginning with the supported maintenance steps helps isolate whether the issue is related to the application, the PDF itself, or the local environment before moving to more advanced diagnostics.

Start with these steps, in order:

Update Acrobat to the latest available version.
Restart your computer.
Run Menu > Help > Repair Installation (Windows).
Test the same PDF again to determine whether the behavior has changed.

If Acrobat responds normally after one of these steps, no additional troubleshooting is typically required. If the issue continues, move to the workflow below.

Adobe troubleshooting resources:

Acrobat is not responding and shows a running instance error: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/troubleshoot/performance-issues/acrobat-run-error.html
Acrobat performance, crashes, and responsiveness: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/troubleshoot/performance-issues/acrobat-crashes.html
Troubleshoot PDF files that won't open: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/cant-open-pdf.html

Should I temporarily disable Protected Mode while troubleshooting?

Protected Mode is enabled by default and is Acrobat's primary sandboxing security feature. Leave Protected Mode enabled during normal use.

As part of troubleshooting, you can temporarily disable Protected Mode to determine whether a compatibility issue is contributing to the behavior. This is intended only as a diagnostic step, not a permanent configuration.

After testing, re-enable Protected Mode so Acrobat continues to benefit from its built-in security protections.

If temporarily disabling Protected Mode changes the behavior, it may indicate a compatibility issue in the local environment. Updating third-party security software, plug-ins, or other components is the recommended long-term solution, rather than leaving Protected Mode disabled.

Reference: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/protected-mode-troubleshooting.html

What if temporarily disabling Protected Mode changes the behavior?

If the issue is related to...	Recommended next step
Third-party security software	Update the security software and test again
Plug-ins or extensions	Update or temporarily remove incompatible plug-ins while testing
A specific PDF file	Test with other PDF files to determine whether the issue is document-specific
The Acrobat installation	Repair the installation (Windows) or continue with the remaining steps

The recommended long-term approach is to identify and resolve the underlying compatibility issue, rather than leaving Protected Mode disabled.

Reference: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/protected-mode-troubleshooting.html

What should I do if the issue persists?

If Acrobat continues to stop responding after you've worked through the steps above in order, collect Adobe Acrobat Diagnostics logs while reproducing the issue and share them with Adobe Support.

Acrobat Diagnostics collects product logs, process information, and relevant system information that can help Adobe Support investigate application responsiveness, crashes, and performance related behavior more efficiently.

If the issue still isn't resolved after contacting Support, you can also check or post in the Acrobat community, where other users and Adobe staff may have encountered the same issue.

References

Acrobat Diagnostics: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/acrobat-diagnostics.html
Contact Adobe Support: https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html
Acrobat community: https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat/ct-p/ct-acrobat

Thanks,

^BS

F

Flexus2021

Participant

This issue is still with us. Adobe Acrobat freezes for minutes when scrolling through the document. If the PDF is longer, the freezes happen more frequently. Doesn’t matter the source of the document, the Protected View’s state, etc. Other programs are running well, without any problem; the computer has enough resources (memory, CPU, etc.). The situation keeps worsening when the scrolling direction changes or right after opening a document. I think we are (the users En Gross) paying enough money to be able to use a working program. This doesn’t seem to be one of those.

Before you ask to run tons of useless tests, videos, etc., it would be worth considering that something serious may have gone wrong with this program, given the many complaints about the same issue in previous years. Don’t point fingers at the users; solve the problem.

Meenakshi0101

Community Manager

Hi Flexus2021,

We're sorry to hear about your experience with the application.

We understand that it can be frustrating when the issue occurs frequently and disrupts the daily workflow. To help us investigate this behaviour further, we kindly ask for your assistance in collecting logs and sharing them with us. This information will enable our team to conduct a more thorough investigation.

You can follow the steps outlined in the following help document: Adobe Acrobat Diagnostics.

We look forward to receiving the information from you.

Thanks,

Meenakshi

andyK

Participant

Hi, I subscribe to ADOBE for Acrobat and recently every file I try to edit just freezes the app. This is really frustrating and unacceptable - I use the app for work and this is costing me time and money - why are ADOBE not fixing this if it is a known issue?

T

Tariq Ahmad Dar

Community Manager

Hi @andyK,

I’m really sorry to hear about this. I completely understand how disruptive this is, especially when you rely on Acrobat for work. Freezing during editing is not the experience we want for you, and I appreciate you bringing it to my attention.

To help fix this quickly, could you please confirm:

Your Acrobat version, go to Help and then About: https://adobe.ly/3PQQ7nE
Your operating system
Does it happen with all files or just specific PDFs
Please share a short video of the workflow and the issue

In the meantime, please try these quick steps:

Go to Help and click Check for Updates, make sure Acrobat is fully updated
Restart Acrobat and your system
Try opening a different PDF to check if the issue is file-specific
Go to Help and click Repair Installation (applicable to windows machine only)

We’ll work with you to get this resolved as soon as possible. Looking forward to your details.

~Tariq

D

devid_7061

Participant

I’ve experienced Acrobat freezing, especially when switching between files and browser windows. It happened recently while viewing this webpage alongside a large PDF. Have you tried updating your Acrobat version or clearing temporary cache files to see if that helps?

A

Andrea36756568fewx

Participant

I uninstalled Grammarly, no more issues.

N

NorskyGirl

Participant

I don’t have grammarly. So what would be my cause? Maybe it is chrome?

I

issaacrAuthor

Participating Frequently

I ended up opening a ticket with Adobe Support. The below steps seems to have resolved the issue for one PC so far.

Greetings from Adobe.

Hope this email finds you well. We are thankful that you chose Adobe Acrobat.

We appreciate your cooperation. This Email is regarding the open case that we have, and we want to make sure your issue has been taken care of to our best and as per your satisfaction.

Below are the steps to remove Adobe from your computer.
>>Open the Control Panel and navigate to Programs and Features.
>>Select Acrobat Installation and click uninstall (repeat this step if there is more than one installation). Note: Continue to uninstall even if the app prompts a security alert.
>>Navigate to to Windows folder (C:/ drive)
>>Open Program Files and delete Adobe Folders. Open the 'Common Files' folder. Repeat the same step for the Program Files (x86) Folder.
>>While staying in the Windows drive, click on 'View' (top left corner) and check mark 'Hidden Files'.
>>Open the 'Program Data' Folder and delete the Adobe folders.
>>Go back to the main Windows Drive and open the 'Users' folder.
>>Open the folder that matches your profile.
>>Delete Adobe folders from within all three folders. (Local, LocalLow, Roaming)
>>Open 'Registry Editor' (search 'regedit' in Windows search at the bottom) (Note: If you do not see a folder named Adobe in the mentioned folders, you may skip them.)
>>Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER (click on the arrow beside the folder).
>>Further, expand Software and delete Adobe files.
>>Collapse HKEY_CURRENT_USER and expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
>>Further, expand Software and delete Adobe files.
>>Open your browser, click on the 3 dots in the top right corner, click on settings/extensions (depending upon your browser), from settings open extensions and delete/remove any Adobe plugins.
>>Restart your PC.

Locations from manual cleanup should be done

C:\Program Files\Adobe
- C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe
- C:\Program Files (x86) \Adobe
- C:\Program Files (x86) \ Common Files\ Adobe
- C:\Program Data\Adobe
- C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Local\Adobe
- C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Adobe

*NOTE: Please make sure that you have removed all the Adobe products from the user's computer before performing the manual cleanup.

I

issaacrAuthor

Participating Frequently

This seems to only temporarily resolve the freezing/not responding issues. Any other suggestions or known fixes?

Souvik Sadhu

Legend

Hi @issaacr,

Hope you are doing well. Sorry for your experience with Acrobat Pro DC.

Do the users see this when trying to open a file? Can you let us know if the situation is the same when the app is opened, simply by double-clicking the app icon?

Also, please help us gather logs from your machine: https://adobe.ly/4l1gBRA. Please make sure Procmon is selected. You can upload logs using this tool and share your Unique log ID with us.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
Souvik.