SERIOUS ADOBE ACROBAT PROFESSIONAL 8 ERROR

I too ran into this 'error' problem after purchasing a downloaded upgrade version from the adobe site (Acrobat 7 Pro to Acrobat 8.1 Pro). I uninstalled and reinstalled several times but continued to get the error and program shut down.

to fix the install problem I:

uninstalled Acrobat 8.1.

then I checked for and deleted the adobe folder under Program Files (I had folder and file reference left from Acrobat 7 in there too).

then went into the "All Users" profile and delete 'adobe' and 'FLEXnet' folders in '\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data'.

then I went into my user account (Darryl) and deleted 'adobe' folders in '\Documents and Settings\Darryl\Application Data' and '\Documents and Settings\Darryl\Local Settings\Application Data'.

then I deleted all the files in '\Documents and Settings\Darryl\Local Settings\Temp'(except for those currently being used).

then I ran a registry cleaning utility 'Registry Mechanic' on my registry (it found a lot of orphaned references for adobe).

finally I rebooted and turned off my anti-virus/spyware (Spyware Doctor) and turned off windows firewall.

When I installed again, installation went fine and was able to activate. I turned my anti-virus/spyware and windows firewall back on and have loaded and unloaded serveral times now and it seems to be working.

I dont know yet if this is a long term fix or not. I will have to run for awhile to see.

I wonder if there was a combination of left over file and regisrty entries from my installation of Acrobat 7 that was wacking the activiation process?

anyway, hope this helps someone else, I was extreemly frustrated with this problem as I have become VERY dependant on this tool.

Matthew,

It can be turned off completely in Windows Vista via running "As Administrator" in the command prompt with bcdedit.exe. But again the suggestion was ONLY meant as a troubleshooting test. If it didn't work then it didn't work. Yet, another item on the list of things to check that wasn't the cause.

Good luck,
Sabian

Sabian, turning off Data Execution Prevention is impossible for Acrobat. And since it's not having a problem with FNP...exe, there's no reason to turn it off. (Certain programs require DEP to be turned on).

I've tried just about everything I can think of so far. I've done a repair, but not a complete reinstall. My philosophy here is that if it worked once, I should be able to make it work again without a reinstall. If I remember correctly, 8.1 worked once or twice just after the upgrade before things went totally downhill.

"Serious Error" in Acrobat 8
----------------------------
I actually found somethat that fixed my system (from Adobe tech support)

I'm running Windows XP 2002 and was upgrading to CS3. The CS3 upgrade caused Acrobat to display the "Serious Error..." dialog box then shut the program down.

Here's what tech support told me to do that actually has it now working on my machine:

1. Deactive CS3 through PhotoShop or Illustrator
2. Uninstall the CS3 suite
3. Make sure All versions of Acrobat are deleted or uninstalled.
4. Go to C:\Documents & Settings\All Users\Application Data -then delete the Flex Net folder.
5. Reinstall the CS3 suite.

I had tried several times to uninstall the CS3 suite, reinstall it, and that same problem kept happening. This method seems to have fixed it on my pc.

The NX bit is DEP (Data Execution Prevention).

Here is a description from Wikipedia. There is probably more informatin on Microsoft.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NX_bit

Here is the tool that can be used to enable disable NX/DEP.

bcdedit.exe
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/EN-US/library/aa906211.aspx

Again I would suggest this as a test ONLY.

Sabian

Sabian, could you be a bit more specific?

I have question... and ONLY as a test. Has anyone tried turning off the NX bit to see if it makes a difference?

Sabian

Jeff, tried several things. First of which was attempting to run FNP...exe as Administrator. I get the UAC prompt, then a blank command window for a half-second and then nothing. The process doesn't appear in my Task Manager or listed as "started" in the Service Control Manager in Vista. I've tried running the exe in compatibility mode, as admin, as just a regular user, from a normal and elevated command prompt and the same thing happens every time. If I go to the Service Manager though, I *can* start it from there without a problem.

The same is true for my laptop with the working copy of Acrobat Pro 8.1

No change in the functionality of Acrobat on the desktop. It starts up, sits there for 7ish seconds and then crashes. After clicking OK in the Acrobat crash window and Acrobat closing, I get the standard "This program has stopped working" message from Windows. AFTER that, I then get a message bubble in my system tray saying that Data Execution Prevention (DEP) has prevented Acrobat.exe from harming my computer. I can't for the world figure out why DEP is getting involved, but it must be detecting some sort of action by Acrobat that it thinks is malicious.

This is NOT a permissions problem (as far as users, Vista, UAC, etc goes), I can be almost 100% sure of that. If this were a permissions issue on the user account side of things, it would be localized to users running Vista with UAC turned on. Turning off UAC or running on XP would solve the issue. As Jeff has already noted, this lies purely with a licensing issue. Perhaps we should be talking to Macrovision support on this one? Seems as though the FLEXnet product might be causing the adverse side effects. FLEXnet is a Macrovision product. Macrovision is not owned by Adobe, correct?

Jeff,
I have been dealing with Adobe tech support ( or attempting to anyway) for several weeks now on this issue.
The last request I received from them ( tech support) was a request for me to forward them the log files from my pc covering the issue with adobe acrobat.
I have sent these several times but am still waiting on a reply with further steps/a remedie for the issue.
Would it assist you if I sent you the log files?
I am at an impass here with software that does not work and tech support I can get no reply from.

Ian

Reading Matthew Hamann's post I wonder if on the machine that is failing if you close FNPLicensingServices.exe, then right-click on the file and select run as Admin, then launch Acrobat if it helps? It would be one way to troubleshoot a permission problem on Vista as suggested. Can you try and report Matthew?
Thanks
Jeff