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EnragedYak
EnragedYak
Inspiring
March 9, 2022
Resuelto

Acrobat scanning many black pages

  • March 9, 2022
  • 1 respuesta
  • 6649 visualizaciones

This is an issue that popped up recently.  It didn't seem to be tied to a Windows patch or Acrobat patch.

 

Windows 10 (Enterprise LTSC 2021 / 21H2) & Acrobat 2020.  Scanner is a Canon PIXMA MX512, attached via network (not USB).  The scanner driver provides a TWAIN driver for network scanning.

 

The issue is:  When I try to scan to PDF via Acrobat, I get a zillion black pages of output.  This happens even if scanning a single page.  I haven't tried leaving Acrobat open long enough to see how many black pages I eventually get, but I've seen it go up to 150 or more before I kill it from Task Manager.  It seems to start kicking out black pages like this before the scanning progress bar even indicates that it is done with the first page.

 

Patch level doesn't seem to matter.  Before blaming the scanner driver/software, I will note that the issue only occurs with Acrobat.  Other software that scans via TWAIN works fine (including Photoshop 32-bit).

 

Things I tried that failed to fix it:

  • Using "scanner native interface" option from Acrobat.  (The Canon TWAIN interface shows, but it still kicks out black pages.)
  • Uninstalling/reinstalling Acrobat.
  • Switching to latest version of Acrobat DC (installed trial version to check).
  • Uninstalling/reinstalling Canon scanner drivers (many times).
  • Removing TWAIN .dll files and then reinstalling scanner driver to put them back (as suggested by Acrobat documentation)

 

Things I tried that did fix it:

  • Installed Acrobat and the Canon software on a second PC on my network.  This setup works fine.  Right now I'm using the second PC to scan but it's a bit annoying to have to shuffle the files around between PCs.  I'd like to have it working on my primary.

 

Any ideas at all?  How can I fix this on my primary PC or reset Acrobat into working?  I don't want to do a whole fresh Windows install just to fix this.

 

Thanks,

Aaron

Este tema ha sido cerrado para respuestas.
Mejor respuesta de kentfry17190588
Thanks, but where are 'scanner options'. There are none in Windows 11 and none in Acrobat, only 'scanner settings' and the options suggested don't exist.

Kent Fry

Sent from Outlook for Android<>

I replaced the Microsoft drivers with the Canon drivers and now scanning works. I guess Acrobat doesn't work with the Microsoft drivers.

1 respuesta

Amal.
Community Manager
Amal.Community Manager
Community Manager
March 10, 2022

Hi Aaron

 

Hope you are doing well and sorry to hear that.

 

As described you are getting the black pages when trying to scan the document to PDF, also Acrobat DC is working fine on the secondary PC and the issue is specific to the primary PC.

 

Would you mind sharing the version of the OS of the primary PC?  Please check for any missing/pending OS updates and try updating it and check.

 

Also try to reset the Acrobat preferences as described here https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/how-to-reset-acrobat-preference-settings-to-default/td-p/4792082

 

You may also try to create a new test user profile with full admin rights in Win or enable the root account in Mac and try using the application there and check.

 

Regards

Amal

EnragedYak
EnragedYakAutor
Inspiring
March 10, 2022

Thanks for the reply.

 

The primary PC is running Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021 (Windows 10, version 21H2), build number 19044.1586.  There are no unapplied Windows patches.  Acrobat is version 2020.005.31314, but as noted, I have tried it with different versions of Acrobat with the same result.

 

I tried resetting the preferences as described.  Acrobat created a new preferences folder as expected.  The scanning issue remains the same...  Many black pages spitting out into Acrobat if I try to run a scan.

 

I tried using a different Windows profile on the same PC with the problem.  This worked, Acrobat was able to do a scan and get the scanned document rather than a bunch of black pages.  So, I guess I can confirm that it is something with my specific Windows profile that is causing the problem...  That gives me something to play with.

    EnragedYak
    EnragedYakAutor
    Inspiring
    March 10, 2022

    I ended up fixing the issue.

     

    I used SysInternals Process Monitor to check and see what files and registry entries Acrobat used while I opened it up and ran a scan.  I ended up going to safe mode and renaming these folders:

     

    C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Local\Adobe

    C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Local\Canon

    C:\Users\(username)\AppData\LocalLow\Adobe

    C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Adobe

    C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Canon

    HKCU\Software\Adobe

    HKCU\Software\Canon

    HKLM\Software\Canon

     

    Sort of a nuclear option, but it worked.  I did the operation from Safe Mode and after rebooting, I am now able to scan again, from my primary profile on my primary PC.

     

    I thought about doing some more granular trial and error to try and figure out exactly which file or registry entry was causing the issue...  But I don't want to put in the time.  I might look into it further if this issue happens again.  I can say that just doing the "Acrobat" folder inside of the "Adobe" folder was not enough to solve the problem.

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