adobe pro does not start after installation on macbook

[trace_9131]

I had been using Acrobat Pro on my MacBook with M2 Max chip,  MacOS 26.1. It opened PDF files, but would hang when exiting.

Attempting a fix, I uninstalled Acrobat, reset my MacBook, and reinstalled Acrobat. Now, when I try to open Acrobat from the Launchpad or from double-clicking a PDF, 2 Acrobat icons appear in the dock (Acrobat and Helper), but the app does not open a window. The dock says, "Application Not responding" for both.

After a few minutes, the Acrobat icon disappears from the dock; the Helper remains.

I repeated the uninstall / reset / install 3 times with no difference.

[trace_9131 · Accepted solution]

I solved my Adobe unresponsive problem by realizing that the failure persisted across Adobe unnstalls / reinstalls. I opened a terminal window and used zsh shell commands to find and remove .plist files associated with Adobe. (These files are apparently left in place whan Acrobat is uninstalled.) I then reinstalled Adobe Pro and it works correctly.

Good, but it is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE THAT ADOBE DOES NOT HAVE A SUPPORT ORGANIZATION AVAILABLE TO INDIVIDUALS WHO SUBSCRIBE TO ACROBAT. EVEN PAYING FOR SUPPORT WOULD HAVE SAVED ME HOURS OF TRIAL-AND-ERROR WORK. I am fortunate that I had a career in software development hosted on Unix systems that gave me the background to take this approach. Many Adobe users will not have had that experience. Think about the consequence of Adobe's lack of support before you consider buying a paid subscription to any of its products!

[Meenakshi Negi]

Hi trace_9131,

I'm sorry for the trouble caused and the delay in getting back to you because of the weekend.

We see that you have already resolved the issue. We appreciate your sharing the steps that helped, as it will help others here in the community with similar problems. 

Please let us know if we can help you in any way.

Thanks,

Meenakshi