Huge Problem with Adobe Software and PDF files

[KimmyZ]

My computer operating system is Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 3 installed.  Everything was running perfectly until about 2 weeks ago. I have Windows and Adobe set up to run automatic updates whenever they're available.  I'm not sure what Adobe update was installed, but immediately after it installed, I could not open any PDF file without my computer crashing.  Also, whenever I try to start Adobe Acrobat Pro or Photoshop, my computer suddenly also crashes.  I tried uninstalling Acrobat Pro, but when I tried that it also caused my computer to crash!  So now I can't even uninstall any of my Adobe software!

All my Microsoft software is running perfectly (Word, Excel, Outlook).  My Internet browser (IE) is working just fine.  Why are my Adobe software packages and PDF files the only things not working?  And why can't I even uninstall any of it?  I looked to see if I had any Acrobat Reader installed (free one), but Windows doesn't list anything like that under the list of installed programs.  It just shows that Acrobat Pro, Photoshop, Flash and a few other Adobe programs are installed.

I've always used McAfee anti-virus software, and have never had any virus problems.  I don't think this is a virus, because I can open my PDF files on other computers without any problems.  So the files themselves aren't affected.

How can I solve this terrible problem, and how can I prevent it from happening again?

[Bill12]

Not sure what version of Acrobat you are running. However, if you can not get into Acrobat at all then you might try the repair. Go to the Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel and select Acrobat. When it comes up, ask to repair. You might also download the latest update from http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=1&platform=Windows and reinstall it. When you can open Acrobat, you can check the version number under Help>About ....

I suspect that you can also do repairs and updates on PhotoShop.

[KimmyZ]

I have Acrobat 9 Pro. This update installed automatically not long ago: 9.5.1 – CPSID_83708.

I tried uninstalling Acrobat 9 Pro twice, but it wouldn’t let me. When I attempt to uninstall it, my computer crashes. When I click on the update, I get this error message: “This update cannot be removed.” (See screen shot below.)

I’ve never seen anything like this before in all my years of computer use! I was able to do a “repair” of Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro. However, after rebooting (as I was instructed to do), my computer still crashes a few seconds after I open the program. None of my other Adobe software works either. If I try to open ANYTHING that has anything to do with Adobe software, my computer crashes immediately. When I try to uninstall it, it also crashes my computer.

Acrobat cannot be removed.jpg

As I mentioned in my post, there’s nothing wrong with any of my PDF files, though trying to view them with the Acrobat Pro or Adobe Reader also caused my computer to crash. In a desperate attempt to at LEAST get to view and print my PDFs, this morning a downloaded a free PDF reader called FoxIt Reader. This reader will allow me to open, view and print my PDF files without crashing my computer. However, since Acrobat no longer works, I can’t CREATE any PDFs. So it appears that I wasted all my money on the very expensive Adobe software. Not only will it not run, but I can’t even uninstall it!

All of my non-Adobe software is working just fine, as is my email and Internet browser (IE8). I tried uninstalling the Flash Player, but that didn’t help. My computer still crashes every time I try to open the Acrobat Pro or Photoshop. I originally purchased Adobe Creative Suite 2. Then I upgraded JUST the Photoshop and Illustrator to CS4. Until a few weeks ago, everything was working fine. I didn’t change anything on my computer, so I can only guess that it was some automatic update that caused this huge problem.

Karin Zalec

650-862-6134

kz_computerarts@att.net

[Guest]

Try using this utility from Adobe to remove Acrobat 9.

http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/acrobatcleaner.html

[KimmyZ]

Sabian,

Thanks for this utility. The first time I ran it, it caused my computer to crash half way through the uninstall of Acrobat 9 Pro. Then I tried it again and I was finally successful in removing the entire standalone version of Acrobat 9 Pro as well as the update 9.5.1 – CPSID_83708.

Unfortunately, it did not solve my problem. All of my other Adobe software still will not work. As soon as I try to open any program, it causes my computer to crash.

I’m now wondering if there’s some virus that only attacks Adobe software? All of my Microsoft software is working fine (Outlook, Word, Excel, etc), including my Internet browser, IE8. I was wondering if there was something wrong with my registry when it comes to .exe files, but I checked there and everything looks like it should look. Also, my Microsoft and other .exe programs are working fine – only my Adobe software won’t work (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.). And of course now I have no way to create PDF files. The free Foxit Reader works as long as it’s set to be my default PDF reader. I didn’t use the latter until my Acrobat Pro was uninstalled. At least I can now view and print PDF files. But I need to be able to create PDF files as well. And I spent a lot of money on all of my Adobe software.

I’ve used McAfee anti-virus software for many years without any problems. This is my first very bad experience. I really don’t think I have any virus, but I can’t be sure. McAfee does a full scan every day now. It says that my computer is clean. I also tried using a couple of registry cleaners, but that didn’t help. I’m just about to give up because I don’t know what else I can do to get my Adobe software running.

Kimmy

[Test Screen Name]

When you say the compter crashes, you mean it gets a "blue screen of death" and stops? Or something else?

This is important because Windows is designed so an ordinary app like Acrobat can't crash it by accident or even deliberately, so if you do get a blue screen of death, something is badly wrong with Windows (or perhaps with the computer, since hardware faults can do it).

[Bill12]

Also note that install and uninstall operations typically require anti-virus to be deactivated during that time period. Some of the downloads from Adobe even say that for the download. The fact that you mentioned McAfee suggests that may be a potential problem.

[KimmyZ]

I have AUTOMATIC updated enabled, so I guess I’ll have to change that. With automatic updates, there’s no opportunity to turn off anti-virus software. I’m not sure I’d want to be downloading updates from the Internet without some kind of protection though. I’ve never received any messages from Adobe to turn off my anti-virus software before installing.

I did disable McAfee to see if my Adobe software would function without McAfee running. It made no difference. Anytime I try to use Photoshop, Illustrator or even the free Adobe Reader, my computer crashes within about 5 seconds. I’m still able to use the Foxit Reader without any problems, however.

When I reinstall Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro, I’ll turn off McAfee first. I doubt that reinstalling is going to help. I have a feeling that my registry somehow got screwed up. I’ve tried a couple of the free “registry cleaners”, but that didn’t help. Which ones do you recommend?

Thanks for your advice.

Karin Zalec (“Kimmy”)

[KimmyZ]

I have Windows set up to automatically reboot if the system crashes. So I never actually see the BSOD. Whenever I try to open any Adobe software, the system shuts down within 5 seconds or so and then reboots itself. All of my other software (Microsoft Word, Excel, etc, ) works just fine, including the free Foxit PDF Reader that I downloaded in desperation recently. I’m having no other problems except with my Adobe software (Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, etc.). Yesterday I managed to uninstall Acrobat 9 Pro with the help of a special utility that someone from your forum emailed to me. Without that, I wasn’t even able to uninstall. See my message below. (“This update cannot be removed.”) I had never seen anything like that before. The utility did eventually remove my Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro, but the first time I tried, even the utility caused my computer to crash. I was successful on the second attempt, though. So now I have no way to create PDFs or use any of my other Adobe software.

Karin Zalec

650-862-6134

Kz_computerarts@att.net

Acrobat cannot be removed.jpg

[Test Screen Name]

Sounds very bad. But I stand by what I said, though you may not believe it: if an ordinary app crashes the system, the app CANNOT be at fault; it must be the system or hardware. (Or something that extends the system, like a driver).

[KimmyZ]

It’s not that I don’t believe you. I’m just wondering why all my other software is working fine. Only the Adobe software causes the system to crash. Is there some driver that’s only used by Adobe software?

Kimmy

[Bill12]

It could be a memory problem -- typical of the BSOD problem. I was installing some new RAM to my wife's computer and run a memory check on it. It turns out the old memory stick was bad. I removed it and am waiting to see if she has any more BSOD messages. I used Memtest86. It might be worth a check on the memory. It may be that Acrobat is just hitting the wrong part of memory and causing the crash.

[dave_m_k]

Kimmy,

Have you tried booting into Safe Mode?  Do the crashes still occur then?

-David

[KimmyZ]

How do I run a memory check?

Thanks for the tip.

Kimmy

[Bill12]

You can do a memory test with programs like MemTest86. I use the one that comes with the Ultimate Boot CD 4 WIndows distribution.

[KimmyZ]

Thanks. I’ll see if anything like that came with my Windows XP Pro CDs.

Kimmy

[Bill12]

There are often memory check programs that come with PC distributions. One of my machines has diagnostic routines that include a memory check (not part of the OS, but part of the machine software).

[wgrayson]

Hello, I am a new follower to this thread. I seem to be having the same problem with Acrobat 9.5.1 with a BSOD.  Bill@VT suggested hardware or memory problems --- that was my first thought 2 weeks ago, but MS's memory diagnostic tool said the memory sticks were fine.  I get a BSOD only when I open any PDF related program.  However, it appears that all of my other Adobe products are behaving normally.

What folders do I manually delete to rid myself of Acrobat?  There are a few folders in "Shared" files, as well as registry  files I need to remove, but I can't remember where they are.  I had the same issue(!) with Acrobat 8 on WinXP Pro 2 years ago.  Any help would be appreciated.  Thank you.

P.S.  I am running Win 7 pro 64 bit.

W!

[Bill12]

Just deleting Acrobat folders is what leads to things like BSOD. You need to properly uninstall Acrobat if you are wanting to get rid of it. That is done from the Programs & Preferences menu in the Control Panel. Normally you would want to deactivate first. Before going to the extreme of uninstalling and reinstalling (always good idea to run the cleanup tool before any reinstall), try a repair on the installation from the same menu and selection.

[wgrayson]

Yes, Bill@VT. You are correct.  But the problem is that I get a BSOD when I try and delete the Acrobat using the regular methods.  When I try and delete it through the standard control panel method in safe mode, I get a "Windows installer not properly configured" and I am unable to delete the program ---- which is why I'm a bit frustrated.

[Bill12]

I think there are some MS posts about the WIndows installer and cases of being corrupt. I have seen such posts (didn't mention the BSOD) and the link to download an updated installer. It sounds like a MS issue and not an Adobe issue, though getting a BSOD when running Acrobat seems problematic. Sure sounds like a lot more is going on with your system. I do not know how complete the MS memory diagnostic is. If you have more than one memory stick, you might try switching them (if possible) and see if things change. If so, it still would point to a bad memory stick. As I mentioned, my wife has not had a BSOD since I change the memory (and that keeps a happy wife!). I had use memchk86 for that test.

[KimmyZ]

DRS_2 has solved my problem. Please read my reply to DRS_2 on the Adobe forum. And thanks so much for taking the time to reply to my serious problem!

KimmyZ

[wgrayson]

Kimmymz and DRS_2 --- thanks again for the answer for ADOBE 9 PROFESSIONAL CRASHING BSOD CANNOT UNINSTALL WINDOWS 7 because of a trojan that is not detected by Mcafee or other major virus scanners.  If you are following this thread, you understand why I've posted this thank you message with words in all caps twice so hopefully others can find it.

[DRS_2 · Accepted solution]

I also was getting BSOD (& hard crash) after the 9.5.2 update. It would crash every time I tried to print to PDF and when I tried to repair Acrobat. It also crashed a few times randomly. After two long days, I found the problem. I somehow got rootkit virus. After running Kapersky's Anti-rootkit Utility TDSSKiller, removing the infected files and rebooting, I no longer have any BSOds. Try this first, it's free, and may save you many hours of troubleshooting.

[KimmyZ]

DRS_2, you have SAVED MY LIFE!!!!  I certainly do appreciate all the help and suggestions from Bill, etc., but DRS_2 has hit the nail on the head!

I’ve never been too worried about viruses, because I’ve always used McAfee Anti-Virus software.  Well, it turns out that my home computer DID have the “Rootkit.Boot.Pihar.C” trojan virus!  I had done several scans with the McAfee which said everything was A-Okay.  NOT!  I downloaded the free fix here:

http://support.kaspersky.com/faq/?qid=208283363

The file is called “TDSSKILLER.exe”.  I downloaded this file to my C: drive and ran it.  Once I did the scan with this fantastic free utility, it immediately found the Rootkit virus on my C: drive that had been preventing any of my (non-Microsoft) software from running!  It did a “cure”, at which time my McAfee FINALLY popped up with this message (trying to take credit, ha, ha!):

"McAfee automatically detected and removed a trojan from your P.C.  No further action is required."

McAfee had little to do with it!!!!   And further action WAS required (reboot).  After I rebooted my computer, everything was working just fine once again!  Whew!!!  What a relief.  I have no money for a new computer, but I assure you, I won’t be renewing my subscription to McAfee at the end of the year when it expires.  They are obviously not up to speed on the latest virus protection.  If not for the Kaspersky utility (and DRS_2!!!), my computer would still be pretty much useless.  It's sort of odd that this trojan virus does not affect Microsoft software - just everything else.  Anyway, it's SO nice to have my major software packages all running!  Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to reply.  Perhaps someone else will read this and it will solve their problem too.