Need help installing Acrobat 7 on Windows 7

[kfransc]

I can't get Acrobat 7 to install onto my Windows 7 even though it was working fine on the same computer before I had to re-install the Windows 7 OS onto it from scratch last week. It locks up at the opening of a window that states "Error 1303. The installer has insufficient privileges to access the directory: C:\Program Files ((x86)\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Acrobat. THe installation cannot continue. Log on as an administrator or contact your system administrator."  What do I need to do?

[try67]

The activation servers for Acrobat 7 have been discontinued. You can't install it on a new machine, nor should you, as it's a very old version that's not compatible with any current OS.

[kfransc]

Then why was it functioning perfectly on my computer before I had to re-install Windows 7? It just doesn't make sense.

[gener7]

The servers act as a one time approval of your install.  Reinstall and approval is needed, but the service is no longer there.

Adobe has not left you high and dry. Visit this link for a free non activation copy with a serial number.

Download the installer and use the serial number next to it. Forget about your old disc and serial, it is useless.

Download Adobe Acrobat 7 and Adobe Creative Suite 2 products

Gene

[Dov Isaacs · Accepted solution]

On behalf of Adobe …

Yes, due to the shutdown of the activation servers for Acrobat 7 and CS2, Adobe has provided an alternative at Download Adobe Acrobat 7 and Adobe Creative Suite 2 products per Gene's posting. That deals solely with the issue of serial number and activation.

However, Acrobat 7 was never, repeat never, repeat yet again never fully installable or operational under Windows 7. You may have been able to get the actual “Acrobat” program to install, but a key portion of the software, the Adobe PDF PostScript printer driver instance from which you could “print” from any application to produce a PDF file simply does not fully or properly install in any version of Windows beyond 32-bit Windows XP and certainly not on any 64-bit version of Windows (including Windows XP).

The first version of Acrobat that will fully and properly install on Windows Vista and beyond and all 64-bit versions of Windows is Acrobat 8.1, an update from Acrobat 8 as originally released. (This had to do with changes in the print spooling system from Microsoft as well as issues of dealing with a 64-bit OS!)

Perhaps your Windows 7 system was an upgrade from Windows XP? If so, that might explain how you got the installer to work last time (i.e., Acrobat was installed while it was still Windows XP?!?).

How can you install it partially now? Perhaps try running the installer as Administrator and/or disabling UAC (User Account Control)?

All that being said, you are dealing with software that is five major releases out of date, not compatible with your operating system version, and definitely not supported by Adobe Systems in any way, shape, or form. This is a situation where you really need to license the current version (Acrobat DC, previous versions are no longer licensed anew) to properly run on your system.

          - Dov

[gener7]

Thanks for the missing pieces, Dov.

I remember 7 as my first full copy of Acrobat going through Tech school. I've since moved to X, XI, and DC.

Because I moved on, I have never encountered those problems or even thought they existed.

Gene