SERIOUS ADOBE ACROBAT PROFESSIONAL 8 ERROR

[_Phil_Stewart_]

Hi

I am using (or TRYING to use!) Adobe Acrobat Professional 8.
But every time it loads up I receive the following pop-up message:

"A serious error has been detected and Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional cannot continue. Please re-install the application and try again."

I click OK, and then another message appears:
"Acrobat.exe - Application Error
The instruction at "0x05bf1243" referenced memory at "0x12284e88". The memory could not be "written".
Click on OK to terminate the program"

I have tried uninstalling and re-installing but the error comes back!
What can I do?? Can ANYONE help?!!

[_Levanah_Tenen_]

Kevin, I'll send you the appropriate file from our foundation's XP-Pro laptop when I have access to it again. But working with me to solve the laptop's problem won't help my greater problem.

As I said in an earlier message, I successfully installed CS3 8.0 Professional from media I received from CompuMentor/Tech Soup on a new XP-Pro desktop which had never had any Adobe programs installed previously (I clean-installed XP-Pro myself). It works fine.

BUT -- I have the "Adobe Updater" totally disabled. I have no intention of updating any of my Adobe programs in any way until I know this won't ruin the usefulness of Acrobat on my new desktop too.

I run a small nonprofit foundation from this machine, and can't afford to have Acrobat disabled. If I understand other people correctly, once that happens, I may not even be able to get my old Acrobat 5.0 to work any more. (I really hope this isn't true, because that means the laptop's usefulness is close to toast.)

So finding individual workarounds doesn't help. I want to *know* that the software our Foundation paid for is going to work, and be updatable with updates that were intended to be included in the price we paid, and *still work*! Is that too much to ask?

As you can imagine I'm really unhappy.

If everyone's scenario is "similar but not identical", isn't there some common element underneath the similarities that you folks can find, and **fix**, and issue as Acrobat 8.2 -- telling people ahead of time just to skip 8.1 entirely??

Yes, I'm frustrated. I just hope I'm not missing important security updates by refusing to touch my current installation with a 10-foot pole until I'm assured it will still work afterwards.

Levanah

[_Seattle_1101_]

OK. So here are some questions that Adobe should answer.

The license agreement I presume applies to my software installation permits one copy at home or on a laptop. It appears to permit that second copy only for the licensed user, so that it has two different license setups. The one is a machine license and the second is a user license. Forget for the moment what this does for the user who needs more than one user profile or even a different user on more modern machines to serve as a workable backup or for other reasons. And forget for the moment if Adobe is now able to determine these uses. If Adobe were smart about this, they would disclose immediately what is being done to prevent installations, as should Symantec. Failure to do so involves actions inside one's computer that these companies should carefully consider before continuing this process.

For Adobe: PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR LICENSING SYSTEM, AND WHAT HAS CHANGED DURING THE PAST FEW WEEKS (OR MONTHS) AS APPROPRIATE. USERS HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW.

Next, the Deactivate portion in the Help | Activation menu works at times and at other times does not.

For Adobe: PLEASE LET US KNOW WHY THIS IS HAPPENING.

Installation is prevented in part by some portion of the operating system whether working in XP compatability mode or with the program working as an administator.

For Adobe: PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT IS NOT WORKING.

The major issue here is not automatic installation, it is the failure properly to instruct everyone on what is happening and why. There are undoubtedly other problems here since the printer is not functioning and other things are not working. Worse, Office 2007 is not working with Acrobat, one of the main (if not only) reason some of us have bought Acrobat.

For Adobe: PLEASE LET US KNOW WHETHER AND WHY YOUR SOFTWARE IS FAILING, AND WHAT ELSE CAN HAPPEN. IN PARTICULAR, PLEASE LET US KNOW IF WE CAN JUST BUY ANOTHER LICENSE AND THIS WILL BE CORRECTED. THIS DID NOT WORK WITH SYMANTEC, WITH WHOM I BOUGHT FIVE ADDITIONAL LICENSES AND THEY STILL DID NOT INSTALL. I BELIEVE, BUT AM NOT CERTAIN, THAT THEY OFFERED ME MONEY BACK ON ALL OF ONE TYPE OF THEIR SOFTWARE BUT NOT ON ANOTHER THAT I TRIED TO SEE IF IT WOULD WORK. ESSENTIALLY, ALL SOFTWARE FROM SYMANTEC FAILED TO WORK ON THIS BOX, REQUIRING ME TO STOP USING ALL OF IT. I HAD TRIED TO USE CS3, AND PLANNED TO BUY A FULL VERSION. NOW I AM ALMOST CERTAIN NOT TO DO SO BECAUSE OF THESE LICENSE FAILURES.

[_Mitchell_Cardno_]

Just so everyone is clear, as a lot of noise is being posted. This forum is for individuals experiencing problems similar to the original post.

The original post deals with NOT being able to LOAD acrobat upon installation (i.e., it freezes, then crashes). If your O.S. is xp/vista/whatever, this forum is for you. If you have another issue regarding licensing or other acrobat problems, please start a new forum thread, otherwise the people at adobe will have to ignore multiple posts to identify the individuals having similar problems.

Adobe, like any other company, does not have to reveal licensing procedures to individuals that will not comprehend the technical information. They need from us, the symptoms we are experiencing, along with any other information. Throwing garbage at them does not help the situation. Be realistic, the other person on the end is a technical engineer/software programmer who likely understands a lot about the steps adobe uses to start up, they are not the complaints department!

[_Matthew_Hamann_]

Seatle 1101, you totally need to just *chill out*. Adobe is working on the problem and I am in direct contact with their development team...trust me, they are doing their best to figure this out.

As to your question about licensing, just buying a new license and attempting to activate it will not solve your problem. This is a software/code issue and until we/Adobe figure out a workaround or Adobe is able to patch the issue, it's just going to take some time. Once Acrobat is working properly again, MS Office and other apps using Adobe PDF creation tools will work once again...so just be patient.

Apparently there is some variable affecting us retail users that Adobe is not able to duplicate. I personally have seen several machines where Acrobat 8.1 is working fine, so although this thread has grown to large proportions, I suspect that the percentage of Adobe customers experiencing this issue is rather small.

Some users on this forum have taken extra steps to get the ball rolling within Adobe and I have seen a specific and intentional response by Adobe technicians. They are trying to solve the problem, and together...we will. It's now just a matter of when not if. So please, just give everyone involved some time to work with the techs and don't unnecessarily chew out Adobe for a problem they are unable to duplicate, yet are actively trying to fix.

My apologies for this being slightly off topic, but I just feel that we do owe them some credit here. Patience is key.

[_Seattle_1101_]

I am a bit surprised by your response, but appreciate that work is now being done. I also feel strongly that users deserve to know what is in my last post far more broadly, not simply within some support group including everyone being paid to help with the solution.

For my part, let's assume that this is the problem.

Symantec or some third party provided some licensing and related security help to Adobe, presumably some third party purporting to be able to do installation and other related work. Perhaps some large contractor.

In undertaking the work, the same "solution" was provided to both Symantec and Adobe. This "solution" was in fact filled with flaws, including flaws related to periodic license checks.

Now, under the auspices of this third party and/or others, Adobe is trying to correct the problem.

When companies have a problem, it is quickly and broadly acknowleged. They do this for integrity sake, to ensure that their consumers and others know there is a problem and do not spend their own days working for a solution before getting involved with support.

To date, it is not at all obvious where the problem lies. What is certain is that there is a problem and that Adobe is responsible for the way its software works.

So far, I have only received the posting from one of its consultants. This is no way to treat a long-time very loyal customer.

[_Seattle_1101_]

Activation does not collect, transmit, or use any personally identifiable information or hinder licensed users' ability to use the software the way they always have under the Adobe product license agreement.

[_kevin_cheng_]

Hi all,

Thanks again for everyone's patient.

I am wondering if anyone could help out and run the test / procedure below:

1) Goto Control Panel, and double click on "System"
On Vista, click on "Advanced system settings" under Tasks on the left side of windows.
On XP, click on Advanced tab

2) Click on "Environment Variables"
3) Click on "New" button under system variables

4) Enter the following
Variable name = ALM_LOG_FILE
Variable value = alm.log

5) Run acrobat again,
the file "alm.log" should be created where Acrobat executable is.

If such a file is created, please email to "kcheng@adobe.com"

Best regards,
-Kevin Cheng
ALM Quality Engineering Manager

[Claudio González]

And this is not a chanel for addressing Adobe. There have been some personal and useful responses from Adobe personnel, which is not usual in these User to User forums and speaks highly of them. However, I would think that you will never receive an official Adobe response here.

[_Seattle_1101_]

Here is an update on Windows Vista 64 bit. I assume that if this works with this version of Vista, it should work anywhere.

I eliminated DEP and User Account Control.

I DID NOT UNINSTALL ANYTHING.

I upgraded OmniPage 16 with which I obtained a PDF maker.

I installed a patch that was just made available. Although similar to others, it reinstalled certain shortcuts and performed other functions.

The Deactivate menu item still begins as if not activated, but soon the menu item appears in black, not grey.

The distiller and other installation items that may be required to convert a Word document directly to PDF through Adobe's PDF Maker now works, although with some glitches. It still will not create the PDFs through any Office 2007 program, but I believe that this may only be a few other steps away.

A great improvement, but at the loss of both added security features of Vista. I am hopeful once full installation occurs that one of the four or five fixes installed today or something else will complete the job.

[_Seattle_1101_]

While I do believe that it is highly relevant to understand what Adobe and Symantec have done with our operating systems that have caused the failure to reinstall, and will be back if I have more problems, it appears that my fourteen hour saga is about done. Perhaps this has something to do with the latest updates, or my having deleted what appeared to be unused and unwanted shortcuts to such things as My Documents (which is Documents in Vista). Or perhaps this is about DEP and User Account Control, which I can no longer use in order to use Acrobat 8.

I still cannot convert PDFs directly from Adobe (i.e., bringing a file up for conversion) even after repeated efforts at repair and updating, and have yet to try scanning a document. I manage all of this because I have almost every piece of Adobe running as Administrator.

I can read Adobe in Acrobat, much like I could in the free Reader, and when it is made into PDF through Office 2007 applications it appears that one or both Acrobat and ScanSoft's PDF Reader is working with only one eventually malfunctioning and me ending up with a PDF.

I have not had an installation error of any form, apart from one that occurs when an effort is made to fix PDF Maker so it works from Acrobat 8. Let's hope this continues and there is at least one more fix from the powers that be.

Take care and good luck everyone!

[_Jerry_Litzza_]

Kaspersky has caught FNPLicensingService deleting HKEY's
Specifically
9/1/2007 1:07:09 PM C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Macrovision Shared\FLEXnet Publisher\FNPLicensingService.exe HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{9D1369CD-D551-2013-BEE0-FD1DCA8C5A6C}
Every time I boot it tries to delete a different key!
I have denied it access.
These are keys for Active installed services.
The program came aboard with Adobe Acrobat 8
What kind of worms are you passing here?

Note I am running Vista64 Ultimate.

[_al_christian_]

I had similar problem with 8.1.
I fixed it by going edit/preferences/ and checking the box that
says~ use only certified adobe plugins.
Hope this helps.

[_Elizabeth_Guy_]

I keep checking this forum for a solution but I haven't seen one yet. Has Adobe developed a solution yet?
Thanks,
Elizabeth

[_Matthew_Hamann_]

DO NOT post unrelated issues on this thread!

Vince, Acrobat is designed to activate only after another CS3 application has been opened and activated. Once that happens, you should not receive the message in Acrobat any more.

If you continue to experience this issue, start a new thread, or find one related to your problem.

[_Bill_Cochran_]

I seem to have found a particular instance to replicate the error. Install the following:

- Windows Vista Ultimate
- Installshield 2008 Professional Trial
- Adobe Acrobat Professional Trial
- run Installshield 2008
- log on as a local user

Proceed to start Adobe Acrobat and after closing the initial 'what to do' screen, the error will present itself.

I was able to replicate this error several times in virutal machines as well as a dual xeon workstation.

Download Installshield 2008 Pro trial at (registration required):
http://mktg.macrovision.com/mk/submit/eval_submit?pver=ISWPRO140E&pcode=isw&pname=installshield&ed=1&_JS=T

Download Adobe Acrobat Pro trial at (registration required):
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatpro/tryout.html

My current suspicion is that this error has something to do with the Macrovision software licensing code. The error shows up just about the time Adobe Acrobat checks for an active license.

[_kevin_cheng_]

Hi Bill,

Thanks for posting the info. We also heard of a similar case with IS2008 and Acrobat. We are still investigating the issue and identifying a work around.
On the other hand, I think most of the users experience this issue do not have IS2008 on the systems.

-Kevin Cheng

[_Bill_Cochran_]

Right. I figure installshield is something most people are not using. That makes sense, however I did notice there were some complaints from the adobe reps/support/developers that duplicating this issue in house has been difficult. Hopefully my post offers a reliable way to duplicate the problem. If this is a problem with FlexLM, there are likely to be many products out there making the error show up when adobe is installed on the same system.

I am as interested as most others in this thread in receiving a solution to the problem.

-Bill

[_Mr_Halle_Berry_]

Hi...
I was having the exact same problem as the original poster.

This worked for me as a resolution.
I uninstalled 8.1
re booted
Deleted all "acrobat" references from the registry... except from programs like Scansoft. ***(Make a back up of your registry first)***
Rebooted
Reinstalled 8.0
Rebooted

And it has been working w/o any problems. I was actually surprised how many references there were still in the registry to version 7.

I probably will update to 8.1 to see if it still works. I don't feel adventurous right now.

Running Windows XP

Hope this helps

[_charles007_]

Adobe has found a fix to my problem (Win Vista Ultimate and Acrobat 8... Acrobat hangs on startup, will not activate), and it was certainly not something that I could have figured out myself, regardless of how much time I spent. The issue concerned virtualization in Vista. As I understand it, as soon as it has been tested a bit more, a patch or update will be issued.

My sincere thanks to Adobe and Kevin Cheng for tackling the problem and solving it.

[_I_Watson_]

Seems a resolution is on the horizon. Kevin and his team also resolved the issue on my system this morning.
As Charlse was saying a patch should soon be available to all once they have confirmed results on individual systems.
This issue has taken a long time to resolve and I know has been very frustrating for us all but Adobe has been working hard to resolve this with direct input from it's software users. A needle in a haystack is not an easy thing to find.

I'd just like to thank Kevin, Jeff, Ana, Lori and the engineering team along with all those forum users who assisted in researching and ultimatly resolving this issue.

Regards,
Ian

[_cem_girit_]

Has a patch out yet? Thank you

[~graffiti]

No.

[_Sue_Ellen_White_]

Hello Jeff:

I live near Seattle, on South Whidbey Island.

Sue Ellen White

[_Curtis_Eidson_]

I'm also having the same problem.

I have a fresh install of windows vista ultimate. installed adobe acrobat 8 with our corporate volume license key. when i run acrobat, i receive the same error "A serious error has been detected...."

Curtis
Foundation for California Community Colleges

[_junior_rodriguez_]

Hi I'd try to distribute a pdf document however when I click on submit botton it returns it on an xml format. Any advice