Windows 11 Lost Adobe Preview in Windows Explorer - Adobe won't let me check the box for previews

Question

Title says it all. No previews showing in the previw pane after windows update. These are all local pdf files. Options menu for adobe won't allow me to check the box.

When I check the box for "Enable PDF thumbnail previews in Windows Explorer", Adobe prompts me "Are you sure you want to add features to the current installation?"

When i select yes, it blows away options menu back to adobe and does nothing. The box remains unchecked when you open options again. Restarting did nothing.

What is going on and how do I get this mess fixed?

creative explorer · Answer

@jasond52297037 somehow along the way, the link to the original installation files is broken. The quickest fix is to repair the link to the installation source files. Open Adobe Acrobat Pro. Go to Help - Repair Installation. Let the repair process run completely. It will attempt to fix any missing or broken files, including the thumbnail handler. (don't do anything while this is repairing. Stop watching or streaming music or video, let this process do its thing!). After the repair is complete, restart your computer. Check the Options menu again and try checking "Enable PDF thumbnail previews in Windows Explorer." This should fix it. If the repair fails to fix the underlying Installer source issue, you need to manually run the full installer to ensure that specific feature is registered correctly.

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