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Acrobat crashing on launch - Invalid plugin detected

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
December 11, 2019
12 replies
284810 views

In our enterprise, few users (60+) are facing an issue while launching the shortcut Adobe acrobat reader DC, "Invalid Plugin detected. Adobe Acrobat Reader DC will quit".

As mentioned in the Adobe technical forum, downloaded the latest patches from vendor site and installed the same. issue was still persist.

later we had used the Adobe utility removal to cleanup the corrupted installation files. Rebooted. Installed the latest version. issue was still persist.

Finally just renamed the plugin folder from this location, C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\plug_ins and launched the shortcut. it is working as expected.

After successfull launch, changed the folder from plug_ins_rename to plug_ins. launched agian, no issue persist.

Could you please help me to understand why the exisitng plugin files (before deletion) were not working. how do we fix this for large number of users. is there any automated fix for wider deployment?

Crash or freeze

Correct answer Tracey34071612mqxs

it only partially worked for me:

delete/rename folder "plug_ins"
Error Message is gone, but after 11 seconds, Acrobat Reader closes, no matter what i'm doing

The final Solution which worked for me:

delete/rename folder "plug_ins"
Start Acrobat Reader
Help -> Repair Installation (be quick, only 11 seconds)
Acrobat Reader will close though, but the repair process continues
after the dialog is closed and start again -> no error message, no self-closing app

I guess its the first time in computer science, a software repair assistant actually fixed something by itself...

Good Job Adobe

Thank you so much for your guidance. It works for me after much time searching for a solution for "Invalid plugin detected. Adobe Acrobat Reader will quit"

delete/rename folder "plug_ins"
Start Acrobat Reader (right click on desktop screen, choose Properties/ Compatibility)
Help -> Repair Installation (be quick, only 11 seconds)
Acrobat Reader will close though, but the repair process continues
after the dialog is closed and start again -> no error message, no self-closing app

M

md_6607

New Participant

hi

R

Ruebster007

New Participant

Before coming accross this page i uninstalled and reinstalled adobe reader, and that fixed it for me.

B

Brian27900134gemn

New Participant

Hello,

We downloaded and installed the latest update 22.003.20310 for the 32-bit version of Adobe Acrobat Reader so that we can deploy it to our organization. However, upon launching the application after install, we receive a fatal error: "Invalid plugin detected. Adobe Acrobat Reader will quit" message. Previous versions from 2022 work fine and do not produce this error.

Please advise

N

Narciso279086791h9i

New Participant

I solved this issue deleting folder "plug_ins" from "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\" - Adobe Acrobat Reader created it again when started.

G

GuiNC44

New Participant

Yes ! Works !! Thx a lot

Any idea on "why" ?

V

v.rapp

Known Participant

For the record - I just experienced this error while opening one particular PDF document (but not others). I was able to solve it by removing escript.api from plugins directory. This was in Adobe Acrobat Reader 2022.003.20263, 64-bit, under Windwos 10.

V

v.rapp

Known Participant

...further investigation showed that digital signature of escript.api failed to verify.

D

dimitriv48508847

New Participant

Currently this is running around like covid again. Possible issue, that many might have:

https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=KB95265

T

TamirB

Known Participant

Even after update 22.003.20314

That say this was fixed

4391109: Reader showing Invalid plugin detected error after Jan release Update

I get the same error today so this fix didn't fix the problem

T

TamirB

Known Participant

Is there any was to leave the

1. EScript.api

2. IA32.api

in the Plug_ins and to find a workarond that works without remove them ?

E

Ernesto21953642mwl3

New Participant

Thanks! this worked it very well.

I couldn´t change the name to plug_ins. So I changed it to plug_ins1 and after that everything worked fine.

C

CapitaineSaucisse

New Participant

My plugins located here: E:\Program Files\Reader\plug_ins (for most it will be C drive)

Open the plug_ins folder, showing around 20 .api files - one or more of these will be invalid.

1. Copy all files to another temp folder

2. Delete all .api files from plug_ins folder

3. Using binary chop method reinstate half the files from temp folder

4. Test pdf file, if now working bring half of the reamaing files back

5. Reapeat steps 3 & 4 until identified the invalid files and pdf tested ok

Using the above turned out that that I had two invalid plugins:

EScript.api

IA32.api

so permanently deleted them. No idea what they do but anyway but Reader now works ok for me.

Strange they were invalid though as they were part of a recent install

M

Muneer5CF5Author

Participating Frequently

Are below plug-in files placing during fresh install? Usually this issue might appears during Adobe upgrade, i.e., lower version of adobe might supports few plug-ins which might not be compatible with higher version.

EScript.api

IA32.api

C

CapitaineSaucisse

New Participant

Yes, it was a fresh install. Originally, I had the same issue when I was running Acrobat from my C drive but did a clean uninstall to remove everything. Re-Installed on my my E drive as more DASD, so the two invalid plugins were installed along with that.

D

default8l8xlh5b8dg8

New Participant

I downloaded Adobe Acrobat Reader DC recently and I am not able to use it. A message pops up saying "Invalid plug in detected. Reader will quit. How to fix this? I downloaded Adobe Reader to my desktop.

Amal.

Community Manager

Hi there

Hope you are doing well and sorry for the trouble. As described, you are getting the error invalid plugin detected. Adobe Reader will quit on opening Acrobat Reader DC application.

What is the version of the Acrobat Reader DC you are using? To check the version go to Help > About Acrobat and make sure you have the latest version installed. Go to Help > Check for Updates and reboot the computer once and check.

Are you on mac or Windows machine and what is the version of the OS?

Please try to create a new test user profile with full admin rights in Windows or enable the root account in Mac and try using the application there and check.

You may also check out the correct answer marked (For Windows) in a similar discussion https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-reader/invalid-plugin-detected-adobe-acrobat-reader-dc-will-q... and see if that helps.

Regards

Amal

D

default8l8xlh5b8dg8

New Participant

Hello
I will try some of the things you recommended.

Best, Colin Powell

M

Muneer5CF5Author

Participating Frequently

Awaiting support for my query. Please help.

LinSims

Brainiac

If you're in immediate need, you should probably contact technical support. This is a user-to-user forum and there is no guarantee that anyone here will know the answer, although that is often the case.

Click the following to contact Adobe customer support staff for help:

https://helpx.adobe.com/contact/support.html

You must be signed in with your Adobe ID and allow cookies in your web browser for this to work. Disable any ad, pop-up, or script blockers.

This is the link to the US website. If you are not in the US, the site should redirect to the page appropriate to the region associated with your ID.

Click the chat icon at the bottom right of the page to open a chat session. Typing AGENT into the chat window should connect you directly to a CSR rather than the AI. Tell them you need TECHNICAL SUPPORT for an issue with Acrobat Reader.

You can also search this page for a regionally appropriate phone number for customer support.

https://helpx.adobe.com/contact/phone.html.

Be aware that because of the pandemic, wait times are far longer than usual due to reduced staff and higher demand. Please be patient with the people to whom you speak. Like you, they are feeling a great deal of stress. A little patience and understanding will go a long way to helping you in your particular situation.

M

Muneer5CF5Author

Participating Frequently

Thank you for your detailed information. Seems chat support is not available for freeware

LinSims

Brainiac

Let me move this to the Acrobat Reader forum for you, which is the appropriate forum for your question.

The Using the Community forum is for help in using the Adobe Support Community forums, not for help with specific programs. Product questions should be posted in the associated product community.

M

Muneer5CF5Author

Participating Frequently

Thanks for your response, LinSims. Please let me know how to post my questions into correct forum? are you going to forward this question and provide me the link? sorry if i am missing something.

LinSims

Brainiac

I've already moved you to the correct forum. 🙂

For future reference, questions about the Acrobat Reader go in the Acrobat Reader forum: https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-reader/bd-p/acrobat-reader

If you sort the front page by Alphabetical, it's easier to find the forum you need.

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