Inspiring

Answered

Adobe Acrobat Reader is incredibly slow & keeps hanging - AGAIN!!

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
August 30, 2024
25 replies
43731 views

Since the release 24.003.20054, Adobe Reader is AGAIN running slow again opening documents

Does anyone know why Adobe Acrobat Reader is so *incredibly* slow & keeps hanging please?

I keep getting the 'not responding' message; have to close it down & try again.

Documents load *really* slowly, if at all!

I have a fast PC with 32 GB of memory, so that shouldn't be the problem...

The previous 'fix' at here no longer works !!

Any ideas on speeding it up please?

View PDF

Correct answer i fm34168167

When I updated to Windows 11 Pro v 24H2 Build(26100.2454), the problem (for me) no longer occurs.

Whether its the OS upgrade or something Adobe have fixed I can't really say

Show previous replies

Tina37863267thi1

New Participant

Has anyone had any luck with Version 24.003.20180 on Windows 10?

Maxwell_66

New Participant

No improvment, needed to still add these registry changes (which has been a good workaround)

# Enables protected mode, which sandboxes Acrobat and Reader processes.
# 0: Disable protected mode. 1: Enable protected mode.
Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown' -name bProtectedMode -value 0

mario_0770

New Participant

Update to 24.003.20112 also introduced a lot of Application Hangs in our Server 2016 VDI environment.
We do not like the proposed workaround disabling registry keys as they relate to Security.
I hope Adobe will address this as a known issue as we see it happen on dozens of user sessions, and there seems to be no common root cause.
Screenshot Application Eventlogs of one affected machine:

raresolid

Participating Frequently

We have Server 2016 RDS, same issue. Did you try disabling the "Recents" documents from peoples views? This solved our issue on 9 users so far plus a few others in the office.

marc_5040

New Participant

Hello everyone,

this is not a guide, but a description of what I have done so far.

Therefore, I do not accept any responsibility for damage caused to third parties by improper editing of the registry.

This is because every system and software can be different.

I also have the problem that Adobe freezes or hangs for a while.

I have worked through the Adobe preferences reference and have come to the conclusion that it is probably due to the enhanced security and protected mode.

I have deactivated these in the registry using Powershell, as we already have comprehensive protection elsewhere.

Perhaps in the end it is also because Adobe's own settings are getting in the way of those of the AV solution.

But everyone has to decide for themselves.

Software used: Adobe Acrobat Reader DC

Underlying reference from Adobe: 'https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/PrefRef/Windows/FeatureLockDown.html'

- First I uninstalled 'Adobe Acrobat Reader DC'.

- Then I deleted the registry keys HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC' to have a clean base.

- After that I reinstalled 'Adobe Acrobat Reader DC' and updated it to the latest version.

- Then I set the following registry entries via Powershell.

# Toggles enhanced security.

# 0: Disable enhanced security. 1: Enable enhanced security.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown' -name bEnhancedSecurityStandalone -value 0

# Enables protected mode, which sandboxes Acrobat and Reader processes.

# 0: Disable protected mode. 1: Enable protected mode.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown' -name bProtectedMode -value 0

Since then, Adobe has not crashed anymore.

Additionally, I have set a few other keys because I don't need the functions and it feels like it brings a bit more performance.

# Disables messages prompting the user to upgrade the product.

# 0: Do not disable upselling. 1: Disable upselling.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown' -name bAcroSuppressUpsell -value 1

# Disables and blocks a PDF file's ability to display commercial advertisements.

# 0: Allows advertisements to be displayed. 1: Disables and blocks a PDF file's ability to display advertisements.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown' -name bCommercialPDF -value 1

# Specifies whether to globally disable and block JavaScript execution.

# 0: Do not disable JS. 1: Disable and lock JS.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown' -name bDisableJavaScript -value 1

# Specifies whether to collect usage data for some of the Acrobat dialogs.

# 0: Disable the ADM dialogs for data collection. 1: Enable data collection.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown' -name bEnableADMAnalytics -value 0

# Specifies whether to enable the cloud-based search service in the search tool.

# 0: Do not enable the cloud search service. 1: Enable the Cloud Search service

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown' -name bEnableCloudPoweredSearch -value 0

# Specifies whether to play Flash content in a PDF file.

# 0: Flash content is rendered as a blank, white box and does not play. 1: Flash is played if a system player is present.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown' -name bEnableFlash -value 0

# Specifies whether to show the generative AI features in Acrobat Reader (64-bit) for non-logged-in users

# 0: Disable the generative AI features. 1: Turn on generative AI features.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown' -name bEnableGentech -value 0

# Enables protected mode, which sandboxes Acrobat and Reader processes.

# 0: Disable protected mode. 1: Enable protected mode.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown' -name bProtectedMode -value 0

# Specifies whether to enable the Help menu item for signing in and out.

# 0: Enable the Help menu item. 1: Disable the Help menu item.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown' -name bSuppressSignOut -value 1

# Specifies whether to enable the First Time Experience (FTE) feature.

# 0: Enable FTE features. 1: Disable FTE features.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown' -name bToggleFTE -value 1

# Whether to show the Send Feedback icon.

# 0: Hide the icon. 1: Show the icon.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown' -name bToggleShareFeedback -value 0

# Whether to disable the What's New experience.

# 0: Enable the What's New experience. 1: Disable.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown' -name bWhatsNewExp -value 1

## Create new cCloud subkey

New-Item 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown\cCloud'

#Toggles the Adobe Send and Track plug-in for Outlook

#0: Enable Adobe Send and Track. 1: Disable Adobe Send and Track.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown\cCloud' -name bAdobeSendPluginToggle -value 1

## Create new cServices subkey

New-Item 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown\cServices'

# Disables access to the Document Cloud service, except for the features controlled by the other settings

# 0: Enable Document Cloud services. 1: Disable Document Cloud services.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown\cServices' -name bToggleAdobeDocumentServices -value 1

# Specifies whether to enable Document Cloud storage.

#0: Enable Document Cloud Storage. 1: Disable Document Cloud Storage.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown\cServices' -name bToggleDocumentCloud -value 1

# Whether to disable all in-product and desktop notifications.

# 0: Enable desktop notifications. 1: Disable all desktop notifications.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown\cServices' -name bToggleNotifications -value 1

# Disables settings sync.

# 0: Enable settings sync. 1: Disable settings sync.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown\cServices' -name bTogglePrefsSync -value 1

# Disables Adobe Send and Track. Some UIs have been renamed to Share since October 2018

# 0: Enable Adobe Send and Track. 1: Disable Adobe Send and Track.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown\cServices' -name bToggleSendAndTrack -value 1

# Specifies whether to enable cloud storage connectors.

# 0: Enable 3rd party connectors. 1: Disable third party connectors.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown\cServices' -name bToggleWebConnectors -value 1

# Disables both updates for the product's web plugin components and all services

# 0: Disable services and updates for service components. 1: Enable services.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown\cServices' -name bUpdater -value 0

## Create new subkey cWebmailProfiles

New-Item 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown\cWebmailProfiles'

# Specifies whether to disable WebMail.

# 0: Change the default behavior of the email icon to automatically attach the file to an email as described above. 1: The email icon opens the sharing panel.

Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown\cWebmailProfiles' -name bDisableWebmail -value 1

As I said, be careful when changing the registry and check the Adobe reference first to see if the setting is what you want to change. My settings here are only intended to serve as an indication of what is possible. No guarantee of functionality or completeness.

Best regards

A simple Adobe Acrobat DC User

Maxwell_66

New Participant

Seeing positive results after pushing these two keys, but as has anyone seen any improvements after updating to: 24.003.20180 Planned update, Oct 03, 2024

# Toggles enhanced security.
# 0: Disable enhanced security. 1: Enable enhanced security.
Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown' -name bEnhancedSecurityStandalone -value 0

# Enables protected mode, which sandboxes Acrobat and Reader processes.
# 0: Disable protected mode. 1: Enable protected mode.
Set-ItemProperty -path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown' -name bProtectedMode -value 0

Jonathan28648969ckx7

Participating Frequently

Haven't had any improvements after updating to the latest Adobe Reader DC version.

Setting the reg keys from the thread above (especially the first two keys) helped to solve the issue.

Jonathan28648969ckx7

Participating Frequently

We set the following reg keys for Adobe Reader, just to be sure in both the "Acrobat Reader" and the "Adobe Acrobat" paths (because they changed something there a few months ago):

HKCU\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\DC\AVGeneral

HKCU\Software\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\AVGeneral

We set the following reg keys, all DWord:

bExpandRHPInViewer = 0

bHasUserChangedRHPStickyState = 1

bRHPSticky = 1

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\DC\FeatureLockDown

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown

We set the following reg key, also DWord:

bUsageMeasurement = 0

After that, Adobe Reader will behave normally again when we open PDF files and browse through them. Probably only bUsageMeasurement is needed, but in case not, at least the other keys are documented here.

Adobe Reader still hangs when we open the start page (probably because it tries to load thumbnails for the recently opened documents). Does anyone know, if there's a reg key to disable the loading of the thumbnails, by the way?

And when we use the comment function for the first time, Adobe Reader hangs. But since it only happens the first time, it's probably because a tutorial is trying to load or something.

Of course, this is all just a workaround, and Adobe should fix the problem soon so that it works again without custom configurations.

raresolid

Participating Frequently

This is the problem we had. I was able to disable the document recents by going into Menu>Preferences>Documents>"Documents in recently used list" Set this to "0". This will disable the recents and prevent Adobe from trying to load thumbnails.

"Adobe Reader still hangs when we open the start page (probably because it tries to load thumbnails for the recently opened documents)."

Maxwell_66

New Participant

Anyone find a registry key to set recently used documents to 0?

sergey_2127

New Participant

Have you attempted to sign into the app and then test it?

I encountered the same problem, but it seemed to work fine after signing in.

Jonathan28648969ckx7

Participating Frequently

We have not tried this because only some of our users have an Adobe ID and a CC subscription. We assume that the tutorials, the “What's new” page etc. slow down the reader because they are partly loaded from the Internet and cannot pass through our proxy.

I partially managed to get Adobe Reader to work by setting some registry keys. I'll post an answer to the main thread for that.

Jonathan28648969ckx7

Participating Frequently

We have the same issue in our organisation. Since some months the Adobe Acrobat Reader is very slow and keeps hanging every few seconds.

Especially at devices with just 8GB of RAM the performance is very poor.

We discovered that we're still using the 32-Bit version. The 64-Bit version is running a bit smoother, but still not as it should.

What is very interesting is that we use the same version of Adobe Acrobat Reader on our terminal server (Windows Server 2022), on which it runs perfectly. The configuration is besides the OS pretty much the same. So it's maybe a Windows 10/11-only problem?

dan_1202

New Participant

Disabeling protected mode at start up and enhanced security helps but it's just a bandaid. Has Adobe put out anything about this issue yet?

menu\prefrences\security enhanced\ uncheck enable protected mode & uncheck Enable Enhanced Security

i fm34168167Author

Inspiring

defaultkedesh6bzplg

New Participant

Are there any updates?

i fm34168167Author

Inspiring

raresolid

Participating Frequently

I may have discovered a way to solve this issue. I noticed that after opening up Adobe, it was showing 70 recent PDF files in history. I clicked the box to select all of the history items and then cleared them all out. I closed and reopened and now Adobe is no longer crashing and is working correctly again. Give this a try and see if it works for you. It worked for me.

i fm34168167Author

Inspiring

Doesn't work for me.

raresolid

Participating Frequently

Darn 😞 It is still working for me. Hopfully Adobe can address it sooner then later.

raresolid

Participating Frequently

Can confirm that after updeate to 2024.003.20112 64-bit, the issue presists. After looking closer at it, it seems as thought it might have something to do with the free trial screen that pops up on the left hand side. As the software unfreezes once this comes up, which is strange to me. Hopfully this can be fixed soon.

Show more replies

Sign up

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Sign in to Adobe Community

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded