Adobe Reader DC PDF can not be accessed in Windows 10

[RRS0099]

When I open PDF files for the first time after booting the computer I can access PDF files by double clicking on them. After a short period of time when I double click on file I get the windows error message saying Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access them.

Now I can only open the Adobe reader app if I run as administrator. If I use file open drop down function in the reader app I can find the file then open it. I can also view the files if I right click the file and choose open with explorer or chrome. I still can not open file in Adobe Reader DC by double clicking on it.

I tried all the forum and internet suggestion that I found relevant, including removing reinstalling and repairing the app.

Any idea of the cause or how to fix this?

[AkanchhaS]

Hi RRS,

Sorry to hear the inconvenience caused.

As shared above, that you are able to open the file when you open the application as an administrator. Also as the error message says"Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access them." then make sure that you are the Admin of the system or if its on domain then you should be a part of the Admin Domain.

Check the related thread and follow the troubleshooting steps suggested in that- Adobe Reader will not work in Windows 10

If it doesn't work even after applying permission to the related file and folder then you might need to create an hidden administrator account as suggested above.

Let us know the result.

Regards,

Akanchha

[RRS0099]

Hi Akanchha,

I have an admin account and placed my account in the admin domain. My problem stems from the fact that when I log on fresh I am able to double click on the PDF files and they open as normal but then after several minutes I no longer can do this and get the windows error message as stated above.

I completed the task in the first link previously but found their other suggestion in the last suggestion in your link: at cmd prompt add net user administrator /active:yes. I Logged out then seen my normal account and my account name with admin.. next to it. Log in to normal account then deactivated the new admin account with ...active:no in command prompt. Log back in and everything worked fine for a short period of time then it failed again. Did I miss something?

Could something be causing me to lose admin privileges or keeping the OS from finding the file? I can't find any cause and effect relationship with programs that I use and the occurrence of the failure.

Regards,

RRS

[Abambo]

First of all, to run Adobe Acrobat (Reader) you should not need special privileges. As with any Adobe program, and most of the Windows programs in general, Admin privilege is only needed to install or remove the program.

Second: The description you're giving  seams to be more an OS configuration problem. You should ask questions like this first in Microsoft OS fora. You could have some system programs running in the background and checking your activity. This is for Windows fora participants to advice.

[Lee1200r]

I have the same problem, will not open PDF files on my computer, Adobe Reader DC. It says i do not have permission to acess the file. I  downloaded another PDF reader from the microsoft store and it works perfectly, so its not a OS problem. And I was running as the Administrator. 

[Abambo]

What PDF reader are you using now?

Im still convinced this being a local problem to your machine due to your configuration. To put it that way: Acrobat does nothing more then any other program on your system. It uses system available public API to access files. Any permissions are regulated by your OS. But there is a possibility that it is doing operations that get blocked by programs that interfere on the OS level. Virus checker and similar, firewalls, virtual machines, ...

[RRS0099]

I am using Adobe Acrobat Reader DC version 18.009.20050

[Abambo]

Could you please state also your operating environment.

[RRS0099 · Accepted solution]

The problem was traced to a corrupt User Account with the help of Microsoft Tech Support. A new user account (admin) was created and all the associated files of the old account transferred over to the new one. Adobe now works as usual.

I would like to thank everyone for there comments.