Entry Point CopyFile2 not located in KERNEL32.dll

[JohnB_Bristol]

Hi.
Recently (since about 20 April 2025), Adobe Acrobat Reader repeatedly displays an error message:

I'm using a PC running Windows 7 Pro ... and the version number of Acrobat Reader is 2025.001.20474.
I've uninstalled and then reinstalled Acrobat Reader . . . but the error messages still occur.
Any clues as to how to solve this.....?
Many thanks.

[tdhofstetter]

Misspelled AdobeCollabSync with a final 'k' instead of 'c'. Phonetic, ya know. Sorry about that. I hate to err... and true to form, Adobe doesn't permit one to edit their own post / reply.

[JohnB_Bristol]

Hi tdhofstetter

HUGE thanks for your post on here.

I tried it . . . and, so far, it works !!!!!!!!!!  🙂

(If the annoying KERNEL32 error messages start again, I'll re-post on here).

THANKS,

John

[tdhofstetter]

I'm very glad to be able to help, John.    8)

[rick_4271]

Thank you for the tip. I found Services in the Administrative Tools for Windows 7. I disabled the Adobe Acrobat Updater service after I uninstalled Adobe and reinstalled it with Windows 7 compatibility. The version I'm running with no error messages is 24.002.20857. The version that updated a few days ago was 25.001.20174

[tdhofstetter]

Excellent! It sounds like you're off to the races.    8)

[AnandSri]

Hi @rick_4271!

I am glad that you can use a version of Acrobat Reader on your machine. Thanks for your time and cooperation.

@tdhofstetter! Thank you for tagging and calling out my name. We appreciate your help in this thread; however, no misinformation was shared. The claim that CopyFile2 is exclusively called by AdobeCollabSync.exe and not by Adobe Reader is not entirely accurate. Adobe Acrobat Reader itself utilizes the CopyFile2 function, which has led to compatibility issues on older Windows versions, such as Windows 7, where CopyFile2 is not available in KERNEL32.dll.

In summary, both Adobe Reader and AdobeCollabSync.exe may invoke CopyFile2, and disabling collaboration features through application settings is a safer and more sustainable solution than manipulating executable files.

Please follow the community guidelines while posting on the community threads.

I hope this helps.

Thanks,

Anand Sri.

[tdhofstetter]

I remain unconvinced that CopyFile2 is used by Adobe Reader; I've never seen an error message from Reader itself complaining about its absence. I've only seen error messages to that effect from AdobeCollabSync.

I don't find any application settings to disable AdobeCollabSync. Could you point out which settings can be used to disable it entirely?

Thanks.

[tdhofstetter]

Curiously, every time I post any message here, using Adobe's own UI, and inserting no HTML of my own, I get a warning message stating "Your post has been changed because invalid HTML was found in the message body. The invalid HTML has been removed. Please review the message and submit the message when you are satisfied."

It may be worth Adobe's time to track down that error and fix it, too.

[JonJ_UK]

As well as repeatedly having this annoying Copy File2 error warning, immediately following it's arrival on the scene, Adobe Auto Updater or Manual Update stopped working (without me doing anything), so I'm presently stuck on 25.001.20474. "Error 1328" is generated. "Error applying patch to file C:\Program Files|Adobe|Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\AcroCEF\RdrServiceUpdater.exe. It has probably been updated by other means, and can no longer be modified by this patch. For more information contact your patch vendor."

Last time I tried it, an uninstall of ReaderDC and a fresh install also failed leaving me without any Acrobat Reader at all. (Only a Windows system restore managed to re-instate.)

Using the download link (https://adobe.ly/4keXna1) provided earlier in this thread, later versons of AR DC are now available, but so far the W7 version is always the same as the W10/11 versions, despite the compatability issues debated in this thread. As I can't update, I can't know if these issues have been fixed or not.

What I don't understand is why a firm the size of Adobe with likely millions of W7 users should find itself in this mess, assuming they are all similarly affected. That doesn't make any sense.

[rick_4271]

What I did to get around the Adobe boondongle was uninstall adobe and then use the adobe reader built into Firefox. It works fine and does not open any distracting error windows. You even get a nice PDF shortcut for all of your pdf files.

[tdhofstetter]

It's because Adobe has grown so large that it flat doesn't care about us, its users... especially not us, the outliers who live near the fringes of the bell curve. It has grown so large that it cares very little about any of its users, forcing activity without user permission, claiming admin rights over the machine. Dangerous rights. It has greater control over most peoples' machines than they themselves have... control it should not be permitted to have.

It has that sort of control over government computers. That thought runs shivers up the back of my scalp.

[lion_of_0023]

Disabling Updates by itself doesn't work either, but this solution does work, I've performed it myself.

Go to Local Disk C: and open it.

Navigate to Program Files, open it.

Navigate to Adobe Reader DC, open it.

Navigate to Reader Folder, open it and once inside locate the file: AdobeCollabSync and just delete it.

Problem solved, assuming Adobe don't have a sneaky way of re-installing it somehow? Keep the updater service Disabled.