Skip to main content
XilburQost
XilburQost
Inspiring
November 23, 2017
Answered

Fatal error: Cannot connect to dde server; is this Acrobat a virus?

  • November 23, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 5398 views

Windows 10: At first Acrobat reader refused to open my PDF documents, and now it shows this message:

Fatal error: Cannot connect to dde server

I ran a fix via Acrobat Reader's uninstaller, but that did not work.

I downloaded Acrobat Reader and tried a reinstall, but it says Acrobat Reader is already installed.

I tried to uninstall Acrobat Reader, but it refuses to uninstall.

I need to read my PDFs!

And now I somehow have goddamn McAfee on my system WHICH I NEVER ASKED FOR!! WFT???

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer XilburQost

Thank you for the reply, Anand. Much appreciated.

The McAfee installation did not show up on my Control Panel or Revo Uninstaller, so I removed it manually from my C: drive. I then used CCleaner to prevent Windows from attempting to automatically start McAfee.

I rebooted my PC, uninstalled Acrobat Reader, rebooted, then re-installed Acrobat Reader and now it appears to be working fine.

I wish Adobe did not keep pushing McAfee; it makes Adobe seem like a cheap scam company. I pay $30/month for Photoshop and Dreamweaver as it is and I do not like being treated like a chump.

Walt

1 reply

AnandSri
Community Manager
AnandSriCommunity Manager
Community Manager
November 23, 2017

Hello Walterm,

We apologize for the inconvenience caused, as per the description above, you are getting error "Acrobat failed to connect to DDE server", Is that correct?

Please uninstall the McAfee from the control panel if you have not subscribed(paid) for it. Once the McAfee is uninstalled, reboot the machine and launch the Reader, check if it makes any difference.

If the issue persists, please try the troubleshooting steps provided below:

1) Make sure that the application is not open to the Task Manager.

  • Go to the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del.
  • Go to the processes in Task Manager.
  • End all processes related to Acrobat.
  • Restart the computer.
  • Launch Acrobat again.

2) Repair the application if you are able to launch the Reader. Open Reader and navigate to Help menu > Repair installation.

If this does not resolve the issue, use the Adobe Acrobat Cleaner tool to remove the Reader, download the Cleaner tool from Download Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool - Adobe Labs  Restart the machine.

Then install the Reader from Adobe - Adobe Acrobat Reader DC Distribution

Hope this helps, and let us know how it goes.

Regards,

Anand Sri.

XilburQost
XilburQostAuthorCorrect answer
Inspiring
November 23, 2017

Thank you for the reply, Anand. Much appreciated.

The McAfee installation did not show up on my Control Panel or Revo Uninstaller, so I removed it manually from my C: drive. I then used CCleaner to prevent Windows from attempting to automatically start McAfee.

I rebooted my PC, uninstalled Acrobat Reader, rebooted, then re-installed Acrobat Reader and now it appears to be working fine.

I wish Adobe did not keep pushing McAfee; it makes Adobe seem like a cheap scam company. I pay $30/month for Photoshop and Dreamweaver as it is and I do not like being treated like a chump.

Walt

AshuMittal9644438
Adobe Employee
AshuMittal9644438
Adobe Employee
November 29, 2017

Hi all,

Adobe Acrobat and Reader official update containing the fix for this issue is now available. This update will be automatically pushed to all existing installations of Acrobat and Reader. If you want, you may also manually trigger the update by opening the application and going to Help > Check for Updates.

More information about this release is here: Acrobat Help | Release notes | Acrobat DC and Acrobat Reader DC | Update

Please try it out and let us know your feedback.

Thanks for your patience and support!

-ashu

Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices