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Caorthann
Participating Frequently
September 10, 2014
Question

Locked files : Z@xxx.tmp files left behind in Appdata\Local\Temp folder

  • September 10, 2014
  • 7 replies
  • 31222 views

OS : Windows Server 2008 R1 x86 | Citrix/Terminal Services

Occurred : After upgrading from Reader 11.0.07 to 11.0.08

This issue appears to be very similar to one experienced on Windows 2003 in 2011 (Article : http://blogs.adobe.com/dmcmahon/2011/11/08/acrobatreader-tmp-files-left-behind-in-temp-folder-after-printing/).

Issue :

When a user logs off, their roaming profile is normally deleted on the Citrix server. However, Adobe Reader s leaving a number of Z@R****.tmp files in Appdata\Local\Temp\<number>\ that are locked and cannot be deleted until the server is rebooted. This is preventing profiles from being deleted properly upon logoff.

We have not made any .ini changes at this time as the issue appears to be a bug that was introduced when we installed .08.

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    7 replies

    Participating Frequently
    December 10, 2021

    Environment:
    Profiles used: UPD's
    RDS
    Server 2016
    3 RDS Hosts.
    RD Gateway.

    The problem we had was the c:\users\%username% folder was getting a .000 .001 .002 etc. when users were logging in and out but not every time a user logged in/out. This would happen on all servers.
    The answer was found when I opened up the users\username.000 folder and looked inside to find the below path:
    C:\Users\your_user\AppData\Local\Temp\11\acrord32_sbx\ (the number 11 refers to a RDS Session ID - you may or may not have this in your setting.
    Inside the above folder \acrord32_sbx\ were 5 or 6 files named for example Z@R3CB8.tmp Z@RC00.tmp Z@RBA0.tmp
    Upon investigation I found this was a common issue affecting RDS, Citrix and non-multi user environments as well.
    The Z@RBA0.tmp type files are created when the user prints from within adobe, if a user printed a pdf these files were created in the users' profile and could not be deleted at log off.
    You can test it by logging in as an admin browsing to C:\Users\your_user\AppData\Local\Temp\11\acrord32_sbx\ - keep this path open, log in as a test user then open a pdf click file print, select 'Microsoft Print to PDF' and print a pdf save it somewhere. Once you have done that you should see the Z@RC00.tmp Z@RBA0.tmp files have now been created in that users profile path. Now log out - log back into the server as an admin and you should see that profile (check the date and time) is still there and hasn't been deleted.
    Try the same test but this time don't print a pdf when logged in as your test user, also log in as the admin - browse to c:\users find the test user's profile folder that was created when they logged in, don't print a pdf just log out - if your user profile is successfully deleted then you have the same issue I had.
    - Print a pdf - profile folder remains and has a .000 added to it. When you next log in to the same server you get a new profile with a .001 at login.
    - Don't print a pdf - profile folder is deleted at log off.

    The fix to this had 2 parts and may or may not apply to your situation but it might help you understand more about it.
    The first was to do with the RDS session ID, check the path
    C:\Users\your_user\AppData\Local\Temp\11\acrord32_sbx\
    The number 11 is the RDS session ID, you need to configure your RDS env to not use session ID's for temporary folders.
    Obviously be careful as this may seem like a small change but it may have big effects so be sure before unchecking the tick box.
    In the RDS gateway, go to the RD Services Session Collection and edit the properties, under the Session tab, uncheck 'Use temporary folders per session' the result of this is the path above will not use session ID's any more.
    So instead of:
    C:\Users\your_user\AppData\Local\Temp\11\acrord32_sbx\
    you will get
    C:\Users\your_user\AppData\Local\Temp\acrord32_sbx\
    This was important because the next step may have caused a large amount of disk space to be used if the prev step wasn't followed but this way you can be specific in which path you select, also the path may not have worked seeing as the user gets a new session id every time they log in. There may be a way to add the session ID in the path in the next step but I couldn't find it so I just did it this way.
    The next step was in the same place, the RD Services Session Collection, go to User Profile Disks, scroll to the bottom and add in 'Include the following folders: click Add and type your path, I added:
    AppData\Local\Temp\acrord32_sbx

    The result of this is that the files created by printing in Adobe which were saved in C:\Users\your_user\AppData\Local\Temp\acrord32_sbx\ are now not saved in this dir, instead they are saved in the UPD, the outcome is that they are not there when the user logs off, if they are not there then they can't be blocked from being deleted at log off and the user profile is deleted at log off every time.

    christ85364945
    Participating Frequently
    August 8, 2023

    If you take protected mode off it doesn't create the temp file when printing. Obviously I wouldn't suggest doing that across your environment, but Adobe is aware and I was given this bug tracking number ADC-4424595 

    christ85364945
    Participating Frequently
    January 23, 2024

    Still see the Issue in Adobe Reader 23.008.20470, but could implement a (slightly) dirty workaround:

    After trying to delete the files with any means I could find (even with chml.exe it didn't work), I tried it via cmd with 'rd /s /q $file' and it worked. So I build a PS-Script around it, which checks most recent Citrix UPM Logfile for Errors in conjunction with acrord32_sbx and then deletes them recusively with '&cmd.exe /c rd /s /q $DirectoryName'.

    I run this on every worker daily after main work hours (before night shift) via task scheduler als local SYSTEM and it allows the the automated UPM-cleanup to kick in afterwards and clear the rest of the profile without issues. I wonder is this is related to Citrix / RDP-Hosts with Windows Server 2016 only.


    I think it's just RDP hosts because i'm running Horizon on Server 2019 and seeing this. I'd love to see your script, I think thats much better than my current solution of restarting the servers every couple days and using a PS-Script to delete all the local user files after the reboot. 

    Participant
    December 31, 2015

    I had the same problem in 2 out of 27 Windows 2008 R2 SP1 servers.
    The servers with the problems had a newer versions of the C:\windows\system32\win32k.sys
    I replaced them with one from an older server (Version 6.1.7601.17860) and the problem was solved.

    To replace the win32k.sys on a server, you must do the following as the local Administrator:
    takeown /f C:\Windows\System32\win32k.sys
    cacls C:\Windows\System32\win32k.sys /G Administrator:F
    rename win32k.sys win32k.sys.OLD
    copy \\GOODSERVER\c$\Windows\System\win32k.sys C:\Windows\System32
    After rebooting the server the problem went away.

    Solution Source:
    http://discussions.citrix.com/topic/355546-cannot-delete-acrord32-sbx-folder/

    Participant
    May 21, 2015

    Can anyone else confirm beside            Community Member that this issue still persists in version 15.x (aka reader DC )  ?

    Participant
    April 29, 2015

    We are having the same issue. We have the same issue on Server 2008rs XenApp 6.5 and I have seen it in our environment on Windows 7. Is this a Microsoft issue or an Adobe issue?

    April 30, 2015

    I think its a Adobe bug, not a Microsoft bug. The behaviour started when Microsoft released a update (KB2993651) back in august 2014. The first thought is that it is a Microsoft issue but the KB clearly states a change in FONT behavior. Adobe didn't react to this change and Microsoft keeps updating the engine on a monthly basis so there are already alot of other KB's that can cause the same issue.

    Furthermore. The same problem already existed before in 2011 on older systems. Adobe never figured it out and only suggested a workarround.

    Acrobat/Reader: Z@xxx.tmp files left behind in Temp folder after printing

    Another user on this forum did some research and found that Adobe uses a legacy function when printing from Adobe reader.

    http://blog.notmyfault.ch/?p=378

    If Adobe leaves Z@ temp files behind in the user temp directory after printing and those files can't be deleted other than a reboot it must be a Adobe bug. Other utilities like FoxIT reader do not have this problem on modern updated Windows OS-es.

    campbellk19046717
    Participant
    April 9, 2015

    Hi Guys,

    Anyone find a solution for this.

    i am running Windows 2012 R2, Citrix XenApp 7.6 and Adobe Reader 11.0.10

    i haven't tired the .ini file fix as it looks like its related to earlier versions of windows?

    any help much appreciated

    Thanks,

    Cam

    pwillener
    Legend
    April 9, 2015

    All I can suggest is: does the same problem still occur with the new Adobe Acrobat Reader DC?

    April 29, 2015

    OS: Server 2008R2 (two machines)

    In my case the issue stil exists with the new Adobe acrobat Reader DC. (Only have KB2976897 installed)

    pwillener
    Legend
    September 11, 2014

    Before reverting to an older Reader version, see if the issue is fixed in the upcoming Reader version: http://blogs.adobe.com/psirt/?p=1121

    Caorthann
    CaorthannAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    September 11, 2014

    I will go ahead and add my response to the other post as its better to keep everything in one consolidated thread. Thank you for pointing that out.

    pwillener
    Legend
    September 11, 2014