Unable to set default program for .pdf

[royow]

CURRENT PROBLEM:

As show in print screen, when i attempt to set default program nth happens at all. The only way i can open any .pdf file now is by 1st opening adobe reader 9 and select the .pdf file manually

INITIAL STAGE OF PROBLEM:

Problem started after upgrading to windows 7 from vista. Windows 7 is able to recognise adobe reader 8 as a valid default program since it is in windows.old. Thus the default for .pdf is adobe reader 8 (it was installed in vista).

Subsequently, installing adobe reader 9 isof  no use as it will be ignored and windows 7 will only continue to use adobe reader 8 as the default reader when i try to open a .pdf file, unless if i manually opened adobe reader 9 and selected a .pdf file manaually

However, I am unable to uninstall adobe reader 8 as the "program and feature" can only identify adobe reader 9 and does not think that adobe reader 8 exists.

ATTEMPTs TO SOLVE:

Thus, I removed windows.old by using the disk cleanup. However, I am still unable to set adobe reader 9 as the default reader. Instead, .pdf are no longer accessible/"open-able" unless I 1st opened adobe reader 9 and then selected a .pdf manaually.

I've attempted reinstalling and restarting comps etc, they dun seem to help. I suspect the OS is now only able to recognise adobe reader 8 from windows.old as a valid program directory due to some registry issues since it was initally set as the default when i 1st upgraded the OS. Now that adobe reader 8 is removed, there might be some corrupted registry somewhere that needs to be set right again?

Really need help with this. Thanks a million.

[pwillener]

See this post how to associate .PDF with your current Adobe Reader: http://forums.adobe.com/message/3013395#3013395

P.S. does Reader 8 still show in Add/Remove Programs?

[royow]

Hi, thanks for advise but it doesnt work after i've tried it. i think the problem isnt with microsoft recognising .pdf files but rather recognising reader 9 as a valid program. any other things i might be able to try?

[royow]

oh yeah.. maybe i was beig clear, reader 8 was NEVER in the add/remove option ever since i've upgraded my OS to windows 7. but it was set as the default program to open .pdf files with for some reason.

[pwillener]

royow wrote:

i think the problem isnt with microsoft recognising .pdf files but rather recognising reader 9 as a valid program.

I thought you were able to open Adobe Reader by itself?  Then it is a valid program.  You just have to point the file association for .PDF to Adobe Reader 9 (AcroRd32.exe).

[royow]

yeah.. thats where the problem is exactly. the "open with" doesnt seem to think that AcroRd32.exe is a .exe

when i click it, attempting to make it a default program, nth happens. It doesnt appear as a choice in the menu after that. hmmm.. do u see my print screen? maybe i should upload it to somewhere. but basically, it doesnt appear as a valid "open with" choice after i used the browse option.

[pwillener]

royow wrote:

... it doesnt appear as a valid "open with" choice after i used the browse option.

You will have to navigate to the location where AcroRd32.exe is installed, e.g. E:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader

royow wrote:

do u see my print screen? maybe i should upload it to somewhere.

No, it's not there.  You can use the camera icon on the forum editor to upload screenshots.

[royow]

Yeah I already know how to do a proper "open with", please stop doubting it. When i click it, it still doesnt appear in the open with as a valid choice. Windows media center is there due to a miss-click after so many rounds of retry. So thats also not a cause of error.

[pwillener]

Ok, I did not know exactly what you did before, but your image shows it.  However, I do not know why this is happening after you selected AcroRd32.exe - that looks more like a Windows malfunction of some sort.

I think that leaves you only with manually setting the file association.  Open a Command Prompt and type assoc .pdf - what is the reply you get?  If it is correctly set, it should be .pdf=AcroExch.Document

If it is different, use this command to set it correctly

assoc .pdf=AcroExch.Document

[royow]

think we're getting close to solving the problem =D

But err... even though i cant open a .pdf file, it seems the assoc is as you instructed. Meaning, I get ".pdf=AcroExch.Document" when i type " assoc .pdf"

Could it be that the problem lies with "AcroExch.Document"? and how do i correct it?

[pwillener]

Good question from Bernd in previous post - perhaps that will lead to a solution?

And one more question from me: Windows Explorer | Tools | Folder Options | tab File Types: select PDF - what does it say in the Details below (Opens with) ?

[royow]

Thanks guys for showing interest in helping.

As you guys can see, there's no adobe reader when u expand. Also, I already browsed the reader just in case too. Thus expanding doesnt help. =(

Also, I cant seem to find the "file type" tab in folder options

[pwillener]

Unfortunately I do not have Windows 7, so I don't know what else to suggest.

Except, of course, change it manually in the registry.  But here too I am not sure what has changed since Windowx XP, so I am a little bit reluctant of making this suggestion.

Can you open the registry editor, then search for a key AcroExch.Document (in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE) - what do you have in subkey Shell\Open\Command ?

[royow]

it says "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\AcroRd32.exe" "%1"

but its ok i guess, i managed to find someone who know more about registry and helped with it. it works fine now. I dun know what he did exactly but i think he changed some of the paths from quite a number of places, took him sometime to solve it. well, problemed solved thanks alot for yor help

[CGuro]

I'm having exactly the same problem with Windows not recognizing Reader! I have Adobe Acrobat 9, which came up as the recommended program to open PDFs, and I accidentally clicked on it.  Of course, the program will open PDFs, but I would prefer that Reader did the job, but I can't change Acrobat 9 to Reader. Unfortunately, like you, Windows won't accept the AcroRd32.exe. Did you ever find out how your friend fixed the problem? The same thing's happening with Word 9 doc files, which are now old since I have Word 2007.

Thanks for any help.

[royow]

i can ask him the next time i see him, but i recall that he seem to only had to do some stuff in regedit.. i hope this is at least some clue on how to solve the problem for now.

[CGuro]

Thanks a lot. In the Registry, I see that AcRdr32.exe is listed for "open

with." Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to use this info to change the

configuration. I'll ask around. I'll let you know in case you don't see

your friend soon.

Thanks again.

[Bernd Alheit]

What happens when you expand 'Other Programs' ?

[derliebesmuskel]

Having the EXACT same problem!

I'm currently using vista, but had a system crash several months ago. I reinstalled Vista, but kept the "old" install to save my personal files. When I pulled everything out of the old install and deleted it, my .pdf files were no longer associated with a default program. Now, any attempts to set Reader as the new default have no effect. When trying to "open with" and "set default" the .exe file for reader doesn't seem to be reconizable to windows. Very annoying having to open adobe then select the file I want manually.

[walkerkarl]

I had the same problem.

I'm using WIndows 7, so here's how I fixed it...

1. Uninstall Adobe from your system.

2. Go to C/SwSetup and install Adobe 8 from there.....

3. Go to C/Program files/Adobe/Reader 8.0/Reader/and copy the AcroRd32 file and save it in the same folder as "AcroRd32.exe and exit the folder.

4. You can now go to control panel/programs/default programs/make a file type always open in a specific program and click it.

5. Scroll down to pdf and click choose program.

6. Select AcroRd32.exe from the Adobe folder location and click "Ok"

7. Click on the pdf file and it will open in Adobe reader.

[pwillener]

walkerkarl wrote:

copy the AcroRd32 file and save it in the same folder as "AcroRd32.exe

Very confusing instructions; there is no AcroRd32 file without an extension.

The file association should automatically be set after you reinstall the Reader.

[CGuro]

Why Reader 8? Because I have Windows 7, I'm only given 10x and 9.5 as

options.

[spazzticklutz]

I recently installed AI CS6 and was having the same issue. The only way I fixed it was by:

1. uninstalling the program

2. restarting my computer

3. cleaning up my registry

4. restarting my computer again

5. reinstalling the program