Adobe Reader 11.0.05 won't always display the GUI when opening PDF?!

[Packager]

I have come across some odd behaviour with Adobe Reader 11.0.05. In particular, the following issues seem to have surfaced since upgrading to 11.x from 9.x.

1. Opening a PDF from any application, launches an "AcroRd32.exe" process but the GUI is not shown i.e. you don't see a Reader window or PDF. If you try open the PDF again it will launch another instance of that process and still won't show the GUI. Killing all AcroRd32.exe processes via Task Manager and re-opening the PDF will then work.
2. Some users are experiencing the following error when opening PDFs via IE and other 3rd party apps.

We've deployed 11.0.05 across a few thousand 32-bit Windows 7 PCs and it's a little concerning that PDFs won't always open. At this stage it is very random, maybe 1 out of 5 times it won't show the GUI but launch the process. Our only workaround is to advise users to kill all AcroRd32.exe processes and try again.

Our packaged 11.0.05 was created as follows:

AIP created from 11.0 msi > AIP patched with 11.0.04 msp (Q) > AIP patched with 11.0.05 msp (OOC). Transform was created using Adobe Customization Wizard 11.

Oddly, this does not occur using Adobe Reader 9.5.5 (or other versions of 9.x).

Sounds like 11.x is buggy, anyone else experiencing the same issues??

Thanks!

[der_prof]

I got as far as disabling the Protected Mode but when I clicked OK (to make the change) a dialog box popped up saying to do so would put my computer at risk.  So I didn't do it.  Is that warning bogus or for real?

[Kshakti]

Hi Packager/Simon Buro/der prof,

It seems the problem went away after disabling protected mode.

Can I have more details about the issue with protected mode.

Reading the posts above, I assume the issue is :

1. No GUI when any PDF is opened. (Error is inconsistent and not happening always)
2. When any PDF is opened in IE an error "103:103" occurs. (Is this also an inconsistent error?)

Please let me know the following details:

1. Is Reader installed using Customization Wizard (I read for Packager it is but for others? )
2. Is opening of a certain type of PDF causing problem? (or opening any PDF is causing problem?)
3. Is opening a PDF from a certain location is causing problem ? (or opening from any location is causing problem?)
4. Is opening the PDF in a certain way causing the problem ?

Ways of opening the PDF file in standalone Reader:

• Double click
• File -> Open and then browse the PDF file and open.
• Drag/Drop the PDF file to Reader window
• Right click to any PDF and open.

In browser we generally open external PDF links (extarnal means PDF files not in our system)

Note: You should switch "ON" protected mode after verifying the problem. Purpose of Reader XI Protected Mode is to keep your system safe from PDF based exploits and keeping protected mode OFF will leave your system vulnerable.

[pwillener]

You can use a registry script to add the entry that lnayal recommended; download, unzip, then run the attached registry script.

[Packager]

Tried all your options and still the same behaviour unfortunately.

I was already suppressing the EULA in the transform but tried running the exe you mentioned anyway.

As explained above, if I uninstall XI and re-install 9.x works fine everytime... in fact PDFs open faster in 9.x.

[ROO26]

Yes, I am always having problems. Microsoft fixed the problem for me but it has reverted back to a trial I downloaded. I can't access my PDF at all.

Packager wrote:

I have come across some odd behaviour with Adobe Reader 11.0.05. In particular, the following issues seem to have surfaced since upgrading to 11.x from 9.x.

1. Opening a PDF from any application, launches an "AcroRd32.exe" process but the GUI is not shown i.e. you don't see a Reader window or PDF. If you try open the PDF again it will launch another instance of that process and still won't show the GUI. Killing all AcroRd32.exe processes via Task Manager and re-opening the PDF will then work.
2. Some users are experiencing the following error when opening PDFs via IE and other 3rd party apps.

We've deployed 11.0.05 across a few thousand 32-bit Windows 7 PCs and it's a little concerning that PDFs won't always open. At this stage it is very random, maybe 1 out of 5 times it won't show the GUI but launch the process. Our only workaround is to advise users to kill all AcroRd32.exe processes and try again.

Our packaged 11.0.05 was created as follows:

AIP created from 11.0 msi > AIP patched with 11.0.04 msp (Q) > AIP patched with 11.0.05 msp (OOC). Transform was created using Adobe Customization Wizard 11.

Oddly, this does not occur using Adobe Reader 9.5.5 (or other versions of 9.x).

Sounds like 11.x is buggy, anyone else experiencing the same issues??

Thanks!

Packager wrote:

I have come across some odd behaviour with Adobe Reader 11.0.05. In particular, the following issues seem to have surfaced since upgrading to 11.x from 9.x.

1. Opening a PDF from any application, launches an "AcroRd32.exe" process but the GUI is not shown i.e. you don't see a Reader window or PDF. If you try open the PDF again it will launch another instance of that process and still won't show the GUI. Killing all AcroRd32.exe processes via Task Manager and re-opening the PDF will then work.
2. Some users are experiencing the following error when opening PDFs via IE and other 3rd party apps.

We've deployed 11.0.05 across a few thousand 32-bit Windows 7 PCs and it's a little concerning that PDFs won't always open. At this stage it is very random, maybe 1 out of 5 times it won't show the GUI but launch the process. Our only workaround is to advise users to kill all AcroRd32.exe processes and try again.

Our packaged 11.0.05 was created as follows:

AIP created from 11.0 msi > AIP patched with 11.0.04 msp (Q) > AIP patched with 11.0.05 msp (OOC). Transform was created using Adobe Customization Wizard 11.

Oddly, this does not occur using Adobe Reader 9.5.5 (or other versions of 9.x).

Sounds like 11.x is buggy, anyone else experiencing the same issues??

Thanks!

Packager wrote:

I have come across some odd behaviour with Adobe Reader 11.0.05. In particular, the following issues seem to have surfaced since upgrading to 11.x from 9.x.

1. Opening a PDF from any application, launches an "AcroRd32.exe" process but the GUI is not shown i.e. you don't see a Reader window or PDF. If you try open the PDF again it will launch another instance of that process and still won't show the GUI. Killing all AcroRd32.exe processes via Task Manager and re-opening the PDF will then work.
2. Some users are experiencing the following error when opening PDFs via IE and other 3rd party apps.

We've deployed 11.0.05 across a few thousand 32-bit Windows 7 PCs and it's a little concerning that PDFs won't always open. At this stage it is very random, maybe 1 out of 5 times it won't show the GUI but launch the process. Our only workaround is to advise users to kill all AcroRd32.exe processes and try again.

Our packaged 11.0.05 was created as follows:

AIP created from 11.0 msi > AIP patched with 11.0.04 msp (Q) > AIP patched with 11.0.05 msp (OOC). Transform was created using Adobe Customization Wizard 11.

Oddly, this does not occur using Adobe Reader 9.5.5 (or other versions of 9.x).

Sounds like 11.x is buggy, anyone else experiencing the same issues??

Thanks!

[pwillener]

ROO26 wrote:

Yes, I am always having problems. Microsoft fixed the problem for me but it has reverted back to a trial I downloaded. I can't access my PDF at all.

Adobe Reader is a free product; there is no trial version.

Please do not hijack other people's topics with an entirely different problem (and it seems different product too).

[ROO26]

How rude you suggest I am hijacking other peoples topics   . For a start, it was a trial Pro download, I know Adobe Reader is FREE. But I am getting the same as the lady who's topic you say I hijacked, No wonder I hate forums, usless if you can't comment on anothers topic.

Maybe this will help, perhaps I am on the wrong track. I am not savvy with all this. This is the first time I have been able to load PDF and that was after I did a system restore.

[Kshakti]

Hi Packager,

Please let me know some more information about the environment in which the issue is observed.

Is your system a part of any special environment setup like Citrix etc. ?

Also, is it possible for you to share the process monitor and Reader broker logs? You can send me a private message as well.

Steps to take Reader broker logs:

1) Launch Reader and enable protected mode via Edit -> Preferences -> Security (Enhanced) and check Enable protected mode at startup. Press OK and close Reader.

2) Launch Reader again and enable broker logging via Edit -> Preferences -> Security (Enhanced) and check Create protected mode log file. Close Reader.

3) Now Open the PDF file in Reader by which issue is reproduced.

4) After issue is successfully reproduced , go to Edit -> Preferences -> Security (Enhanced) and press button "View log" and send the log file.

or goto %temp% and send AdbeReaderBroker.log file.

Steps to take process monitor logs:

1) Download process monitor from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-in/sysinternals/bb896645

2) Launch process monitor (procmon.exe)

3) Goto filter (Ctrl+L) and set Process Name is "AcroRd32.exe" and Add then Apply and OK.

4) Now launch Reader (after enabling protected mode) and try to reproduce the issue.

5) When the issue is reproduced, save process monitor logs from (Process monitor's File->Save) as a .PML file and send.

Thanks,

Shakti K

[Pattie F]

The Adobe Reader group suggests you try to turn off Protected Mode in Edit > Preferences > Security (Enhanced).

There is a checkbox in the top left corner.

Pattie

[der_prof]

Pattie:

When I go to turn off the Protected Mode I get a dialog box that says to do so will put my computer at risk.  Is that true? 

[Kshakti]

Purpose of Reader XI Protected Mode is to keep your system safe from PDF based exploits and keeping protected mode OFF will leave your system vulnerable.

[Packager]

Hi Kshakti,

This continues to be a problem even with Adobe Reader 11.0.06. I'm hoping we can reach a resolution and actually get a bug logged with the Adobe Reader development team.

Please have another read of my original post, both problems are still occurring. As of late we've received several complaints about the 103:103 error.

Some details about our environment:

• Windows 7 32-bit (no Citrix/TS)
• All PCs running Adobe Reader 11.0.06 (software packaged using Adobe Customisation Wizard 11, deployed as MSI/MST)
• All PCs running Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1.3001.165 (from what I've read AV software could cause problems and Adobe are working with vendors)

Lastly some comments on my extensive testing with this.

• Turning Protected Mode off, significantly improves the chance of being able to open a PDF on first attempt.
• Turning Protected Mode off, significantly improves the performance of Adobe Reader.
• Closing Adobe Reader doesn't always close both AcroRd32.exe processes. (either the sandbox exe or the launcher exe remain open, this is an outright bug and very easy to replicate).

Let me know if you require further information on this to replicate the issue.

[pwillener]

Bug reports should be filed via https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

[Kshakti]

Hi Packager,

Can you please give me the broker logs and process monitor logs when you encounter the error (103:103)

Steps to take Reader broker logs:

1) Launch Reader and enable protected mode via Edit -> Preferences -> Security (Enhanced) and check Enable protected mode at startup. Press OK and close Reader.

2) Launch Reader again and enable broker logging via Edit -> Preferences -> Security (Enhanced) and check Create protected mode log file. Close Reader.

3) Now Open the PDF file in Reader by which issue is reproduced.

4) After issue is successfully reproduced , go to Edit -> Preferences -> Security (Enhanced) and press button "View log". Please save and send the log file.

or goto %temp% and send AdbeReaderBroker.log file.

Steps to take process monitor logs:

1) Download process monitor from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-in/sysinternals/bb896645

2) Launch process monitor (procmon.exe)

3) Goto filter (Ctrl+L) and set Process Name is "AcroRd32.exe" and Add then Apply and OK.

4) Now launch Reader (after enabling protected mode) and try to reproduce the issue.

5) When the issue is reproduced, save process monitor logs from (Process monitor's File->Save) as a .PML file and send.

You can send these logs to me as a private message as well.

Thanks,

Shakti

[Guest]

Hi all,

I can observe the same behavior as described above with Adobe Reader XI, 11.0.07 (updated fully). To be clear, if I double click a PDF file, the AcroRd32.exe*32 appears in the Window Task Manager, but no Adobe GUI is displayed and the PDF file is kept by the Adobe process (the PDF file cannot be removed; it is possible to remove it if the Adobe process is killed). Sometimes it works properly, sometimes I must double click 3 times and more before an Adobe Reader with GUI appears. As it has last since I have started to use Adobe Reader 10.x and 11.x (ages...). It is slowly becoming worse. To deal with the issue, I have created an icon on the desktop that executes a batch file killing all AcroRd32.exe (I can see just 10 of them in the Task Manager). Thus, at least on my machine the bug can be reproduced easily, even it is random.

I followed the steps to take Reader broker logs. After the launch, the log contains the below text. Any "NtCreateKey" line corresponds to a Adobe Reader GUI failure. I know that it is possible to create policies (sandbox, etc.), but that seems to be an unconfortable process (it is much easier to use other PDF readers).

Is there any short fix to go around?

Thank you

R

PC Machine:

Dell E6510

Windows 7 Enterprise

64-bit

[06:21/17:44:40] Adobe Reader Protected Mode Logging Initiated

[06:21/17:44:40] NtCreateKey: STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED

[06:21/17:44:40] real path: \REGISTRY\USER\S-1-5-21-501325704-2255155688-3339218339-1000\Software\NVIDIA Corporation\Global\nView

[06:21/17:44:40] Consider modifying policy using this policy rule: REG_ALLOW_ANY

[06:21/17:44:40] NtCreateKey: STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED

[06:21/17:44:40] real path: \REGISTRY\USER\S-1-5-21-501325704-2255155688-3339218339-1000\Software\NVIDIA Corporation\Global\nView

[06:21/17:44:40] Consider modifying policy using this policy rule: REG_ALLOW_ANY

[06:21/17:44:40] Exit Code:1

[06:21/17:44:43] Adobe Reader Protected Mode Logging Initiated

[06:21/17:44:45] Adobe Reader Protected Mode Logging Initiated

[06:21/17:44:49] Adobe Reader Protected Mode Logging Initiated

[06:21/17:44:51] Adobe Reader Protected Mode Logging Initiated

[06:21/17:44:52] Adobe Reader Protected Mode Logging Initiated

[06:21/17:44:54] Adobe Reader Protected Mode Logging Initiated

[06:21/17:44:54] NtCreateKey: STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED

[06:21/17:44:54] real path: \REGISTRY\USER\S-1-5-21-501325704-2255155688-3339218339-1000\Software\NVIDIA Corporation\Global\nView

[06:21/17:44:54] Consider modifying policy using this policy rule: REG_ALLOW_ANY

[06:21/17:44:54] NtCreateKey: STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED

[06:21/17:44:54] real path: \REGISTRY\USER\S-1-5-21-501325704-2255155688-3339218339-1000\Software\NVIDIA Corporation\Global\nView

[06:21/17:44:54] Consider modifying policy using this policy rule: REG_ALLOW_ANY

[06:21/17:44:55] Exit Code:1

[06:21/17:44:58] Adobe Reader Protected Mode Logging Initiated

[06:21/17:45:02] Adobe Reader Protected Mode Logging Initiated

[06:21/17:45:12] NtCreateKey: STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED

[06:21/17:45:12] real path: \REGISTRY\USER\S-1-5-21-501325704-2255155688-3339218339-1000\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\11.0\AVGeneral\cRecentFiles

[06:21/17:45:12] Consider modifying policy using this policy rule: REG_ALLOW_ANY

[06:21/17:45:12] NtCreateKey: STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED

[06:21/17:45:12] real path: \REGISTRY\USER\S-1-5-21-501325704-2255155688-3339218339-1000\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\11.0\AVGeneral\cRecentFiles

[06:21/17:45:12] Consider modifying policy using this policy rule: REG_ALLOW_ANY

[06:21/17:45:13] Exit Code:1

[Opelious]

Since there is no answer and this seems like such an obscure problem, I felt I should share this for those who may still be experiencing this issue.

I had a user who was showing all the same signs as listed above while running Reader XI 11.0.08: GUI not loading and processes not closing. I installed Reader X 10.1.10 and the user experienced no issues at all, but this was not an ideal solution. Tried some fixes in this and other threads with minimal results. After running Reader XI as a different user, Reader showed none of the listed symptoms. Tried again as the trouble user and it continued to cause issues, which lead me to determine there was a user profile issue.

I backed up the users' data and proceeded to delete the existing copy through the following steps:

Control Panel > System > Advanced System Settings > User Profile Settings > Select the profile you wish to delete and click delete

After the user logged back in, Reader XI seemed to work fine and there has been no more reported issues with it. This is not a great solution, but it definitely fixes the problem without having to downgrade software.

[Dave Taflin]

Thanks. I've been experiencing this with Reader XI 11.0.09. I could sometimes successfully launch it by double-clicking its desktop icon. When Reader appeared, two AcroRd32.exe process would appear in Task Manager; when Reader did not appear, I would observe only a single AcroRd32.exe process in Task Manager. A complete uninstall (including using Adobe Lab's Acrobat removal tool) and reinstall made no difference. Following an earlier suggestion, I turned off the security preference 'Enable Protected Mode at startup' and the problem appears to be fixed. Also, only a single AcroRd32.exe appears in Task Manager. I'm on a Dell Precision T5600, dual Xeon E5-2630, 32 GB RAM, Windows 7 Enterprise.

[rsteed]

I have a solution for this. It turns out to be an interaction with nVIDIA nView Desktop Manager. I suspect it is the same issue for others here, as at the symptoms match and one of the posts lists nView as being active. Disabling nView solves the problem, but I found a solution by adding application specific nView settings for the Adobe Reader process.

SYMPTOM: Adobe Reader process launches but no window is open when nVIDIA nView Desktop Manager is enabled. When nVIDIA desktop manager is disabled, Adobe Reader behaves normally.

SOLUTION:

1. Open the nVIDIA Desktop Manager and browse to the "Applications" settings.

2. Add "acrord32.exe" to the custom nView Desktop Manager settings.

3. At the bottom of the Individual Application Settings for acrord32, enable "Keep system active while application is open".

4. Apply the changes and kill any existing acrord32.exe process.

Once the changes are applied and the remaining processes killed, you should find you can open PDF documents without any problems. In my case, it appears none of the other settings caused problems.