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SteveMurray_NearLondon
Participating Frequently
February 22, 2018
Answered

Acrobat X Pro won't start

  • February 22, 2018
  • 5 replies
  • 64502 views

My old PC died and I installed all my old software on the replacement. Adobe CS6 Web Premium has all worked for a month but now (only) Acrobat X Pro will not run. It is associated with PDF extensions but I can neither open it from the link in the Start menu nor when I try to open a PDF file. I haven't installed Acrobat Reader so there cannot be conflict with that. I ran the Adobe updater app but Acrobat wasn't showing so I don't know how to force an update of just Acrobat. The only other thing I can think of trying is to re-install the whole CS6 suite again.

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Thanks

Steve

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer kglad

    Hmmm.

    I uninstalled Reader DC, rebooted and checked the filing structure. There still was no "Preferences" folder and the "\DC" folder was still there. I shift-deleted the DC folder. I checked if Acrobat worked and it didn't. Then I went to Control Panel and uninstalled Acrobat X Pro.

    I was about to use the Acrobat cleaner tool when I read the IMPORTANT warning saying it is not for Acrobat X that comes with Creative Suite.

    So I have the Creative Suite authorisation code and could do a custom re-install of just Acrobat but I haven't run the cleaner tool. Should I just go straight to re-installing?

    Thanks

    Steve


    for acrobat part of a suite, use:

    Use the Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool to solve installation problems

    restart your computer after cleaning and then reinstall acrobat using the suite installation files.

    5 replies

    P
    pnieminen74
    Participant
    May 29, 2019

    this repair .exe disabling hole program ( adobe acrobat x). big thanks to person can solve this broblem.
    any dll repair dont work /dll32 (some help on internet site). and adobe own program to solve program problem
    and destroy whole (adobe acrobat x : full lisense).thanks adobe, what i can do? if i buy this in Finland you are
    sell this law in europe/finland and this kind of disabling in some options or part of lisensed program is NOT
    LEGAL in this country. please contact direcly for me. pnieminen74@ you know me adobe.

    J
    Josh Winn
    Participant
    November 27, 2018

    Resurrecting an old thread, but only because I found a relevant answer today. This is a known issue with CS6/Acrobat and reinstalling will only buy you another 30 days. There is a fix described here: Doesn't launch after 30 days | Installed as part of a CS6 suite

    You can run their .exe which will handle the command prompt work for you, or manually do it if you prefer.

    This problem only happened for me after I wiped my HD, switched to UEFI/GPT, and installed Win10. Previously this machine had Legacy BIOS enabled (it came with Win7 and was upgraded to Win10) and I had no issues with Acrobat. Since reformatting, I've had the issue every 30 days. Fingers crossed that this fix works as advertised.

    UPDATE: Reporting back on 1/7/2019 after over 40 days. The problem has not resurfaced, so the linked solution seems to be a permanent fix!

      A
      Anonymous
      April 19, 2019

      Worked like a charm. I had this issue come up a month ago, reinstalled CS6, then came up again today.

      Thanks for this. 

        S
        SteveMurray_NearLondonAuthor
        Participating Frequently
        March 27, 2018

        Hmmm. As mentioned before, my installation doesn't have a Preferences folder under C:\Users\steve\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Acrobat\10.0 or any of the subfolders below \Acrobat. I found a file with no extension called "GlobSettings" in the \JSCache subfolder dated 12 days ago.

        I haven't actively made any changes to the system since Acrobat was re-installed. My suspicion is that some pesky software manufacturers have set automated updates that I have been unaware of. I accept that Adobe won't update nor support Acrobat 10 but last time this happened I believe Adobe Updater installed Acrobat DC (while trying to be helpful).

        Very confusing.

        kglad
        Community Expert
        kgladCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        March 28, 2018

        did you set your system to reveal hidden files?

        S
        SteveMurray_NearLondonAuthor
        Participating Frequently
        March 28, 2018

        Yes, I always set "show file extensions" and "show hidden files/folders".

        When I looked at the other \AppData subfolders (other than \Roaming) I found \Local and \LocalLow, both of which had \Adobe\Acrobat folders but neither had \Preferences either. I'm wondering if there is anywhere else I should be looking for Acrobat's preferences.

        Thanks for persevering.

        Steve

        S
        SteveMurray_NearLondonAuthor
        Participating Frequently
        March 27, 2018

        Staggering! A month later and Adobe Acrobat X Pro has again stopped working. Having looked around the Start menu I can't see that any unrequired "updates" have happened without my knowledge. Bizarrely, I can go into File Explorer and navigate to a PDF file and then see the contents in the preview window. I cannot, however, open the file. Nor can I go to the program's icon in the Start menu nor on the desktop and run the program on its own.

        Can anyone suggest what may have gone on?

        Yours angrily

        Steve

          kglad
          Community Expert
          kgladCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          March 27, 2018

          there won't be any more updates from adobe to acrobat x, ever.

          is there any error message or indication of an problem when you right click a pdf and click open with > acrobat x?

          if not:

          if a program that once worked no longer works, it usually means something has been removed (via user error or another program, eg, av, error) or corrupted.

          the most common adobe file to be corrupted is the programs preferences (discussed above).  were you able to reset your preferences this time?

          kglad
          Community Expert
          kgladCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          February 23, 2018

          reset your preferences -  https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1595848?start=0&tstart=0

          if that fails and you decide to reinstall, you don't need to reinstall everything cs6.  opt for the custom install after entering your serial number and you can select only acrobat for reinstall.

          in addition, if you do reinstall and have windows, clean after uninstalling per Download Adobe Reader and Acrobat Cleaner Tool - Adobe Labs

          S
          SteveMurray_NearLondonAuthor
          Participating Frequently
          February 24, 2018

          Intriguing suggestion. Thanks.

          The "Reset preferences" option ran into problems. The link suggested moving the "Preferences" folder and re-starting Acrobat. In that location I don't have a "Preferences" folder under the "10.0" folder but only:

          Collab

          Forms

          JSCache

          Security

          Before I try a custom re-install, is there another folder that I could move that might cause Acrobat to flush the preferences?

          Thanks for the suggestion.

          Steve

          kglad
          Community Expert
          kgladCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          February 24, 2018

          what's your os?

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