Troubleshooting Adobe Acrobat Closing Automatically

It appears that some installations of Adobe Acrobat (not limited to 8) suffer from cache file and file corruption issues that prevent the application from operating correctly. Most users notice that when Acrobat is started it shuts itself down within 10 seconds without warning, no errors, messages, nothing. 

I was plagued with this problem for quite some time, and then I finally gave up and started looking online. It appears that this is a very common problem; luckily through trial and error of all the methods described online I was able to resolve my issue. I figured it would probably be a good idea to put all of the possible solutions on one page for everyone to access without having to labor through searches on Google. Please let me know if you have any comments and/or suggestions.

You will find original sources below.

Solution 1: Re-create the Acrobat preferences folder

Re-create the Acrobat file based preferences folder to eliminate problems that damaged preferences cause. Acrobat will recreate the preference files on launch when the preference files do not exist. Most user specific settings are stored in the registry. Most preference problems are caused by these file-based preferences, although the majority of the Acrobat 's preferences are stored within the registry.

Note: Custom settings for Collaboration, JavaScripts, Organizer, Security, Stamps, Color Management, Auto Fill, Web Capture and Updater will be affected by using this solution.

To re-create the Acrobat Preferences folder:

1. Quit Acrobat.

2. In Windows Explorer, go to c:\Documents and Settings\ [User Name] \Application Data Adobe\Acrobat\8.0 folder and move the Preferences folder to another location (for example, C:\Temp).

3. Launch Acrobat.

If the problem recurs after you re-create the Acrobat Preferences folder, then the problem isn't related to the Preferences folder. To restore custom settings, drag the folder you moved in step 2 back to its original location, and then click Yes To All to replace the new Preferences folder.

Source: Adobe Technote Site

Solution 2: Reinstall Acrobat in a simplified mode.

Device drivers and software that loads automatically with Windows, such as screen savers and virus protection utilities, can conflict with the Acrobat installer and cause problems that occur in Acrobat. To prevent such problems, reinstall Acrobat while Windows is in a simplified mode, which disables non-standard device drivers and startup software.

To reinstall Acrobat in a simplified mode:

1. Insert the Acrobat disk into the CD-ROM drive.

2. Copy the Acrobat 8.0 folder from the Acrobat CD to the desktop.

3. Refer to Solution 3 for steps to disable startup items and services on Windows.

6. Double click Setup.exe within the Acrobat 8.0 folder on the desktop.

5. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Source: Adobe Technote Site

Solution 3: Delete the temporary files that Acrobat or Reader creates, and then install the update or upgrade.

Acrobat 6.0 and Adobe Reader 6.0 may not delete the temporary files that they create during normal processes, such as filling in forms. Because Acrobat and Reader check temporary files at startup, an excess of temporary files can cause a long delay during startup or appear to be a freeze.

To delete temporary files:

1. Choose Start > Run, and type command in the Open text box. Click OK.

2. Type the following commands and press Enter after each command:

c:

cd\

del acr*.tmp /s

Note: Many lines of text will fill the Command.com window as this process runs. Wait for the process to complete (when the text has stopped for about 10 seconds), and then continue to the next step.

3. Type exit to close the Command.com window.

4. Install the 6.0.1 update, or upgrade to version 8.

Source: Adobe Technote Site

More sources:

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