Reader blowing out on Vista-64 home machine 2

[FredWagner]

thread223-1707929 - Vista-64 based HP Vista system. Acrobat Reader worked initially, but has had a blow-out problem for quite a while now - up to reader 10.1.9, and if I click on a PDF file in Explorer, it will bring up reader and I can see the first page for a few seconds, but if I try to do anything - page down, click on Reader Help, the app closes. If I open Reader from the start menu, it comes up, but when I attempt to load a file from inside Reader, the app closes without ever displaying any of the file.
Still open to suggestions - does anyone else have issues with Reader on Vista-64 machines, or do I have the only one still running ? Vista is kept up to date on patches from Windows Update.

Fred Wagner
(retired, but still involved!)

 

[kjv1611]

Honestly, I'd just try Foxit PDF unless you have a reason to have to use Adobe Reader. See if Foxit or another alternative works well, enough, and just go with that. Personally, I prefer Foxit, and have for some time now.

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

 

[guitarzan]

It closes without any errors?

I would uninstall Adobe Reader, reboot and download the latest version (11) and try that.

To troubleshoot, I would try the Reader in a different user profile (if you have one), and also in Safe Mode... maybe another program is conflicting with Acrobat. Also, check the Event Viewer for any errors relating to the crashes.

 

[FredWagner]

Kjv1611 - THANK YOU - I was hoping there would be an alternative reader - will give it a try.
guitarzan - the problem exists in all profiles, and I've removed and reinstalled a succession of versions of reader - beginning to sink in that Vista is a lost cause - starting to consider backing up data files and reformatting the machine under Win7 - but hoping to avoid that much grief!
Will check the error logs and see what else might be the cause.

Fred Wagner
(retired, but still involved!)

 

[kjv1611]

Well, if you've got Win7 available, and have the time, then moving to Win7 would probably be worth it anyway. Lots of things seem to just work better under Win7, particularly with installations... at least that I've seen int he past.

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

 

[spamjim]

Another good free PDF viewer is here, especially if you need to markup PDF files for review:

http://www.tracker-software.com/product/downloads

 

[kjv1611]

spamjim's post got me to searching, b/c I didn't remember reading about that PDF program so far. Sounds like it's pretty good as well.

Here's a review I found that seems to lay out many of the pros and cons for a few of the PDF programs:

http://lifehacker.com/5842130/the-best-pdf-viewereditor-for-windows

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

 

[FredWagner]

We downloaded and installed FoxIt Reader last night, and the problem is solved - works perfectly so far (haven't tried it on interactive forms, but those aren't the primary source of PDF's on this machine. Many thanks to all for the recommendations! The review of PDF readers will be interesting reading. As for upgrading the Vista-64 box to Win7 - I still hope to avoid that pain - from what I've read, an upgrade in place doesn't work, so we'd have to re-install all software, include MS Office Pro 2007. The other oddment about this particular Vista-64 - Hotmail can't be used in Internet Explorer, but it can be used in FireFox - the opposite situation exists in Win7. Some mysteries aren't worth solving, just work around them! FoxIt was an excellent workaround for this problem.


Fred Wagner
(retired, but still involved!)