Anyone else having problems with Adobe Reader?

[El Pollo Guerrera]

I have Adobe Reader X, and am trying to update it to the new version 11.whatever.etc.

I start downloading the new version and get a "download timeout" error message. No matter what time I try.

Now, whenever I open a .pdf file, I get an error message that just says "the program has encountered a problem and needs to shut down."

Anyone else having problems, or has had this problem and knows a solution?

[lordlundar]

It's Adobe's crap installer setup. The installer was changing assets before the download finished. In theory it's supposed to make the install go faster. The problem is that Adobe's servers are a piece of junk so the download always times out.

Your best bet is to uninstall the one you have, go to adobe's website and download a new copy and hope for the best. Either that or find an alternative reader.

[PepperElf]

are there alternative viewers for PCs? I know I don't have adobe reader on mine cos my mac "preview" reads them just fine.

Just wondering if the PC users also have alternative options as well.

[lordlundar]

Here's a good start list.

[suburbandecay]

I hate adobe's downloader/installer. It's a piece of crap. And why use it when you can go directly to their public ftp and get whatever version you want: ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/

[El Pollo Guerrera]

I hate adobe's downloader/installer. It's a piece of crap. And why use it when you can go directly to their public ftp and get whatever version you want: ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/

Tried this, got the same problem... "Windows Installer service could not be accessed".

[suburbandecay]

Tried this, got the same problem... "Windows Installer service could not be accessed".

It sounds like there is an issue with the windows installer service, not the downloader. I can't get too specific without knowing what OS you're running, but you might want to try doing steps 1-6 on here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315353

[El Pollo Guerrera]

It sounds like there is an issue with the windows installer service, not the downloader. I can't get too specific without knowing what OS you're running, but you might want to try doing steps 1-6 on here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315353

I'm using Windows 7. I found the instructions for W7 to check the installer, followed them all, still no luck.

Incredibly stupid question, but should I be doing this while I'm in Safe mode? Or will that really matter?

(I'm just wondering because I've heard that Safe mode shuts off any programs that don't need to be running, and maybe there's something running that's causing the 'interference'...)

[suburbandecay]

In safe mode windows installer won't run at all, the service is explicitly disabled. If you haven't run SFC you might want to try this:

Go to Start -> All Programs ->Accessories -> right click on command prompt and select run as administrator.
on the command prompt type: sfc /scannow and hit enter.

This will have windows scan it's system files and do repairs as necessary. Depending on what it finds, you may need your windows 7 install media.

[It's me]

I don't like Adobe's reader very much -- memory hog, takes forever to load...I like Sumatra:

http://blog.kowalczyk.info/software/...df-reader.html

[ArcticChicken]

Here's a good start list.

I don't like Adobe's reader very much -- memory hog, takes forever to load...I like Sumatra:

http://blog.kowalczyk.info/software/...df-reader.html

I love Sumatra, so much faster than Adobe.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

Thank you for the tip about Sumatra! I hate adobe reader with a passion.

[dendawg]

I like Sumatra:

Or Foxit:

http://www.foxitsoftware.com/Secure_PDF_Reader/

[El Pollo Guerrera]

I switched to Sumatra and it works fine.

But now my computer is trying to update Adobe Flash Player to 11.7.whatever and I'm getting the same problem.