Adobe Reader Keeps Crashing On Windows 11/10 PC, Let’s Fix It!

Adobe Acrobat Reader is one of the most popular PDF readers and editors. Many of us use this tool as our primary PDF handler. Quite like any other application, it too is prone to issues. For example, some users have complained that Adobe Acrobat keeps crashing after every few seconds. If that’s you, by the end of this post you should be able to fix the issue. Before, we get into the “how to fix the issue”, let’s first quickly have a look at some common reasons why Adobe Acrobat keeps crashing on your Windows 11/10 PC.

Why Adobe Acrobat Keeps Closing Or Crashing On Windows PC

• Some background applications are interfering with Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Adobe Acrobat is running in protected mode.
• Corrupt installation.
• You have downloaded some third-party plug-ins which are creating issues.
• Outdated Windows OS or Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• Some recently installed applications are interfering with Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Things You Can Do If Adobe Acrobat Reader Keeps Crashing

– Restart Your Computer

If Adobe Acrobat closes after every few seconds, you need not follow advanced measures. Instead, restart your computer which would refresh your system memory and stop all background tasks.

– Disable Protected View

The Protected View is enabled by default in Adobe Acrobat Reader. It is used to prevent and mitigate any security vulnerabilities. While useful, sometimes it may create issues with your Antivirus software, and hence Adobe Reader might be crashing. You can try to disable this view once and then check if you have been able to fix the issue. Here are the steps to do that –

1. Go to Edit.
2. Click on Preferences.
3. Click on Security (Enhanced).
4. Uncheck Enable Protected Mode at startup.

– Turn Off Background Applications

Background applications can sometimes create issues. These could be the reason why your Adobe Acrobat Reader closes now and then. We have covered multiple ways in which you can disable background apps. Apart from those, here is an easy way to turn off background apps –

1. In the Start Menu type msconfig and press Enter.

2. When the System Configuration window opens, click on the General tab.

3. Head to the Selective Startup section.

4. Deselect Load Startup Items and check Load System Services.

5. Click on the Services tab and check on the box that says Hide All Microsoft Services.

6. Click on Disable All and click on OK.

7. Reboot PC

– Remove Any Third-Party Plug-Ins

Have you started to encounter the error after you had installed a third-party plugin? If yes, you may want to delete those as they can cause Adobe Acrobat Reader to crash –

1. Go to the Adobe Acrobat Plug-ins folder as shown in the below-mentioned path –

C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat DC\Acrobat

1. Open the plug-ins and plug-ins3d folder and delete any recently installed third-party plug-ins.

– Use An Alternative Application

While you fix the “Adobe Acrobat keeps crashing” issue, we recommend that you try out an alternate application to read and manage PDFs. Advanced PDF Manager is one such application. It can help you merge, convert, split, rotate, rearrange, protect, and duplicate PDF files.

It also comes with multiple view modes that can further enhance your viewing experience. These are –

1. Collapse View
2. Small Multiview
3. Medium Multiview
4. Large Multiview

Here is a comprehensive review of Advanced PDF Manager where you will find detailed information about all its features, its working, and other aspects.

– Check for Windows Updates

Windows frequently releases updates to release new features and even fix vulnerabilities in applications. If you haven’t updated your Windows OS in a while, this could be the right time. Here’s how you can check for updates in Windows 10. As for Windows 11, the steps are mentioned below –

In Windows 11 –

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings.
2. Click on Windows Update from the left-hand pane.
3. Click on Check for updates.
4. Fetch any pending updates.

– Update Adobe Acrobat Reader or Repair Installation

1. Open Adobe Acrobat Reader.
2. Click on Help.
3. Click on Check for Updates
4. If updating Adobe Acrobat Reader doesn’t resolve the issue, click on Repair Installation.

– Uninstall Applications

Has Acrobat Reader started crashing after you installed certain applications? You can uninstall any recently installed applications completely and then check if Adobe Acrobat Reader works fine or not.

You can even try to uninstall Adobe Acrobat Reader completely and conduct a fresh reinstall. Once you have reinstalled it, check if it still keeps crashing or not.

Wrapping Up

We hope that after you have tried all the above methods, Adobe Acrobat Reader has stopped crashing on your Windows PC. And, if it has, do share with us which of the above solutions helped you out. For more such content, keep reading WeTheGeek. You can also find us on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Flipboard, Instagram, and Twitter.