Adobe Acrobat DC not opening on Windows 11/10

Is Adobe Acrobat DC not opening on your Windows PC? As reported by some Adobe users, they are unable to open the Adobe Acrobat DC app and can’t view their PDF files on their computers. This issue could be a result of different reasons. Let us find out why you might not be able to open or launch Acrobat DC on your PC.

Why is Adobe Acrobat DC not opening?

The problem of Adobe Acrobat DC not opening on your PC can be caused due to multiple factors. It could be missing administrator rights or compatibility issues causing the problem. Some users have reported to be facing this issue due to the enabled protected mode in this app. Besides that, if your app is not up-to-date or a corrupted installation of Acrobat DC can also be a reason causing the issue.

Adobe Acrobat DC not opening on Windows 11/10

If Adobe Acrobat DC is not opening or launching on your Windows 11/10 PC, here are the fixes you can use to resolve the issue:

1. Run Adobe Acrobat DC as an administrator.
2. Launch Adobe Acrobat DC in compatibility mode.
3. Repair Adobe Acrobat DC.
4. Disable protected mode using Registry Editor.
5. Update or reinstall Adobe Acrobat DC.
6. Try an Adobe Acrobat DC alternative.

1] Run Adobe Acrobat DC as an administrator

The first thing you can do to fix this issue is try launching Acrobat DC with administrator rights. It might be missing administrator rights causing the problem. So, run the Adobat DC app as an administrator and check if it opens correctly or not. Before doing that, make sure no instance of Acrobat DC is opened in the background. Let us check out how to do that:

• First, open Task Manager using the Ctrl+Shift+Esc hotkey.
• Now, check if there is a process related to Adobe Acrobat DC running in the background. If yes, close it using the End task button.
• Once done, go to the Adobe Acrobat DC desktop shortcut and right-click on it.
• From the appeared context menu, choose the Run as administrator option and press Yes on the UAC prompt.

Check if the app launches correctly now. If yes, you can make Acrobat DC always run with administrator privileges. However, if this method doesn’t help, move on to the next solution.

Read: Fix Adobe Creative Cloud errors 205, 206, 403 on Windows PC.

2] Launch Adobe Acrobat DC in compatibility mode

You can also try running Acrobat DC in compatibility mode and then see if it opens correctly. The app might work better with an older version of Windows. So, launch Acrobat DC in compatibility mode using the below steps:

• First, right-click on the desktop shortcut of Adobe Acrobat DC.
• Now, select the Properties option from the appeared context menu.
• Next, move to the Compatibility tab and tick the checkbox associated with the Run this program in compatibility mode for: option.
• After that, select a preferred older version of Windows to run the app and then press the Apply > OK button to save changes.
• Once done, open Adobe Acrobat DC and see if the issue is resolved.

3] Repair Adobe Acrobat DC

If the installation of Acrobat DC is broken or corrupted, it won’t open or launch and you won’t be able to use it. Hence, if the scenario is applicable, repair the app and then try opening it to check if the problem is fixed. Here’s how you can do that:

• First, press Win+I to open the Settings app and move to the Apps > Installed apps section.
• Now, locate the Adobate Acrobat DC app and click on the three-dot menu button present next to it.
• After that, choose the Modify option from the appeared option.
• A new window will open up. Select the Repair option and then press the Next button.
• Next, press the Update button and let it repair the application.
• Once done, check if you are able to open Acrobat DC or not.

See: There is a problem with Adobe Acrobat/Reader.

4] Disable protected mode using Registry Editor

Some affected users have reported that making a registry tweak helped them fix this issue. You can try turning off the Acrobat DC’s protected mode using Registry Editor and then see if it works.

The Protected Mode is a security feature that helps Acrobat DC prevent you from opening malicious files. However, sometimes it can also generate false positive alarms and stop you from opening the app. Now, if this scenario is applicable, you should be able to fix the problem by turning off the protected mode. To do that, you will be required to make a registry tweak. Before doing that, make sure you create a backup of your Registry to be on the safer side. Let’s see how.

First, open Run using Win+R and enter regedit in its Open box to quickly open your Registry Editor app.

Now. navigate to the following key in your address bar:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown

Next, on the right side, right-click on the empty part and choose the New > DWORD (32-bit) Value option from the appeared context menu. Then, name this newly created DWORD as bProtectedMode.

After that, double-click on the bProtectedMode key and make sure its value is set to 0.

Once done, open Acrobat DC and check if the problem is resolved.

Read: Adobe Acrobat Error 110, The document could not be saved.

5] Update or reinstall Adobe Acrobat DC

The next thing you can do to fix this issue is update the Adobe Acrobat DC app to its latest version. If that doesn’t help, uninstall the program and then reinstall it to open and use the app correctly.

You can download the latest version of Acrobat DC from its official website and then install it on your computer. If that helps, well and good. However, if that doesn’t work, you will be required to perform a clean install of the Acrobat DC app. To do that, first, uninstall it completely from your computer. Here’s how:

• First, open Settings using Win+I and go to Apps > Installed apps.
• Now, click on the three-dot menu button present next to Acrobat DC and choose Uninstall.
• Next, follow the prompted instructions and remove the app from your PC.
• Then, make sure to remove all leftover or residual files associated with the app.

After that, download Acrobat DC’s latest version and install it. You should now be able to open and use it without any issues.

See: Adobe Reader error 109 when opening, reading, or saving PDF.

6] Try an Adobe Acrobat DC alternative

If the problem still remains the same, you can use an alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC. There are multiple free PDF readers that you can use in place of Acrobat DC. For example, CutePDF Writer, Sumatra, PDF Redirect, Evince, and MuPDF are good PDF readers that you can try.

Why is my PDF failing to open?

If PDF files fail to open on your computer, the problem could be the fact that the file is damaged or corrupted. Besides that, if your default PDF reader or Adobe Acrobat is outdated, you won’t be able to open or read PDF files. Some in-app settings like enabled protected mode, etc. in your PDF reader can also be the reason for the same issue. So, make sure the PDF file you are trying to open is clean and your PDF reader is up-to-date.

Now read: Adobe Acrobat Reader DC has stopped working.