The PDF printer has disappeared

[swvermeulen]

After latest update of adobe acrobat pro DC (for me d.d. 25 February 2018)

The PDF printer has disappeared.

System config:
Windows 7 professional sp1 64 bit
Creative cloud (adobe acrobat pro DC)

Actions done to get the printer back (did not help):
1. I tried a repair of adobe acrobat pro DC.
2. I tried manually add the printer.
3. reinstall adobe acrobat pro DC.

If I go to the windows event viewer I see the following error message:
Installing printer driver - failed, error code 0x2, HRESULT 0x80070002. See the event user data for context information.

[jayants33240872]

First of all try to check that your printer is connected to the device or not, you can check the same by opening control panel>devices and printers, if it is not listed is it, you need to connect it from control panel, Acrobat will automatically connect to it. Also try to change the mode of connection for your printer if you are connecting it via wifi try to connect it via cable and vice versa.

[swvermeulen]

The adobe pdf printer is not a physical printer,

and by looking in the location devices and printers is where I discovered that the printer was gone!

[jayants33240872]

I apologize for the misunderstanding.

[swvermeulen · Accepted solution]

The latest update of adobe solved this problem

[dbrownSRL]

I disagree. As of 19March18, this problem is not solved and continues to occur. The forums show the recurring problem of the PDF printer disappearing from Windows was first reported at least ten (10) years ago, but remains unresolved. Has anyone received a cogent explanation from Adobe on why this problem occurs or a workable solution to preventing recurrence? Problem is temporarily repaired (on this machine, at least) by using Acrobat 'repair installation' function, but the problem recurs frequently, often weekly. System is Windows 7 home premium, Adobe CC subscription, all applications up-to-date per CC app. Does anyone know of a way to disable removal of the PDF printer? Does anyone know what process or program removes the PDF printer?

[Creative Scout]

Have anyone solution to this drawback? The PDF printer disappear after adobe acrobrat pro DC (February/2018) - Creative Cloud version - OS Windows 7 Pro.

Please advise us. Thanks

[dbrownSRL]

As of 18Oct18, the problem of disappearing PDF printer persists with latest versions of all Adobe CC apps, including Acrobat Pro. It's been 10 years and counting.

[Dov Isaacs]

The only Adobe applications that have the Adobe PDF PostScript printer driver instance are Acrobat and FrameMaker on Windows. It is not a feature of any other products.

There are only two ways that Acrobat can be involved with a “disappearing Adobe PDF printer” are (1) you uninstall Acrobat and/or (2) you perform an update to Acrobat that doesn't properly complete (in which case you may most likely end up with a damaged printer driver instance, but not a deleted one). Otherwise, nothing “Adobe” ever attempts to remove or modify the printer driver instance.

          - Dov

[dbrownSRL]

Dov, any idea why Adobe PDF printer keeps disappearing? Doesn't happen with any other printer, either physical or virtual.

Acrobat Pro DC Continuous Release Version 2018.011.20063 has not been uninstalled.

Although it is common for automatic updates to Acrobat Pro to not complete properly, that appears to be a separate defect, and not related to the disappearing PDF printer.

The PDF printer disappears randomly, up to several times a week, whether or not Acrobat has been recently updated. Running Repair Installation re-installs printer, but the problem reoccurs.

Any idea what makes the Adobe PDF Printer susceptible to random disappearances?

Tnx & rgds, David

[Dov Isaacs]

David,

Sorry, but was offline for a few weeks.

If we were able to reproduce the problem, we might be able to investigate the cause of what you are seeing and try to resolve the problem. But we haven't been able to reproduce the problem and in the very few instances where we have heard either of disappearances or corruption of the Adobe PDF PostScript printer driver instance, there doesn't seem to be any factor in common.

To be clear, we believe you are seeing this and we know that our code is not doing such printer driver deletions. The question is getting enough data to assist in tracking down exactly what is doing this.

          - Dov

[rickboston]

Hi Dov,

This is happening to one of my users. Adobe support has been on remotely to do a clean uninstall and reinstall. This was for the 2nd time yesterday. When the user came in this morning it was gone again. A complete install has her back up and running, but VERY time consuming.

Is there anything else I can check for. This is on a Windows 7 machine in a domain with no policy changes to printers.

Thanks in advance,

Rick

[Dov Isaacs]

My best guess is that some system component (from Microsoft or more likely from elsewhere) is involved here. What I think you need to look at is what is different in any aspect of the system's configuration compared to similar systems that don't experience the problem? That will ultimately yield the answer. Yes, I know that can be exceptionally time consuming and frustrating.

          - Dov

[williamw53190929]

I'm nobody, but I've recognized a pattern of behavior of Intuit software. I've had the full version of Adobe with Windows 7, then again with Windows 8, and now again with Windows 10. I'm a boring CPA and use Quickbooks quite a lot. As well as Adobe.  From my observations, I believe Intuit's software for Quickbooks and/or Quicken are removing the Adobe pdf printer and replacing it with theirs. I routinely have encountered the Adobe printer disappearing over the past decade. Yes it is 2019. I've resolved in recent years by repair using the help drop down in Adobe. The pattern that clues me in is this: I used the Intuit software [either Quickbooks (years 2018 back to 2012) or Quicken (years 2004, 2013 & 2017)] and then, sometime after I attempt to print from Internet Explorer, and now more recently in past 3 years Edge, and voila', the Adobe printer is nowhere to be found! What IS THERE in my devices is a Quicken PDF Printer or Intuit PDF Printer!! Intuit's software must somehow recognize Adobe and overwrite it or delete it. I've checked off many a time in Adobe settings to inform me if Adboe is not the preferred PDF printer. Quicken and Quickbooks DO NOT have this sort of setting for you to choose.  Just my observations..... Pretty frustrating when you are in a time crunch and have to fix.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

RE: QuickBooks and Quicken, their built-in PDF utilities are by their respective companies, not Adobe. And since 2016, Quicken is owned by HIG Investments, not Intuit.

I, too, have had problems with both program's PDF utilities and instead always use File / Print and select the Adobe PDF virtual printer, rather than use anything from Quicken/QuickBooks.

[poppinjoz]

I think you are onto something here. The Adobe print driver always seems to be missing for me in the first instance when going to print an invoice to pdf in Reckon.

[LovePenguins]

Problem still persists

[AwesomeSchedulerGuy]

With Adobe DC open, I go to Help>Repair Installation...this fixes it until I shut down the computer for the night.  Starting up the next day and Adobe is no longer an available printer option.

[dtunni]

I have the same problem.  The Adobe Printer is repaired using the "Repair Installation" feature but then disappears.

[Nic Arrington]

same issue. Windows 10, latest Adobe createive install.

repair install fixes the printer every time.

I'm willing to accept this is not caused by adobe software, but no other printers drop like this as we have several virtual printers as well!

[roberts34239672]

This is ridiculas. In my organization, we have been deploying Windows 10 Enterprise 1909 with Acrobat DC Standard and they have been working fine until about 2-3 weeks ago.

The Adobe PDF Printer just disappears for no reason (just like all the earlier comments in this post). We do not use any Intuit products or do we load any other PDF printers (except for the builtin Microsoft PDF Writer which my co-workers say is garbage).

We try to uninstall the software and we 'lock' the permissions of the Adobe folder under Program Files (x86)\Common Files\ which prevents us from reinstalling the software. We reimage the PC, everything is in place, and then the Adobe PDF Printer disappears within a week.

Should I be disabling Adobe Updates? It seems that there is something related to the patching of Adobe products that causes this whether it is a 'corrupt' patch or a patching process that gets damaged during the packet transfer.

[ProlificUser]

Please follow the helpx article below to manually add the PDF printer:

https://helpx.adobe.com/in/acrobat/kb/add-pdf-printer-manually.html

[ETA1549]

It's the automatic adobe updates that is causing this. Fix = good ? till Adobe finally recognizes the problem.

[DILIP0D45]

In our organisation we have upgrade win7 VDIs acrobat pro 2017 to 17.011.30202 and after upgrade the adobe pdf printer disappeared.i Have manually added the adobe pdf printer but with this manually added printer users are unable to print excel in documents or desktop folders wwhich is a network location(roaming profile) with error in print status where as if they print to downloads it works fine .Almost 50K users are impacted . ADOBE EXPERTS NEED YOUR HELP HERE .This 17.011.30202 upgrade works fine in win10 1909 

[ETA1549]

I feel your pain. Turn off the automatic adobe updates for a temp fix. It is the acrobat updates that kill off the PDF printer. Seems to be impacting Win7 (guessing you are on ESU) and Win8.1 systems.