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Adobe Reader 9.0 takes over most Exe. programs

New Here ,
Jul 01, 2009 Jul 01, 2009

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Help!  I am using Vista (can't change this). When I upgrade to Adobe 9.0, the links for most all Exe. programs are replaced by link to Adobe.  I note that others have referenced this problem for months. I can't believe I or anyone else is supposed to manually fix all the Exe. links. What's up with this?  What's the problem and the fix?  Thank you.

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LEGEND ,
Jul 01, 2009 Jul 01, 2009

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pblodge wrote:

... the links for most all Exe. programs are replaced by link to Adobe.

I have read this sentence four or five times, but I cannot imagine what you mean by that - please explain.

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New Here ,
Jul 02, 2009 Jul 02, 2009

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Thank you for asking. Below is an explanation in part lifted from another person's request for help with the same issue in the Adobe Forum back in Jan 2009. There was no explanation or solution posted that I could find.

"I am using Vista. After installing Reader 9.0 it takes over. It changes all of my MS office 2007 icons (and others) to look like Acrobat icons and then tries to launch Adobe instead of the program I am trying to launch when I click on the icon. I get the following error message

c:programfiles\.......reader\Eula.exe

This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Create an association in the set associations control panel"

I can't believe that I must recreate associations for all many files manually.

I will appreciate it if you have an explanation and can suggest a solution.

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LEGEND ,
Jul 02, 2009 Jul 02, 2009

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Ok, I understand.  If I were to experience this situation I would

  • uninstall Adobe Reader (using Windows Installer Cleanup Utility, if necessary)
  • run a Repair Install of Office
  • reinstall Adobe Reader

Did that fix your situation?  If not, do you have a System Restore Point of a date before the problem started?

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New Here ,
Jul 03, 2009 Jul 03, 2009

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I uninstalled Adobe and everything went back to the way it was and all Office programs and others that were impacted worked fine. I ran repair. On reinstall of Adobe I the same problem returned.

I don't have a restore point back far enough to be helpful.

If I could reinstall Adobe Reader 7.0, I would. I need reader for so many things. Do you know where I can find 7.0? I have been looking for it.

Thank you.

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LEGEND ,
Jul 05, 2009 Jul 05, 2009

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That is weird - I have never heard of such a thing happening.

Anyway, if you think you can live with version 7.x, here is the latest installer (7.1)

ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/win/7x/7.1.0/enu/AdbeRdr710_en_US.exe

And here is the patch to update it to version 7.1.3

ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/win/7x/7.1.3/misc/AdbeRdrUpd713_all_incr.msp

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New Here ,
Jul 07, 2009 Jul 07, 2009

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I am having the exact same problem.  I have uninstalled all adobe programs and downloaded the reader 5 times.  Same thing every time.  All ms programs, and several others (avg) come up with adobe tiles on the desktop and program list.  When you try to open them, I get the same error as the previous person. My buddy has the same computer and system (Sony VAIO with Vista Home Premium) with no problem.  Can I download a previous version.....the adobe site only brings up 9.0 or 9.1 cant remember.  Thank you for any help.

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LEGEND ,
Jul 07, 2009 Jul 07, 2009

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lsutiger72 wrote:

Can I download a previous version.....

The download link to 7.x has been posted just above your own post.

The latest installer for 8.1 is here ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/win/8.x/8.1.3/enu/AdbeRdr813_en_US.exe


After installing it, apply the 8.1.6 patch ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/win/8.x/8.1.6/misc/AdbeRdrUpd816_all_incr.msp

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Guest
Jul 08, 2009 Jul 08, 2009

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Hello:

I'm not sure if this will help since I have never run across this particular issue but try running checkdisk on your boot drive forcing it to repair any errors it finds on the disk. Ensure you are running the command prompt with Administrative privledges or disable UAC first.

1. Click Start > Run

2. Type CMD > hit ENTER key

3. Type chkdsk /f > hit ENTER key

4. Type y to the prompt that informs you that checkdisk will run upon the next reboot

5. Type EXIT > hit ENTER

6. Reboot your system

I'll keep looking around for a posible resolution but try this for now. Have you applied all of the Microsoft security patches? Service packs? IE8?

Best of success!

     Michael

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LEGEND ,
Jul 08, 2009 Jul 08, 2009

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Not quite sure how CHKDSK (HD) can fix bad file associations (registry). But then this whole thing is a mystery...

Can one of the affected users please check the registry, and tell me the contents of this key (while the error is occurring)

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.exe

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Guest
Jul 09, 2009 Jul 09, 2009

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Me neither, Pat, except the registry resides on the hard drive thus the suggestion. It has been my experience that checkdisk has resolved very odd OS behaviors so I felt it worth the minimal effort it would take to complete. I admit I have never seen anything like this so I am grasping at straws. The same goes for the registry fix tool on Windows Live OneCare safety scanner, which is why I'd suggest that next if checkdisk doesn't fix the issue.

Good luck!

     Michael

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New Here ,
Sep 30, 2009 Sep 30, 2009

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Was this issue resolved?  I am having the same problem.  I am running WIndows XP and after installing Acrobat 7.0, most of my icons on my desktop and the programs had the adobe tile as the icon.  I installed Adobe 7 and now the affected icons have .lnk as their extension and I don't know how to open them.  I ran a CHKDSK which corrected some corrupted files.  Not sure how to get my icons back working correctly.  Any help would be appreciated.

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New Here ,
Sep 30, 2009 Sep 30, 2009

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Thanks for asking.

NO it was never resolved! The proposed solutions were so preposterous and time consuming that I abandoned Adobe for FoxIt Reader. Up to today if I try to install Adobe 9.0 on my 32 bit machine running Vista, I get the same problem. Ridiculous.

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New Here ,
Oct 07, 2009 Oct 07, 2009

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This is actually a Windows installer / User error and has been most common with Adobe Reader.  I could not find the Adobe tech doc that goes over the possible solutions, but here are a couple of sites with decent instructions.

Basically you need to correct a bad entry in the Registry:

http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vistaprograms/thread/16be61fe-76ef-4b91-9f60-3338cbcefb97


http://www.pcpowerguide.com/processes/exe/fix-exe-file-association-errors/

Once you have this fixed you can then re-install Reader.  BUT!!!  My guess is that something <i>odd</i> was going on during the installation OR you were doing something wrong during the installation.


My suggestion is to download the installer file and save it to your computer (to your desktop for example) then disconnect from the Internet (aka unplug the Ethernet cord/turn off wireless card), turn off any security software you may have (along with anything else you have running) and then try installing again.


If you continue to have problems, call Adobe support.


If you want to avoid being on the phone for long you can also seek online support.  There is a Adobe knowledge base document that covers this situation that I used to recommend to people but I can not seem to find it online today.  You could ask if they can send you a copy.

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New Here ,
Nov 10, 2009 Nov 10, 2009

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I am experiencing the same problem and i can ensure that it is not a user error.

I dont have much to add to the first post except from the fact that in my case,  once adobe reader is installed (9.2) and gives the known problem, a way to open the .exe files is right click and select open.

I have done as told in the latter post. But the options that are suggested to be changed in the link given are just as they are supposed to be.

I ended up using Foxit reader.

Seems like we are left out...

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New Here ,
Nov 17, 2009 Nov 17, 2009

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I had the same problem..and i fixed it !!

here is the solution

you must Reset and Fix Windows Vista default file extension type associations

and in order to do so

go to this site

http://www.kreslavsky.com/2009/03/reset-and-fix-windows-vista-default-file-extention-type-associatio...

download the vista fix file and open the exe fix registry file

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Guest
Nov 29, 2009 Nov 29, 2009

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I'm surprised Adobe would allow someone with 1 post to freely link to a script that changes a user's registery. If you're smart, you won't click the link. Even if it's a real fix, bad people normally spread viruses this way.

Easy fix -- Unintall Adobe Reader and hope they fix it so you can use it again.

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New Here ,
Nov 30, 2009 Nov 30, 2009

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I'm surprised Adobe would allow someone with 1 post to freely link to a script that changes a user's registery. If you're smart, you won't click the link. Even if it's a real fix, bad people normally spread viruses this way.

Easy fix -- Unintall Adobe Reader and hope they fix it so you can use it again.

well, am not a "bad people"..and its a real fix from a crediable source

i tried it my self and it worked just fine with no problems

if you wanna wait for adope to fix it..you will wait forever

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New Here ,
Nov 30, 2009 Nov 30, 2009

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It is a weird bug. I believe adobe will do nothing about it. Any Help From any user will be welcome from my side.

Anyhow the ones posted above did not solve the prob. FoxIt Reader was a good bypass for me.

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New Here ,
Nov 30, 2009 Nov 30, 2009

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I would just like to say again that this isNOT a Reader bug.  This is a Windows issue, most likely triggered by an issue with Windows Installer (which is used to install Reader).  You guys just happened to encounter it when you were installing Reader.

Here is the actual Microsoft KB document covering this issue:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555067

Here for example is a link to the same problem with WordPad:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/226825-46-help-files-converted-wordpad

Two, there are several ways to fix this issue.  I also want to state that I have fixed this issue several times for others.  I have also intentionally caused this issue so that I could be sure that the fixes I used did work (Win XP, Win 2K and Win Vista).  From the above link:

Method 1)

Manually edit the registry to remove the default association with .exe files.  Here is the walk through from the MS KB:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555067

Here is the same walk through detailing how to do this on the MS forums:

http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vistaprograms/thread/16be61fe-76ef-4b91-9f60-3338cbcefb97

Also please note this note at the bottom of the KB document:

"Note: If you are using Windows XP and you enable "System Restore" , you need to

           disable "System Restore" in "Safe Mode" before using the instructions above."

Here is how to enter Safe Mode (excerpt from MS KB doc):

Restart the computer in Safe Mode

To restart the computer in Safe Mode, use the appropriate method for your version of Microsoft Windows.

   1. Shut down, and then restart the computer.

   2. When you see the "Please select the operating system to start" message, press F8.

   3. On the Windows Advanced Options menu, use the ARROW keys to select Safe Mode, and then press ENTER.

   4. If you have a dual-boot computer or a multiboot computer, select the appropriate operating system from the list, and then press ENTER.

For more information about Safe Mode, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315222/ ) A description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XP

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/202485/ ) Description of Safe Boot Mode in Windows 2000

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/180902/ ) How to start a Windows 98-based computer in Safe Mode

Here is how to turn off system restore:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310405

Method 2)

Open up a command line prompt.  This can be done by going to Start > Run.  In the Run box type, "cmd" and press enter.  (don't type the quotes).

The rest is from the above post

>>

Reason is that your file associations has changed.

From the command prompt, type:

1. C:\>assoc|more <enter> --- this tells you the file associations that are in place

2. C:\>assoc .exe= <enter> ---- this removes the association on .exe files

>>

More information can be found in this Microsoft KB document:

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=323526

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Guest
Dec 03, 2009 Dec 03, 2009

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"I would just like to say again that this isNOT a Reader bug.  This is a Windows issue, most likely triggered by an issue with Windows Installer (which is used to install Reader).  You guys just happened to encounter it when you were installing Reader."

Typical response. Blame it on someone else. I did not just install Adobe Reader! Hard to trigger it during the install when I installed Reader more than 1 year ago!

If this is an old issue with MS, I hightly doubt MS would not have patch in place for a bug that launches an Adobe product. It's obvious Adobe is unwilling to look at the bug. Unfortunately, I can't use Adobe Reader or Air unless Adobe corrects the cause.

Your fixes do not help my issue, and it's absolutely ridiculous that Adobe expects their users to edit the registry to get their application to launch properly. The only fix is uninstalling Adobe Reader. It's unfortunate.

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LEGEND ,
Nov 30, 2009 Nov 30, 2009

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saifsaif wrote:

well, am not a "bad people"

That's what all the bad people say.

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New Here ,
Nov 30, 2009 Nov 30, 2009

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That's what all the bad people say.

really?.. I thought that bad people are proud to be bad

I think you are mistaken this with "I am innocent"

here is another link of the same registry fix on Winhelponline.com

http://www.winhelponline.com/articles/105/1/File-association-fixes-for-Windows-Vista.html

anyway, i just wanted to help..if you have any doubts don't do anything..

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New Here ,
Nov 30, 2009 Nov 30, 2009

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I don't recall the facts pertaining to the matter in question........

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New Here ,
Nov 30, 2009 Nov 30, 2009

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I don't recall the facts pertaining to the matter in question........

what?..

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