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OZO
Premium Member
join:2003-01-17

OZO

Premium Member

AcroRd32.exe process

How to get rid of it?

It shows itself in "Processes" tab in Task Manager and consumes (wastes) around 35MB memory indefinitely. Of cause it disappears after a reboot, but, if I make one mistake and open a PDF file in IE again, then it's here forever, or until I press "End Process" button in Task Manager.

I'm looking for any idea how to do it automatically (without calling Task Manager and pressing that button, as I'm doing right now). It may be some option (I did not find appropriate one) in the Reader, or some sort of script to kill the process...

I'm talking about Acrobat Reader ver.6.0.0. & IE 6.0.2800.1106.

purelander
Premium Member
join:2003-07-11

purelander

Premium Member

1) to kill the process, use a batch file with this tool:

»www.beyondlogic.org/solu ··· util.htm

2) to speed up Adobe Reader, use Adobe Reader SpeedUp:

»tnk-bootblock.co.uk/prod ··· ndex.php

EasyEricB
@dsl.lsan03.pacbell.n

EasyEricB to OZO

Anon

to OZO
Open pdf files in Acrobat rather than using the plugin with IE. Then when you close Acrobat, the process terminates.

Snoopy2
Premium Member
join:2001-03-29
Mobile, AL

Snoopy2 to OZO

Premium Member

to OZO
Have you uninstalled/reinstalled the program? Happened to me once and that was the solution for me. Give it a try.

Sweet Witch
Be the flame, not the moth.
MVM
join:2003-07-15
Gallifrey

Sweet Witch to OZO

MVM

to OZO
I just end task it when I'm done .
Suchaknight
Premium Member
join:2002-10-06
Houbytown

Suchaknight to OZO

Premium Member

to OZO
Did you turn off auto-update, and also the screen update box under startup in preferences? Gotta get both shut down or the bitch keeps trying to call out.
OZO
Premium Member
join:2003-01-17

OZO

Premium Member

Thank you all who offered help here .

To kill AcroRd32.exe process I may use:
1. "End Process" button in Task Manager.
2. Batch file that uses "pskill AcroRd32.exe" from sysinternals.com.
3. Start and immediate exit of AcroRd32.exe program.
All these ways require my attention and manual action every time after I get PDF file in IE. I'm rather looking for some automatic method.

I did actually turn off auto-update feature (as I always do), but it does not help to close the process when I done with looking a PDF file in IE.

I guess that it's done by design and there is no way around . I've seen this strange behavior in earlier versions of AR too, hoping that every new upgrade to higher version will resolve it. Now it's v.6 and it still here.
Or perhaps someone knows some trick here...
Suchaknight
Premium Member
join:2002-10-06
Houbytown

Suchaknight to OZO

Premium Member

to OZO
Did you turn off both of the updates? That fixed it for me.
OZO
Premium Member
join:2003-01-17

OZO

Premium Member

Click for full size
Startup
Click for full size
Updates
Here is my settings.

BTW, when AR exits - it keeps "Adobe" folder in "C:\Documents and Settings\...\Local Settings\Temp" folder. Weird...
Suchaknight
Premium Member
join:2002-10-06
Houbytown

Suchaknight to OZO

Premium Member

to OZO
When I unchecked *both*, it quit acting up on me. Prior to that, it would hammer my firewall trying to call home. Why is your Adobe folder in a Temp directory? It should be under Program Files? Something is messed up. I would uninstall it, and then reinstall in the proper place. By the way, dump that 'Download Manager', it's crap.

EasyEricB
@dsl.lsan03.pacbell.n

EasyEricB to OZO

Anon

to OZO
Still do not know what is wrong with the method I suggested. When I click on a pdf file, a seperate window of Acrobat Reader opens up. After closing the reader, the process is gone. What do you do when you finish reading the file inside IE? You click the "X". Same amount of effort is required in both instances. However unlike the previous method, acrord32.exe stays loaded in case you IE needs to read another pdf.

Try my technique and see if it works for you. Just make sure you disable web browser integration in Acrobat and uncheck confirm open after download in Windows' file types.

amazingm
Premium Member
join:2001-07-16
USA

amazingm

Premium Member

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said by EasyEricB:
Try my technique and see if it works for you. Just make sure you disable web browser integration in Acrobat and uncheck confirm open after download in Windows' file types.

I followed your techinique and now whenever I click on a pdf link in IE I get the following empty box. Acrobat does not launch to open the link. Is there another setting that I'm missing?

EasyEricB
@dsl.lsan03.pacbell.n

EasyEricB to OZO

Anon

to OZO
Try rechecking "confirm open after download". Now click on a linked pdf. Windows will ask you to either "open this file from current location" or "save file to disk". Check "open this file from current location" and uncheck "always ask before opening this type of file". Unfortunately, this technique often opens up blank IE Windows. I use the tabbed skin, MyIE2, so that does not bother me. To me this is less annoying than having to continuously hitting ctrl-alt-del to shutdown acrord32.exe.


amazingm
Premium Member
join:2001-07-16
USA

amazingm

Premium Member

It still doesn't work. I usually just right click on pdf links and save them to avoid having Acrobat running the background. I was hoping this fix would work for me, but it doesn't.
OZO
Premium Member
join:2003-01-17

OZO to Suchaknight

Premium Member

to Suchaknight
said by Suchaknight:
Why is your Adobe folder in a Temp directory? It should be under Program Files?
That Adobe folder is suppose to be a temporary folder containing some temporary data. But it still be in this place even when AcroRd32.exe process is not running anymore. I thought that every program should clean up resources after itself.
All Adobe program files are in place where they want to be - in "Program Files" (I did not change default installation a bit).
said by Suchaknight:
By the way, dump that 'Download Manager', it's crap.
I did not mention it in this thread, did I? What do you mean by that 'Download Manager'?
OZO

OZO to EasyEricB

Premium Member

to EasyEricB
said by EasyEricB:
Still do not know what is wrong with the method I suggested.
There is nothing wrong with it. I've mentioned it in my earlier post under p.3:
"3. Start and immediate exit of AcroRd32.exe program."

It's working. After I've done with PDF file I click "Back" button on IE (or close that instance of IE at all, while others may still running). Then I have to open "AcroRd32.exe" program (without loading any PDF file) and immediately close it (as you said - by pressing "X" button). At this moment "AcroRd32.exe" process is gone and actually frees memory (not true for HD though). Everything is fine. Except I have more interesting things to care about and do not want to keep my focus on that manual opening/closing AR every time I've done with looking at a PDF in IE. I hope you've got me right .

Freeing old resources should be an automatic process!

And that is what I'm looking for in this thread .

P.S. BTW, because it's happening with IE (I do not test/use it with other browsers) - I assume that there is some option on IE side that may help too. But it's just a guess...
Suchaknight
Premium Member
join:2002-10-06
Houbytown

Suchaknight to OZO

Premium Member

to OZO
said by OZO:
said by Suchaknight:
Why is your Adobe folder in a Temp directory? It should be under Program Files?
That Adobe folder is suppose to be a temporary folder containing some temporary data. But it still be in this place even when AcroRd32.exe process is not running anymore. I thought that every program should clean up resources after itself.
All Adobe program files are in place where they want to be - in "Program Files" (I did not change default installation a bit).
said by Suchaknight:
By the way, dump that 'Download Manager', it's crap.
I did not mention it in this thread, did I? What do you mean by that 'Download Manager'?

OK, I thought you meant the executable. When I installed Reader, it also installed something called Adobe Download Manager, which turned out to be bloatware.
OZO
Premium Member
join:2003-01-17

OZO

Premium Member

Suchaknight See Profile - I see what you mean now.

Still looking for a way to do it (removing AcroRd32.exe process from computer's memory) automatically.
I'd appreciate any thoughts here...
Suchaknight
Premium Member
join:2002-10-06
Houbytown

Suchaknight to OZO

Premium Member

to OZO
When I investigated this problem, it seemed like some people could cure it by unchecking those 2 update options, and some couldn't. The only sure fire cure I heard of was to downgrade to Version 5.x, which did not seem to have the glitch. If you figure out something else, I'd love to hear about it.:) I think it's BS that Adobe does that. Is that process trying to access the internet on your system also?
OZO
Premium Member
join:2003-01-17

OZO

Premium Member

You see my options set. With these settings AR keeps itself in memory (while I use it within IE!). Because one of the ways, that actually helps to free memory from it, is starting/exiting AR as a separate application - I guess, that it may not be a problem solely with Acrobat Reader. May be some settings in IE prevent that automatic unloading of the AcroRd32.exe process from memory.

It'd be nice if someone who uses another browser in that mode (showing PDF inside) will confirm/deny that automatic unload on AcroRd32.exe after you done with that document (by clicking a "Back" button, or by closing browser window - in multi-windows environment, or by closing the whole browser). If, in this case, ArcoRd32.exe will be kept in memory - it's likely the problem with AR, otherwise we have to look more carefully on IE.

Suchaknight See Profile - AR.5 did exactly the same thing to me, and, I've said before, I hoped that the new (v.6) version would cure it. Apparently, it doesn't.
And answering your question - after switching off autoupdate settings I have not caught the process attempting to connect outside the LAN (may be I was not too cautious though ).
Suchaknight
Premium Member
join:2002-10-06
Houbytown

Suchaknight to OZO

Premium Member

to OZO
Here's the Adobe Reader user forum, in case you'd like to kick around there. There are threads bitching about the same thing that's bothering you, so don't feel alone.

»www.adobeforums.com/cgi- ··· .ee6b2e6

steve1515
Premium Member
join:2000-08-07
Peabody, MA

steve1515

Premium Member

For me, it opens in IE when I view a pdf online. When I close my browser, it stays running for a while and they eventually terminates itself after a certain amount of time of non use. Does anyone else notice this happening?
Suchaknight
Premium Member
join:2002-10-06
Houbytown

Suchaknight

Premium Member

What does "a certain amount of time" mean? Most people can only get rid of it by killing the proc or rebooting.

steve1515
Premium Member
join:2000-08-07
Peabody, MA

steve1515

Premium Member

When ever I use it I don't kill the process. Later I check the task viewer and I see it's gone.
OZO
Premium Member
join:2003-01-17

OZO to Suchaknight

Premium Member

to Suchaknight
said by Suchaknight:
»www.adobeforums.com/cgi- ··· .ee6b2e6

Suchaknight See Profile - thank for the link. Among others I've found this thread - "How Do I Get Rid of ACRORD32", where some guy has asked very similar question. Guy defending this behavior (Ian Burton) says: "Reader continues to run in background, consuming almost negligible resources (for today's computers) until you click on another PDF. This is simply a way to reduce the time it takes to get a PDF to the screen. It seems pointless loading and unloading and loading over and over again the Reader files for each individual PDF you want to click on. Everyone has software running in background just in case it's needed - this is just another bit of software doing the right thing.".

Very biased point of view, I have to add. He thinks that consuming 35MB of RAM is "almost negligible resources". Well, I can't agree with it. He probably has a dream that everybody is just doing one thing with computers - reading one PDF file after another... If he'd have some influence on development of this "bit of software" - we should expect next v.7 of AR be a part of OS or at least run as service all the time (because it *should* be loaded once, and that load time is quite significant). I just hope he does not have that influence .

So, it looks like AR is left in memory by its design (until otherwise will be proven). Poor design...
Suchaknight
Premium Member
join:2002-10-06
Houbytown

Suchaknight

Premium Member

said by OZO:
"Reader continues to run in background, consuming almost negligible resources (for today's computers) until you click on another PDF. This is simply a way to reduce the time it takes to get a PDF to the screen. It seems pointless loading and unloading and loading over and over again the Reader files for each individual PDF you want to click on. Everyone has software running in background just in case it's needed - this is just another bit of software doing the right thing.".

It's not a bug, it's a feature!:)
OZO
Premium Member
join:2003-01-17

OZO

Premium Member

First of all - thank you all for participation.

I've found a lot of similar discussions on adobeforum.com. People noticed that AcroRd32.exe stays resident "for a while". They say: "There have been a number of posts here that suggest that "for a while" may mean forever as there have been reports that it never terminates until Windows is closed down or it is terminated manually."

Some even show sense of humor while answering on question that "Having the program in memory doesn't make it any faster and definitely slows down my 2.0 gigahertz computer!!!" - suggesting - "Something wrong with the computer then. Perhaps you need more RAM".

Ok, now when we know that AcroRd32.exe lingering in memory after work is done is not a bug, but rather is a "feature" - what is the best way to "fight" that feature?

Probably it's to create on desktop shortcut for AR, then, after you complete your work with reading PDF in IE, start/stop AR by the shortcut. Or make sure that you close ALL IE windows (not just the one with PDF in it) and then wait for a while (see this suggestion).

Be aware though - killing AR in Task Manager manually or by running a .bat file has a side effect - AR may accumulate big amount of files in temporary folder. Some folks were witnesses that it may eventually crash the AR itself. So, keeping track on those files in "Temp" is not a bad idea too.

JTM1051
MVM
join:2000-07-08
Terrell, TX

JTM1051

MVM

Click for full size
Ozo,

In the Internet Preferences have you unchecked "Display in PDF in browser"?

I just opened a pdf from another site with IE 6 SP1, then closed Acrobat Reader window, checked "Processes" tab in Task Manager and I have no AcroRd32.exe.
JTM1051

JTM1051 to OZO

MVM

to OZO
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Click for full size
said by OZO:
...
It'd be nice if someone who uses another browser in that mode (showing PDF inside) will confirm/deny that automatic unload on AcroRd32.exe after you done with that document (by clicking a "Back" button, or by closing browser window - in multi-windows environment, or by closing the whole browser). If, in this case, ArcoRd32.exe will be kept in memory - it's likely the problem with AR, otherwise we have to look more carefully on IE.
Here's two screen shots.
One with IE and Acrobat Reader Window open with Processes tab in Task Manager -- shows AcroRd32.exe.

The second sreen shot when I close the Acrobat Reader Window so does AcroRd32.exe.
OZO
Premium Member
join:2003-01-17

OZO to JTM1051

Premium Member

to JTM1051
Thank you - JTM1051 See Profile. It looks like a possible solution. I'll try to get used to it .

By the way, do you see another process "WISPTIS.EXE" at the time you start AR?

Every time I run AR it starts too and reminds resident (5.3 MB) even if AR is closed.