Why is Adobe Acrobat Not Responding? Here’s How to Fix It
Adobe Acrobat is among the cutting-edge and standalone applications for managing PDF files effortlessly. This tool can make it possible to edit, access, view, or even add the annotations in minutes. Here, imagine the issue of Adobe Acrobat not responding or Acrobat keeps crashing, which can cause frustration and delay in your day-to-day workflow. Luckily, this guide will provide the common reasons behind slowdown and other issues, including the fixes. So, follow this comprehensive troubleshooting guide for smooth accessibility of Adobe services.
Adobe Not Responding – Common Symptoms
Adobe Acrobat issues aren’t new for professionals. The malfunctioning of the software comes with warning signs and makes it unresponsive. Below are the danger signs that you might address when Adobe Acrobat has stopped working:
- Acrobat keeps shutting down or freezing instantly
- Adobe Acrobat keeps crashing when saving or accessing the PDFs.
- The tool stops functioning when editing, protecting, or printing the PDF document.
Why is My Adobe Acrobat Not Responding
If Adobe Acrobat becomes unresponsive and constantly freezes or crashes, there are a myriad of reasons. Adobe Acrobat issues prevent users from organizing files, especially modifying, highlighting, printing, etc. Of course! It is a disturbing problem for many professionals.
Here’s why does Adobe keep crashing on your Windows or macOS:
- Working on an Outdated Version of Acrobat: If you use the outdated software of Adobe Acrobat for editing the PDF file, it might contain glitches or compatibility errors. This issue triggers performance problems with the tool.
- Corrupted PDFs: Either your PDF file is corrupted or highly encrypted, which leads to issues like Adobe keeps crashing when modifying the PDF. In this way, you need to take prompt action as it increases the risk of data loss and modification.
- Insufficient Storage on System: If your system has insufficient storage for installing or upgrading the Acrobat DC Pro tool then, it might hinder the functions of the tool. Moreover, you need to check the storage space on your Win & Mac OS.
- Temporary Glitches on Acrobat: Bugs or glitches are terrible. There are multiple reasons for Adobe Acrobat not responding, including internet connectivity, hardware bugs, and a more temporary impact on Acrobat, making it unresponsive or not opening.
- Too Many Cache Files: On your system, Acrobat keeps the temporary data, i.e., cache files of documents. Often, these data either get corrupted or become too large, which triggers problems like Adobe Acrobat freezing on Windows 11 or macOS.
- Media-Rich PDF File: Large or multimedia-supported PDF files raise problems like Adobe not working. Moreover, embedded media like images, video, or audio clips expand the document size. It certainly increases the loading time, so it is suggested to organize PDF files when this error occurs.
Overall, these are the reasons behind Adobe not responding. This problem has a broader impact on users, especially in terms of productivity and managing PDFs without any protection. Additionally, it leads to frustration and reduces the workflow at once. Now, let’s dive into the methods to fix it.
10 Effective Fixes for Adobe Not Responding on Windows or Mac OS
Here, we are going to discover the best troubleshooting fixes for Adobe Acrobat DC not responding on your Windows and Mac OS. Using these tips, you can easily work with the functions of Acrobat without facing any challenges. So, these are the fixes for Acrobat Pro stopped working:
- Update Adobe Acrobat DC Tool
- Check Space on Windows and Mac OS
- Repair Corrupted PDF Files
- Reset Adobe Acrobat Preferences
- Reinstall Acrobat Software
- Disable All Conflicting Software
- Check Your System Resources in Windows or macOS
- Clear Recently Viewed Files
- Optimize the Size of Media-Supported PDFs
- Try Adobe Acrobat Diagnostics Tool
Now, let’s dive into learn these basic to advanced fixes in a detailed manner.
Method 1: Update Adobe Acrobat DC When Adobe Keeps Crashing
If constantly addressing the issue of PDF will not open in Adobe Acrobat DC, it might happen when working on outdated software. To fix it, try to update this software to clear all the minor bugs and temporary performance glitches. In this way, you can increase the workflow fast and easily edit or open protected PDFs using the Acrobat tool.
Here’s how to update Adobe Acrobat Pro to the latest version:
- To manually check the update > open Acrobat DC.
- Move to Help > Check for Updates.
- If there is any current update > press Download to update it.
Method 2: Check Storage Space on Windows and Mac OS
Adobe not responding or opening Mac or Windows OS, try this effective and simple troubleshooting tip. If the space is insufficient on your system, it certainly hampers the services of Adobe Acrobat. Hence, we recommend you check for storage to manage the working of smooth working of pro software. To do so, look for settings and check the space at once.
Method 3: Repair Corrupted PDF Files When Adobe Not Responding
The corruption of PDF files is yet another reason behind Adobe Acrobat not responding or even keep crashing when opening or editing the document. Here, immediate action is necessary to repair the corrupted cache data to ensure the proper functioning of the Acrobat tool.
To fix the corrupted PDFs, run Acrobat Repair software, the built-in tool for removing the file incompatibility. Additionally, you can create new user profiles to avoid these errors when accessing PDF documents.
Method 4: Reset Adobe Acrobat Preferences
Reviewing the preferences is considered an advanced fix for Adobe Acrobat Pro not responding.Using this method, you can improve the performance while fixing the minor background glitches. Here’s the stepwise guide to resetting the default Acrobat DC preferences on Windows:
2. To open the Preferences folder: follow the below directory:
- For Windows 10 & 11
C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Acrobat\DC\Preferences - For Windows 8 & 7
C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Acrobat\11.0\Preferences
3. Rename the folder > Launch the Acrobat again on your system.
If Adobe Acrobat not responding Mac, try the below steps to reset Acrobat Pro preferences on macOS:
- Open Adobe Acrobat > tap Edit > Preferences.
- Now, reset all the default preferences.
- Lastly, re-launch the Acrobat on your MacBook.
Method 5: Reinstall Acrobat Pro Software to Fix Acrobat Not Responding
If the issue of Adobe keeps crashing when editing PDF persists, instantly uninstall the
Adobe Acrobat tool on your system. In this way, you can delete the outdated version from your computer. After uninstalling the tool, reinstall the Acrobat Pro software on your PC. Hence, you can download the latest software and seamlessly edit or disable limitations from document with ease.
Method 6: Disable All Conflicting Software
After using the above troubleshooting guide, if regularly facing the issue of Adobe Acrobat not responding Mac or Windows OS. Then, disable all the background conflicting software from your System. Additionally, remove the problematic plugins or extensions, these might cause errors when working with Adobe services. In this way, you can fix issues with Acrobat.
Method 7: Check Your System Resources in Windows or macOS
Adobe Acrobat is not responding Windows 11 or macOS due to insufficient system resources, such as RAM, disk space, and CPU. Hence, Acrobat may freeze when your computer is overloaded with storage and unwanted background applications. Below is what to do when Adobe Acrobat is not responding on Windows 11 and Mac:
- For Windows 11 – Clear Background Apps
- On your system, visit Task Manager (press Ctrl + Shift + Esc).
- Move to Processes and tap CPU > sort the high usage application.
- Now, perform a right-click to close or End Task to remove unwanted applications.
- For macOS – Optimize the Disk Space
- Move to the Apple Menu and tab About This Mac and choose the Storage option.
- Now, manage your space and empty it.
Method 8: Clear Recently Viewed Files
If you are continuously facing the issue of Adobe Acrobat DC not responding or Adobe not responding, try to delete recently uploaded PDF files in Acrobat. There is a high chance that files are large, causing sudden crashes. Removing PDFs improves loading time and prevents unresponsiveness. Below are the quick steps to fix Adobe Acrobat Pro not responding:
- In Acrobat > look for Recent > select All > delete it.
Method 9: Optimize the Size of Media-Supported PDF Documents
After trying the above fix, I’m still wondering what to do when Adobe is not responding; it mainly occurs due to the large PDF size. If your document has rich media content like video, music, static images, and more, it makes the file large. The consequences of this problem include slow performance and crashing of the Acrobat tool. SysTools PDF Media Remover is the advanced solution for removing these media files to optimize document size.
This software is functional for Windows or macOS. In other words, it allows you to delete all the unwanted media and get manageable files to prevent Adobe Acrobat issues.
Method 10: Try Adobe Acrobat Diagnostics Software
If nothing works, use the Adobe Acrobat Diagnostics tool to get help from the Adobe Support system. The technical panel will provide effective troubleshooting fixes based on the root cause. This way, you can regain the functionality of the Adobe Acrobat Pro tool on Windows or macOS.
Overall, these are the 10 effective troubleshooting techniques for what to do when Adobe is not responding. With this, you can easily access all the services of the Acrobat tool and resolve the issues in the future.
Bonus Tip: Try SysTools Software When Adobe Not Reponding to Prevent Future Issues
If Adobe Acrobat not responding on Windows or Mac OS, use SysTools PDF Unlocker Software. It is an all-in-one and advanced tool specifically designed for Win & macOS. This pro tool is regarded as the best alternative solution to Adobe Acrobat DC. Using this tool, you can remove all the owner-level permissions, including printing, editing, copying, viewing, and extracting the pages. With this, you can avail of PDF rights without any risk.
The other amazing features of this tool include auto-analyzing of password-protected PDFs. It has a direct feature to print all the PDF-restricted files at once. Moreover, you can ensure the exact folder structure when unlocking the PDF document.
Additionally, this software helps to protect the richness of PDF elements. So, download this tool when facing issues like unable to edit PDF in Acrobat or Acrobat Pro stopped working on Mac or Windows OS.
Need Help! Read FAQs on “Adobe Acrobat Has Stopped Working”
Q. Why does Adobe Acrobat keep crashing when I try to sign in?
There are multiple reasons behind Acrobat Pro stopped working or kept crashing on Windows or Mac OS: working on an outdated version, network issues, temporary glitches with Adobe, and corrupted cache files. This common error triggers the issues with Adobe software.
Q. What to do when Acrobat DC gets freezes?
You can try these troubleshooting tips when experiencing issues of Adobe Acrobat DC not opening:
1. Update Your Adobe Acrobat
2. Repair Corrupted PDFs File
3. Re-install Acrobat Tool
4. Download SysTools Pro Tool
Q. Why will Adobe Acrobat DC not open in Windows 11?
Some of the common causes behind the issue of can’t open Adobe Acrobat on Windows 11 are incompatibility with Acrobat software, insufficient storage on the computer, and temporary bugs with the Adobe tool.
Let’s Wrap Up!
In this guide, we have shared the 10 best troubleshooting tips for Adobe Acrobat not responding for both Windows and Mac OS. By following these fixes, you can easily use the functions of Adobe. However, we recommend you use the SysTools software, which is the alternative option if you are facing trouble with the Acrobat tool.