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Adobe Acrobat 9 not connecting to activation server

Discussion in 'Other PC Software' started by Christer, 2017/08/25.

  1. 2017/08/25
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff Thread Starter

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    Last weekend, I helped a friend clone his failing HDD to a new SSD. To make a long story short;

    When I built the system for him, on the HDD Windows 7 was installed with all his programs including Acrobat 9.

    During the free period, the system was upgraded to Windows 10 (the initial release). Acrobat was deactivated on the system and after upgrading it was reactivated. No problems and it worked fine on Windows 10, despite the fact that it is said to not be compatible. Subsequently, Windows 10 has been upgraded to the current release (1703) and Acrobat still worked fine.

    When I was about to clone the failing HDD to the new SSD, I went to the spot in Acrobat where it is activated/deactivated but the options were greyed out - as I understood it, no connection to the server. I went ahead and did the cloning, installed the SSD in place of the HDD and everything worked fine.

    Well, not everything. The following week, my friend told me that Acrobat didn't work. It is possible to create one single PDF but not a second. He is prompted to activate the software but that is not possible with the options greyed out and the option is still to deactivate, not activate. To create a second PDF, he has to shut down Acrobat and restart it.

    Currently, my planned action on my next visit is to remove the activation directory and files from the system. Restart the computer and run Acrobat in hope for being prompted for a serial number and automatic activation.

    If that doesn't solve the problem, uninstalling, cleaning using Adobes tool and reinstalling is on the agenda.

    I'm not at his computer and can not follow a step by step guidance until my next visit but if anyone has experienced the same or a similar problem, please, give a hint or two that possibly helps fixing the connection problem.
     
  2. 2017/08/29
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff Thread Starter

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    An update:

    I told my friend how to do it but the result was not the one we hoped for. He was prompted to reinstall Acrobat 9. He want's me to do that and in the meantime, the original directory and file has been restored from the recycle bin and he's back in square one.
     

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  4. 2017/08/29
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff Thread Starter

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    A side note:

    I don't think the connection problem has anything to do with cloning from HDD to SSD. The problem was evident when the HDD was still in use. I suspect the upgrade to a subsequent version of Windows 10 being the culprit since Acrobat 9 worked fine after the initial upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 (don't remember which version) and was successfully activated.

    The fact that Arcobat 9 sees the SSD as a new installation was expected. That's the reason why I, regrettably unsuccessfully, tried to deactivate prior to cloning.

    I hope uninstalling and reinstalling works. If not ... :mad: ... we have painted ourselves into the proverbial corner.
     
  5. 2017/08/29
    retiredlearner

    retiredlearner SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

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  6. 2017/08/30
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff Thread Starter

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    Hi retiredlearner,

    Thanks for your hint. I will ask him but as I remember it, PDF-files open in Acrobat 9. He uses Edge but since Acrobat 9 is a fully functional program and not only a reader, I think that it gets set as the default. (Even Microsoft couldn't be that self centered ... :rolleyes: ... right?)
     
  7. 2017/09/10
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff Thread Starter

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    Another update:

    I visited my friend today and did som work on his computer.

    He himself had not been able to sit on his hands but had attempted uninstalling and reinstalling. The result was that he had two versions, one Swedish and one English, neither worked. It was not possible to uninstall any of the versions via "programs and features" (or whatever it's called in Windows 10).

    I ran Adobes cleaning tool and hoped for the best. It uninstalled both versions with the exception of the entry in the "start menu".

    I ran CCleaner which under "programs" found no problems with anything "Adobe" at all. The registry cleaner found a few "adobe entries" and I let it fix those specific to Acrobat but left the ones that seemed "common", like the updater, alone. CCleaner too left the entry in the "start menu" behind but I ignored it.

    I must say that I'm impressed by the Adobe cleaning tool!

    Next, I restarted and ran the original installer. After entering the license code, it verified legitimacy over the internet and the installation completed. After that, I installad all the updates in batches up to and including 9.5.5.

    Almost everything seems to work fine:

    It's possible to work with it and create several PDFs without problems, no need to restart and no prompts to activate (which apparently was acchieved during installation).

    I don't know what function Acrobat Distiller performs but it doesn't run when initiated from the "start menu". During startup, it goes to the first screen but no further and has to be killed via the task manager. That's not a serious issue since he has never used it (and neither have I).

    The final issue that remains are greyed out options to Register and Deactivate the software but it now is activated (during the installation) and he has no need to deactivate. As I recall it, these functions worked (not greyed out) after the system had been upgraded from Win 7 to Win 10 (the initial release) but a subsequent upgrade to a new version of Win 10 "broke it".

    We keep our fingers crossed and hope that Acrobat itself keeps working fine and are not concerned about the non functioning Distiller, possibly also a victim of an upgrade of Win 10 to a new version.
     

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