Error-Printing Message Using Acrobat Pro Under Vista 64-bit

A couple of suggestions for you. Have you installed the Hotfix from Microsoft?
"There is a known issue with 64-bit versions of these operating systems which causes the Adobe PDF Printer to not work correctly. Microsoft has released a Hot Fix for this issue which is documented in Microsoft Knowledge Base Article #930627 available at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930627. Adobe has tested and will support the Adobe PDF Printer with this Hot Fix installed."
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=kb401730&sliceId=1Did you Activate your copy of Acrobat 8 Pro? Did you personalize your copy of Office?

Let us know if these suggestions help.

Thanks for the help, BUT no luck.

1. My copy of Acrobat has been activated.
2. Office activated and personalized.
3. When I try to download the patch that you have identified, what happens is that the system comes back and informs me that "The update does not apply to your system." Consequently, the patch is not installed.

Any other ideas. The problem still persists.

TIA.

The download behavior is strange because the Hotfix clearly states that it's for the Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit Edition. Do you already have the following file on your system?
Gdi32.dll 6.0.6000.20591 378,368 04-May-2007 03:53 x64

Thank you, first of all, for your persistence. Second, I did a search and this dll was present. The problem still persists and I cannot seem to carry out the hotkey update that you first proposed.

TIA.

Can you explain your missing dll installation problem? Have you tried to Repair your installation under the Acrobat Help menu?

First of all, one of the first things that I did when I tried to deal with this problem was that of trying to repair the problem. This was done twice. After each repair, I immediately tried to execute the hotkey fix. I did click the fix for Vista 64 bit. It downloaded and when it started to install, it would stop and I would receive an error message that the update was not carried out because it was not appropriate for my system. What is strange is that I was able to download and install the public pdf printer files -- bullzip specifically. I do not get any error messages with this printer.

Oh well. BTW, please expect a bit of a delay in responding because I am currently in Germany.

Again, thank you for your help.

Ensure that the Print Spooler process is running and set to Automatic, and then repair Acrobat.

1. Select Start > Settings > Control Panel.
2. Double-click Administrative Tools and then double-click Services.
3. Locate the service Print Spooler.
4. If the Startup Type is not Automatic, then set it to Automatic:
1. Right-click the Print Spooler.
2. Choose Properties.
3. Choose the General tab.
4. Choose Automatic in the Startup Type menu.
5. Click OK.
5. If the Print Spooler service is not running, then start it.
1. Right-click the Print Spooler line.
2. Select Start from the menu.
6. Start Acrobat, and choose Help > Detect And Repair.

SpartySAM,

I am experiencing a similar issue. I have a feeling that the gdi32.dll is the issue. I also am unable to update it using the Windows Update Standalone Installer available at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930627. But, this makes sense since I am running Vista Ultimate w/ SP1 applied, and there is a newer version of gdi32.dll in SP1 than what the hotfix offers.

I have a few questions for you, to see if our problem is similar:

1. Are you able to print to the Adobe PDF printer from an application such as Notepad? Notepad.exe is a 64-bit application in Vista x64.
2. Are you able to print to the Adobe PDF printer from Internet Explorer (64-bit)? If so, do you experience the spooling / hanging issue from standard Internet Explorer (32-bit)? If you do, then this is further evidence that we're unable to print in 32-bit applications, because I can print to Adobe PDF from 64-bit IE.
3. I'm unable to print in Office applications (all of which are 32-bit) -- same as you.
4. Are you running Vista w/ SP1 installed?
5. What is the version number of gdi32.dll on your system? The easiest way to find this is to click on the Start button, type "gdi32.dll" into the "Start Search" box, and mouse over the gdi32.dll file that appears in the search results. The Knowledge Base article mentions version 6.0.6000.20591 for gdi32.dll, but my machine running Vista w/ SP1 is 6.0.6001.18023.

I wonder if somehow this issue reared its head again between version 6.0.6000.20591 and 6.0.6001.18023. Is there anyone out there who is running Vista x64 w/o SP1 installed and has their Adobe PDF printer working with this hotfix?

Well, I am back from Germany. I have searched the computer for Gdi32.dll. Like NotoriousBOG, I have the same Gdi32.dll -- 6.0.6001.18023. I have implemented the suggested actions laid out by Ikassuba on May 27. I have run a detect and repair. The result -- no difference. When I try print using the Adobe pdf printer, I get an error message - error - print. Subsequently, the printer goes offline. I am getting frustrated with this lack of quality control on the part of Adobe (I teach Supply Chain and Operations Management at Michigan State University and yes, I know about quality). The only way for me to print an pdf file is to use bullzip, which works without error.

While appreciate the help, the error still persists.

Dear all,
I am also experiencing serious problems with XP 64 bit. I have tried to remove and reinstall everything multiple times, also tried repair and/or reinstall Acrobat separately and using the hotfix without any succes.
When I try to print a document from Office 2007 the print dialog gives error (e.g. test.docx : error printing) but also another document appears: Acr14.doc and remains in the print dialog.
When trying to print from Firefox the document just hangs in the print dialog without doing anything.
Printing a text fire directly from Acrobat - Create PDF, succeeds without any problems.
Really hope this can be solved. Meanwhile I am using PrimoPDF without
problems.

Maybe it has something to do with one of the latest Adobe updates? As in my previous configuration (before reinstall of Win XP 64 bit) it was running without any problems.

Thanks in advance!

Also having the same problem...

I run Vista Ultimate X64 with Service Pack 1. My GDI32.DLL version is 6.0.6001.18023. The hotfix from Microsoft says that it doesn't apply to my system. PDF printer bombs. Not impressed.

Any ideas?

I am having a similar problem. I have 25 windows XP x64 machines that will error out ANYTIME one of my users tries to print ANY pdf. It will error out with blah blah blah gdi32.dll. I thought it had to do with the windows update so I restored back to 3 days ago before I completed the windows update It worked for an hour and then the same error happened. I have tried nearly EVERYTHING to fix this and nothing works. I've replaced the gdi32.dll, uninstalled acrobat, reinstalled, tried a different version of acrobat (reader) and still nothing. Does anyone have ANY idea what the hell is going on.......

I've got an open support request with Adobe regarding this. I'll update if it is resolved.

Thank you very much, I'll update if any bright ideas can provide a solution.....

I didn't realize you were a Spartan (I'm surrounded by them). Can you tell me if you're able to "Print to File" when you print to the PDF printer menu? If so, can you open the file in Distiller to see if you get a full PDF? If not, perhaps the AcroTray isn't running.

I'm not sure if you are replying to me (I dont think so) but I thought I would give an update to my xp64 problem when trying to print any kind of pdf. The only solution I was able to find is completing a repair install of the windows x64 OS. I tried uninstalling all update/service packs/MS office. everything! And still nothing worked until I completed a repair install, reinstalled all updates/service packs and MS Office. Now everything works perfectly, however I still have 10 more machines that I must do this to. Just and FYI if anyone else is having this issue.

I have similar problems, which only happened in the past week. My o/s is 64-bit Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 and my Adobe Acrobat Professional is version 8.1.2. When trying to convert from a single page of b&w text from Word 2002 it shows it spooling, but does not complete and Word stops responding. After forcing it to shut down, I have to reboot to clear the printer queue. I have tried repairing both Acrobat and Word. I have tried many different settings i.e. quality b&w etc. but no luck. I did try the MS hotfix, but presumably because I already have SP1, it cannot install. My gdi32.dll is ver 6.0.6001.18023. Any new developments?

TO Padre :
I have the same problem as yours. The only different thing from your computer is that I use office 2007(word 2007). Do u got any solution now?
I had mail to one friend of mine last night , who work in Microsoft. She still not reply me until today.

Suck Vista 64 bits !

Some things to check:

Right click on Adobe PDF > Properties > Ports - is PDF port listed and is Adobe PDF printer set to that port?Bring up task manager - is a task called Acrotray.exe running?

Having the same problems; with equally poor results. Acrotray is NOT running (can anyone advise how to make it do so?)

A couple of unusual twists- my CS3 will not authorize; nor can I get Detect and Repair menu under Acrobat/ Help. Have uninstalled / reinstalled with the maddening .dll error every time- hotfix does NOT work

Does anyone have experience with Acrobat 8 on the Mac platform? Wasn't this supposed to be a productivity application?

With the help of Adobe Tech support, I found that this solved the problem:
Go to :http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=1&platform=Windows
and download:

1) (Adobe Acrobat 8.1 Professional and Standard update - English, French, German, and Japanese)

2) Adobe Acrobat 8.1.1 Professional and Standard update - multiple languages

(3) Adobe Acrobat 8.1.2 Professional and Standard update - multiple languages

Install each update IN ORDER- 8.1, 8.1.1, 8.1.2-, rebooting between upgrades. After that, it still doesn't work until you go to Control Panel/ Printers/ PDF/Properties/Advanced- make SURE "Print directly to Printer" is selected.
Then it worked.

I had the same problem and tried all of the solutions offered here with no luck. I ended up turning off User Account Control in the User Accounts control panel (requires a restart). I then deleted the Acrobat PDF printer, restarted. Then I tried to create a PDF using the contextual menu (right click) and Acrobat offered to repair installation. It repaired the installation, restarted and then it worked both from the print menu and the contextual menu. I think the problem is something to do with Vista preventing software from accessing drives unless run in admin mode. Since I couldn't figure out how to run in admin mode, this was the only alternative.

I found a solution to this, not sure why this is happening, but if you are using a CLP/TLP AOO (ie Volume license) media and having this problem try this:

Copy the adobeconfig.xml file from the Adobe Acrobat 8 directory on the DVD to:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat 8.0\Acrobat\alm_config_files

Replace any existing files. Goes without saying - backup whats in there before doing this, and don't follow this procedure if you're using the retail version otherwise the product will stop launching.

Phew! After reading all these posts, I finally found the needle in the haystack. In my case, running Vista Ultimate SP1, with 8.1.2 installed, I change the properties on the PDF printer (Advanced) to "print directly to printer" and voila, the problem was solved. Thanks to all who contributed... somehow we finally got there!

I have Vista 64bit SP1, Office 2007 Pro, and Acrobat 8.1.2 Pro. When converting any document (Excel or Word) and the PDF printer would always leave the printer notification in the system tray with the document being converted in an error state. After the conversion of the document to PDF I would open the print spool, click on the document and delete it, but that is annoying as I had to delete it twice for it to go away. I have tried a few solutions and the one that worked 100% on the first try is as listed in the quote above.

1) I deleted the PDF printer from my printers.
2) MSCONFIG, Tools, turn off UAC and reboot
3) Start Acrobat, Help Menu, Repair
4) Tried a test document and had no errors.
5) Reboot
6) Turn on UAC and Reboot.

Problem solved !!!


Thanks for the tip.

Step 1: Go to the Control Panel and select Printers

Step 2: Right-Click on the Adobe PDF Printer icon.

Step 3: Select Properties

Step 4: Click on Ports

Step 5: Select or make sure that the Check is on the Port "Desktop\*.pdf" with the Description "Adobe PDF Port" with the Printer "Adobe PDF"

Step 6: Try to do a test print to the Adobe PDF printer (from an application like Internet Explorer or a word processing program like MS Word)

Tell me if that works.

Thank you so much for the solution(s) posted here! Xerses, yours is the one I used, and it worked (thus far)! I only had to do it, in part, as I already had UAC disabled, and (largely irrelevant) I'm using Vista x86, but I'm not getting errors anymore.

Tariqm1, I'll try switching ports if the error reappears. Right now, my port is Documents\*.pdf, and Desktop\*.pdf doesn't show "Adobe PDF" only appears next to the selected "Documents" port.

Again, thank you to everyone for these helpful posts! I've searched in the past and never entered the right string into Google to find AUC, which I should have joined years ago.