Adobe Acrobat Pro (CS6) Stops Opening in Windows

I recently ran into an odd little problem while working with a copy of Adobe Acrobat Pro (installed as part of a CS6 suite) in Windows. In this case both the problem and the solution were specific to when I had installed Acrobat and the platform that I was using at the time. This particular instance of Windows 8.1 wasn’t very old – all of the data had recently been transferred from a Windows 7 system.

Sometime last week, while attempting to view a PDF file from within Outlook, the installed copy of Acrobat X simply quit working. It didn’t fail with an error. It simply didn’t launch. My other Adobe CS6 applications continued to work just fine. This sudden change in behavior was a bit alarming at first but it didn’t take me very long to identify the problem.

It seems that, for whatever reason, Acrobat encountered a problem when it had passed the initial 30-day trial period. This is even more of an oddity considering that I had never set it up to act as a trial – the product key was correctly entered when I originally installed the software.

While searching for a solution I stumbled upon an Adobe support document (possibly linked from a forum post somewhere) that describes the problem I was having and it also offers a file to fix the problem. In my case Solution 1 worked perfectly. Acrobat Pro now opens once again. The link to the support document is included below:

Acrobat Help / Doesn’t launch after 30 days | Installed as part of a CS6 suite

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (Nintendo 3DS)

Even though I own several less-portable consoles, lately I’ve found myself spending more of my gaming time on the 3DS than the Wii, PS3, or Xbox 360. In fact, even though I recently purchased Grand Theft Auto V I haven’t touched it. The 3DS has occupied an interesting amount of free time; something that is rare these days.

While away on a work trip I was itching to pickup a new game for my Nintendo 3DS. I had viewed some of the demo videos and read a few, positive snippets about Mario & Luigi: Dream Team so one night I purchased and downloaded the game via the Nintendo eShop on the 3DS.

I’ve found this game to be more addictive than anything else I’ve played in a while. The mechanics are somewhat similar to Paper Mario: Sticker Star. It’s a combination of RPG and action gameplay and many of the battles boil down to using certain items, moves, and (mostly) perfect timing. That being said, it’s also very different from Sticker Star in many ways. As far as I can tell this is a much larger game.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

I’ve had a Nintendo 3DS for a while and lately I’ve actually played on it more than my other consoles, most likely because it’s just easy to pick up and play. About a month ago I purchased Paper Mario: Sticker Star.

Surprisingly, I actually finished the game. This has been a rare thing over the past few years. Often, I purchase a game and take my time working on it. Even Mass Effect 3, which I was anticipating for some time and pre-ordered, was a game that I spent several months playing off-and-on before I finished it.

Where Can I Find ImageX for Windows 7?

It seems that the imagex tool is only available as part of the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK). For Windows 7 the kit is an ISO disc image available for download from Microsoft. The Website reports that the download size is 1 GB, though my download currently shows that the file is 1.7 GB.

The Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) for Windows 7 (via Microsoft Downloads)

While writing this post I’m in the process of downloading the disc image. At this point I don’t know exactly what I’ll need to do to get the file into an active Windows 7 installation, but I’m assuming I’ll be able to boot the Windows PE disc and then copy the imagex tool out.

My intention is to use this tool to backup an active Windows 7 system. The image will be stored on a drive attached to a Mac across the network.

It may be possible to find a site that offers only the imagex tool itself for download. However, I think downloading the file directly from Microsoft in its current packaging is probably the best method.

Update: The WAIK can be installed directly into a running system without having to boot into a Windows PE environment. However, imagex seemed to have an issue with creating an image on a network share. It’s likely that I was missing some steps or information. I ended up going the easy route and simply using the built-in Windows backup utility instead.

Faster PS3 Downloads (via a Mac Proxy and Disabling UPnP)

Like many PS3 users, I’ve been frustrated by horribly slow PS3 downloads since I purchased the console (firmware and game updates included). I’ve tried setting a local IP and using DNS servers other than my ISP’s. I also tried turning off the option to search for media servers. None of that seemed to make a difference. I’ve made two changes recently that appear to have improved download speeds. Unfortunately, I implemented them without properly testing them individually so I don’t know if only one change or both is what made the difference.

The first change I made was to implement one of the standard suggestions found in forums, which is to setup a local proxy server and have the PS3 connect through it. Since I use a Mac I downloaded SquidMan (a Squid GUI), which will also download and install Squid itself (the proxy server software). I did have only the proxy setup at first and it didn’t seem faster but that wasn’t for very long so I can’t state that it didn’t help – perhaps it took a little while for the PS3 connection to really get moving through the proxy. When I configured the proxy server I set it up to only accept connections from a local IP address assigned to the PS3.

The second change I made, when setting up the PS3 again after installing a working hard drive, was to turn off the option to enable UPnP (only in the PS3 network settings, not in my router). Perhaps the PS3 detects UPnP as working in situations where it really isn’t and thus the connection is slower than expected?

Again, I don’t know which option (or if was a combination of the two) made the difference but downloads have been significantly faster. It’s worth noting that this seems to have been the solution to my problem, but each network configuration is different so you may or may not benefit from these changes. Please feel free to leave a comment to let me know if it does work for you.

Updated 06/28/2011: I had a request via comment to include more information about the setup of SquidMan. I’m not planning to add a complete guide or screenshots but I am including a few notes that may be critical in setting this up.

I left out one critical piece of information, most likely because it’s how my gear has been configured for a long time. Your Mac will need to use a static IP address configured for the active interface. For example, if it’s connected via ethernet then the port will need to have an appropriate IP setup. By appropriate I mean one that’s in the local subnet and isn’t in use elsewhere.

For example, if your router is configured with 192.168.1.1 then you could assign 192.168.1.2 to the Mac. For a home network the subnet mask will usually be 255.255.255.0.

It may be a good idea to also assign a static IP to the PS3. Continuing the example, it could be assigned 192.168.1.3. You can usually use higher numbers that might be easier to remember. Most residential routers I’ve had won’t use IP addresses below 100 (and sometimes 200) for DHCP assignments so manually assigning an IP address above 1 and below 100 is often safe (again, this depends on your network and additional gear).

If you don’t assign a static IP to the Mac but enter it’s DHCP address into the PS3 proxy settings, then it will quit working the next time the Mac receives a new DHCP address.

My setup of SquidMan isn’t very customized. I went through the standard installation and allowed it to automatically install Squid. I’ve set SquidMan to automatically start Squid on launch, it uses HTTP Port 8080 (which may have been the default), and under the Clients tab it’s configured to only provide proxy services for the PS3’s IP address.

Sony | PS3 Internet Connection Settings (advanced settings)

Updated 07/12/2011: I had another request via comment. This time I was asked if I could recommend Windows software that would do the same. I couldn’t find a Windows GUI for Squid but I did find a couple of resources that might be useful for someone needing a basic a proxy server in Windows. I haven’t had a need to run a proxy under Windows (at least not since the days when Windows 98 was still new) so I’m not familiar with any of the current options. I’ve listed two resources that may be useful, but I haven’t tried either so I really don’t know how well they’ll work.

Updated 08/18/2011: I rarely even turn the PS3 on so I decided to remove the proxy server software and not setup another one.

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