witch Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 To be honest I don't know what is causing this although I am leaning towards a Win 7 issue. I have Server 2008R2 and two IT suites, one XP and one Win 7. Adobe Reader will not work on the Win 7 machines when logged on as a student. 9 is on the machines but I have put the latest version on a couple to no avail. I have tried running the program as administrator. I have changed permissions so that the students can have full control The program loads but then just stops. Sometimes you get a blank notification window and sometimes not. Logged on as administrator all is fine. All advice gratefully received. We cannot afford to buy a different pdf reader and AFAIK the free ones can't be used on multiple machines?
ChrisMiles Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 If you have to go with a different reader, I'd recommend foxit reader, however, we use Acrobat Reader 10 on our windows 7 machines without issue. Try adding a student to local admin group and see if it works to rule out any profile/group policy issue.
sted Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 as far as im aware foxit reader can be installed on multiple pcs and that works for me fine (just read the eula for 3 (has an msi loads quicker than 4)and it says i can distribute it how i want as long as its not to mobile/embedded devices)
Michael Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 If Adobe Reader 10 runs fine as administrator, clearly your problem is permissions related and not application related.
Chuckster Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 Do you use Symantec Endpoint Protection 11.x? You need to upgrade to the latest version (and minimum) of 11.0.6200.754 for Adobe Reader to work properly so that its protection thing doesn't keel over and die.
witch Posted May 3, 2011 Author Posted May 3, 2011 If Adobe Reader 10 runs fine as administrator, clearly your problem is permissions related and not application related. Yes, that's what I thought. Students have roaming profiles. Where would I add a student to the local admin group?
BHMS Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 If it's not permissions then it sounds like a profile problem. Something old and incompatible in your domain default profile?
Michael Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 If you open up MMC > File > Add/Remove Snap-in > Add > Local Users and Groups > Add > Finish > Close > OK Expand Groups > Administrators. If you have many groups add 'domain users' or alternatively add your 'student' group. You need to repeat this on each workstation, but you can do it remotely from MMC (on one workstation). MMC > File > Add/Remove Snap-in > Add > Local Users and Groups > Add > Another Computer > (enter name) > Finish > Close > OK. Is this works then great, but if not I would agree with BHMS, it could also be profile related.
vikpaw Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 Which version of Adobe Reader do you have? Isn't it free? Or did you mean Adode Pro.?
sted Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 if you have an 08/08r2 server you can do it via group policy preferences rather than via each pc and an mmc
witch Posted May 3, 2011 Author Posted May 3, 2011 If I put the students as local admins, wouldnt that mean that they could change all sorts of things on the machines? Not something I want!
Michael Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 If I put the students as local admins, wouldnt that mean that they could change all sorts of things on the machines? Not something I want! Not if you're clever with your policies. Hiding and denying access to C:\ is a must however.
sted Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 id just try it with 1 user and see if that helps i wouldnt want to do it for pupils its just a policy i usually use for staff laptops so they can install their own printers etc without bugging me
Mr.Ben Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 I had problems with it when I redirected Appdata in XP, so moved to Foxit - I'm not sure if adobe still do not support redirected appdata?
witch Posted May 3, 2011 Author Posted May 3, 2011 So...if it does help it tells me what exactly? I don't want the children as local admins so there has to be another solution. I did try and run the program as administrator and that didnt work. Can Foxit be deployed from the server and how do I default all pdfs to open with it?
Mr.Ben Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 You can register with Foxit to download a .msi file to deploy through group policy. Once installed you need to run the foxit reader exe with the -register switch (this will not launch the program). This will set it as the default reader for all PDF documents.
_Adam_ Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 Having run 8, 9, X as standard users (with SEP and without) and having no real problems, I suspect you're running 9.0 which did not support roaming profiles. The reason for this is you say you have escalated students to admin rights and it is still an issue but the Administrator account (which is local) works fine. v9.1 onwards fixed the roaming profile issue. I know you mentioned you tried the latest version with poor results but I put that down to either a quirk with your image or another issue masking itself under the first. If you want to do minor testing, just create a new local user with user permissions and log on, pretty sure it will work for you.
witch Posted May 3, 2011 Author Posted May 3, 2011 Ok I'll try but I have uninstalled Version 9 and cleaned up the registry before installing the newer version so I'm not sure why it would work. Unless someone knows of something that is left behind when you uninstall which is causing the problem?
Arthur Posted May 3, 2011 Posted May 3, 2011 Are the students using the shortcut Adobe Reader adds to your Start Menu? If so, delete it and create a normal (non-advertised) shortcut in its place. It's a very long shot, but might be worth a try.
SYNACK Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 If I put the students as local admins, wouldnt that mean that they could change all sorts of things on the machines? Not something I want! Yes, even with complex policies it is still a risk especially for virus/malware infection. Ditch Cackrobat and go with the older free version of Foxit that comes with an MSI. Faster, better, smaller etc. 1
witch Posted May 4, 2011 Author Posted May 4, 2011 (edited) They are not using the shortcut unfortunately. Will try Foxit. * oh for goodness sake, I can't find a site that isnt blocked by SWGfL!! Can anyone catch the msi for me and pm me for my email addy? Thanks Edited May 4, 2011 by witch
SYNACK Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 (edited) @witch - have PM'd but they do have a registration thing for foxit enterprise deployment MSI that you should fill in and that will give you access to download links and they will send you links to updates too. Foxit Software - Foxit Reader for Windows Edited May 4, 2011 by SYNACK
TheScarfedOne Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 You still after that MSI Witch? I will upload a zip to my SkyDrive and PM link shortly
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