Registry problem after restore

[Guest]

I am having a problem with an Adobe Reader installation as a result of having
restored Windows XP to fix a different problem.

I had Reader 7.0.7 installed and running okay prior to the restore date of
1/31/07.
I installed Reader 8 on 2/5 which supposedly deleted Reader 7 as part of the
installation process.
On 2/8 I restored Windows XP to the 1/31 state.

After the restore, Reader 8 can be opened and used to view PDF files.
However, Adobe Reader is no longer linked to automatically open PDF files
selected in other programs such as Internet Explorer. It no longer appears
in the list of default programs to open file with various extensions. There
is no program listed for PDF.

The Add/Remove Programs list now shows the old Reader 7.0.7 as still being
installed.
Reader 8 does not show up on the Add/Remove Programs list, though it is in
the Start/All-Programs list.
When I try to remove Reader 7.0.7, I get an error message saying a needed
resource cannot be found.
Evidently, I restored the registry to a state which records that Reader
7.0.7 is still installed when it is not, and it does not have a record of
Reader 8.0 having been installed.

I have tried reinstalling Reader 8 and installing/un-installing Reader 7,
but neither works because the installation routine first tries to uninstall
Reader 7.0.7 which it then cannot find.

How do I clean up this mess?

I found a reference at Adobe Support to a Windows Installer CleanUp Utility
which can be used to purge the registry of a corrupted Adobe installation.

Adobe recommends running the msicuu2.exe utility to clean up the registry,
then installing/un-installing the program in the same folder as before to
remove other remnants that the utility doesn’t remove.

Is that my best option?

 

[Stan Nelson]

I suggest you do a manual deletion of all Adobe registry entries, then
re-start. Also delete any Adobe software you can find. Both these may
allow you to successfully re-install Adobe 7 or do a new install of Adobe 8.
Be careful with your registry deletions, however.

Stan Nelson.
Dallas.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your advice Stan.

This is the same advice I got from Dell Support. Their support rep. said
that Adobe applications tend to share common resources and that to get a
clean removal one has to uninstall all Adobe programs and then reinstall them.

However, one of the technical articles I found at Adobe Support implies that
I can just remove the registry entries for Reader 7, reinstall it and then
uninstall it and wind up with a clean removal of all of the program remnants.

Unless I find a magic solution, I think I’ll try the Windows Installer
CleanUp Utility that Adobe mentioned.

If that doesn’t work, I’ll try editing the registry manually following the
Adobe directions.

If that doesn’t work, I’ll then delete all Adobe programs.

I was hoping to avoid messing with the registry, but that may be what I will
have to do.

Mike

 

[Guest]

This problem ahtat many people have shows that Adobe's software architecture
is flawed. they have different applications interacting and affecting each
other at the O.S. level. Very bad design.

Try foxit free PDF reader from Foxit software. www.foxitsoftware.com.
Foxit is very functional and is not a fat pig like Adobe Reader. Foxit also
has many PDF tools at a reasonable price.