Tech

Adobe Reader starts slowly – that may be the problem

Danny White January 18, 2021

Adobe Reader is a practical, but sometimes slow, tool for viewing PDF files. If the reader starts up very slowly, a few settings can help.

Adobe Reader starts slowly: isolate the problem

First you should determine whether the problem occurs exclusively with Adobe Reader or whether other programs are also paralyzing.

  • Many programs that you install on your PC create an entry in the Autostart folder. This slows down the system start and the execution of other programs. You can read how to switch off these entries in this practical tip.
  • If you have not shut down your PC for a long time, the RAM may be overloaded. In this case, a simple restart helps.
  • In the worst case, the PC is slow because you have caught a virus. Read here what you can do about it.

Adobe Reader starts slowly: PDF SpeedUp

When starting the Adobe Reader loads numerous plugins. Most of them are superfluous. With the free tool PDF SpeedUp you can deactivate these plugins with a single click of the mouse and make further settings.

  1. Before installing PDF SpeedUp, make sure that the latest version of the reader is installed and update if not. To do this, start the reader and click “Help”> “Check for updates”.
  2. Download the PDF SpeedUp tool, install it and start the program.
  3. The German translation of the program is more than flawed. So change the language to English. Use the flag symbols at the top right.
  4. Activate all options except “No Browser Integration” if you want to use Adobe Reader in the browser. Then click on “Optimize”.
  5. The reader should now start much faster. If unexpected problems arise, you can undo the changes by clicking on “Restore”.

Adobe Reader starts slowly: Repair the program

If Adobe Reader still does not start faster, there is an error in the installed program.

Start the Reader and click Help> Repair Adobe Reader Installation. Then follow the instructions of the program.

If none of the tips helped, then forget about Adobe Reader. Use the multifunctional online utility AnyPDF. This is a real Swiss knife for working with PDF files.