Other PDF Issues

How to Fix Adobe Acrobat DC Crashes with VCRUNTIME140.dll

John WilsonJohn Wilson Nov 3, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to resolve frequent application crashes in Adobe Acrobat DC caused by a specific DLL fault.

How to Fix Adobe Acrobat DC Crashes with VCRUNTIME140.dll
Product
Adobe Acrobat DC
Device & OS
Windows
Scenario
Opening, viewing, or editing PDF files within the Adobe Acrobat DC desktop application.
Observed behavior
Adobe Acrobat DC crashes multiple times a day. The Windows error report identifies Acrobat.exe as the failing application, VCRUNTIME140.dll as the faulting module, and displays exception code 0xc0000005.
Before you start

Save your work and close Adobe Acrobat DC. Ensure your Windows operating system is fully up to date before proceeding with these troubleshooting steps.

Solution 1Recommended

Update, Repair, and Reset Adobe Acrobat DC

Use this method to fix missing or corrupted application files and reset faulty preferences that might be triggering the crash.

1
Check for Updates

Open Adobe Acrobat DC, navigate to the 'Help' menu at the top, and select 'Check for Updates'. Install any available updates and restart the application.

2
Repair the Installation

Go to the 'Help' menu again and click 'Repair Installation'. Allow the setup process to verify and fix any corrupted internal files.

3
Reset Acrobat Preferences

Close Acrobat. Open Windows File Explorer and navigate to '%APPDATA%\Adobe\Acrobat\'. Rename the 'DC' folder to 'DC_old'. Restart Acrobat to force it to generate fresh, default preference files.

Update, Repair, and Reset Adobe Acrobat DC
Administrator Privileges: You may need to run Adobe Acrobat DC as an administrator to successfully perform the installation repair.
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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the VCRUNTIME140.dll file?

VCRUNTIME140.dll is a dynamic link library file included in the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable package. It contains code that multiple programs (like Adobe Acrobat) share to function properly on Windows.

Why does exception code 0xc0000005 appear alongside this crash?

Exception code 0xc0000005 indicates an Access Violation error. This happens when an application attempts to read or write to a memory location it does not have permission to access, which frequently occurs when a required DLL file is corrupted or mismatched.

Can I download VCRUNTIME140.dll from a third-party website to fix the crash?

No, it is highly discouraged. Downloading standalone DLL files from unverified websites poses significant security risks (like malware) and often leads to version mismatches. Always resolve missing DLL issues by reinstalling the official Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable package.