How to Fix Adobe Acrobat Pro DC Crashing When Scanning
Question details
The user needs to stop Adobe Acrobat Pro DC from crashing or closing unexpectedly when attempting to scan documents.

- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
- Device & OS
- Windows
- Scenario
- Scanning a physical document directly into a PDF using the Adobe Acrobat Pro DC interface.
- Observed behavior
- The application closes unexpectedly or crashes entirely during the scanning process without generating the PDF.
Save any open PDF documents to prevent data loss, and ensure your scanner is properly connected, powered on, and recognized by your computer before proceeding with these troubleshooting steps.
Update Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
Adobe frequently releases patches that fix known bugs, including crashes triggered during the scanning process.
Launch the Adobe Acrobat Pro DC application on your computer.
Click on 'Help' in the top menu bar, and select 'Check for Updates' from the drop-down menu.
Follow the on-screen prompts to download and install any available official updates, then restart the application to see if the scanning issue is resolved.

Reinstall or Update Scanner Drivers
Corrupted or outdated scanner drivers, particularly for certain Epson models, can cause Acrobat to crash during the scan.
Apply Registry Fix for Domain-Joined PCs
For computers on a network domain, incompatible Adobe cloud-service settings can cause crashes. Modifying the registry disables the conflicting updater service.
Try WPS Office for Seamless PDF Management
If you continue to experience crashes with Adobe Acrobat or find it too resource-heavy, consider switching to WPS Office. It includes a powerful, lightweight PDF editor that allows you to easily view, edit, and manage PDFs without performance issues.
- 1. Download WPS Office: Visit the official WPS website to download and install the free WPS Office suite.
- 2. Open the PDF tool: Launch WPS Office and click on the 'PDF' tab on the home screen to access the dedicated PDF editor.
- 3. Manage your documents: Use the intuitive toolbar to easily open scanned files, add text, or convert PDFs to Word formats.

Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Adobe Acrobat Pro DC close immediately after I click scan?
This usually happens due to a conflict between Acrobat and your scanner's driver, or because you are running an outdated build of Acrobat that contains a scanning bug. Updating both the Adobe software and your scanner drivers resolves this in most cases.
Does this Acrobat crashing issue only affect domain-joined computers?
While outdated software or corrupted drivers can cause crashes on any computer, domain-joined PCs often face a specific known issue related to Adobe cloud services and update policies that requires the registry fix mentioned above.
Can corrupted preferences cause Acrobat Pro DC to crash when scanning?
Yes, damaged application preferences can lead to unexpected crashes. You can reset Acrobat preferences by navigating to your system's AppData folder and renaming the Acrobat preferences folder, forcing the application to generate clean settings upon restart.
Are specific scanner brands more prone to this Acrobat crash?
Many users have reported this crashing behavior specifically when using certain Epson scanner models with outdated drivers. Ensuring you have downloaded the latest drivers directly from the manufacturer's website is highly recommended.




