I been trying to update my adobe reader but keep getting a message saying “you must shut all programs running adobe reader 8”. I have no idea what program would be running adobe 8 does any one know how I could fix this?

It doesn't like Firefox among others. Personally I use Sumatra PDF. Far better. There's also Foxit Reader too. Get either of those instead would be my advice.

Close adobe reader and updater and press CTRL-ALT-DELETE to check to see if there are additional adobe processes still running. If so, select them and press end process. Also, make sure all browsers are closed.

If all else fails, try Foxit as recommended by GOG.com. Lightweight and no additional crap get installed.

Probably not the solution you are looking for but . . I agree with Navagon. I replaced Acrobat reader on all my systems and my friends systems with Foxit Reader. I deleted the 80 MB, constantly updating, error generating, security hacking target, slow Acrobat reader and have not looked back . . . =)

Edit: Some free Add-ons that extend the reader somewhat. The spell-checker requires you to register with Foxit I believe. ( Click in the add-on field to see the list )

As Navagon said it tends to not like Firefox especially. That's what it usually doesn't like for me. I have CS 3 which includes Acrobat 8 which doesn't play well with 64 bit machines on first install. I use this: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=1&platform=Windows - and make sure to do all the incremental updates. Good luck.

Seconded, absolutely.

Adobe Reader has become a clunky dinosaur of a program. It takes ages to start, loads tons of plugins that you never need, can't even scroll smoothly on slow hardware, and is full of bugs and security holes. Both Foxit and Sumatra are not only quicker and smaller, they are also safer because they don't implement most of the unnecessary features that punch holes in Adobe's security. I'm using them for years now, and only once I encountered a document for which I needed Adobe Reader.

I honestly dunno what kind of machines you guys have, but Adobe Reader starts in like one second here. Make sure you close all browsers that you're currently running. Then, uninstall version 8, and download version 10.1.1 from here: http://filehippo.com/download_adobe_reader/

Don't remove Adobe Reader, keep it (just install the latest version), and forget the other 'better' and 'more secure' software that is out there. What additional crap does Adobe Reader come with? :|

LOL, yeah, we all have really old, slow hardware and no experience with which to evaluate the performance of this software . . . I guess I will reinstall it . . . = D

Adobe Reader 8 (which is the version that the OP uses) _does_ take ages to open. A few years ago, I had to catalogue a large number of PDFs, and the sluggishness and memory hunger of Adobe Reader drove me nuts. Even switching to a faster computer didn't help. What _did_ help, however, was switching to Foxit Reader.

You say that you're using Adobe Reader 10. It's possible that Adobe has remedied the slow startup by now. It's also possible that this comes at the cost of some Adobe process constantly running in the background - I don't know, but I don't really need to find out either, since I'm perfectly content with Foxit and Sumatra. They do their job really well, so I tend to recommend them.

Yes, but do not run sandboxed (in Protected Mode), and are not compatible with all types of PDF files.

I honestly have never had a pdf file that Foxit couldn't open.

That screen shows an in-house feature, which is not what Adobe is doing with Reader (properly implementing and supporting Vista's / 7's DEP (Protected Mode)). As far as my searching 'skillz' can search, this is what I understood, I could be wrong on everything, though. :D

Likewise. Reader 10 is downright zippy compared to previous versions, even running on Vista. I won't recommend any one reader over another, but will note that Adobe Reader hasn't given me any problems since version 10.??? came out.

If anyone is intrested I was looking for a free PDF reader and creator alternative not long ago and I've found Nitro PDF (free) and I'm pretty satisfied :)