Adobe Reader Install Error 150210
I'm on Windows 10 and the free Adobe Reader DC won't install. The True Key pack has already been installed but the reader refuses to be installed! I've tried downloading the installer many times and I always get 'Adobe Acrobat Reader DC did not install successfully.' I have already updated Chrome. First, download and install Adobe Customization Wizard, for your version. Then you need to get Adobe Reader as an MSI package. Then you need to get Adobe Reader as an MSI package. The correct way to get a version of Adobe Reader that you can distribute inside your corporate network is by applying for an Adobe Runtimes / Reader Distribution License. Try to install Reader as a different user on your system to see if it's something in your user account that is causing the problem. Make sure that you have sufficient privileges on your system by installing as administrator user.
Summary
When deploying an update package for Adobe Reader the package fails to install with error code 1638.
Hi Jonathan, I suggest you to try the steps below and check if it helps. Click On start; In the Start search, type 'Services.msc' and Hit Enter.; Right click on Windows Installer and click on Start (Only if the Service has stopped). Thought possibly it might be assocaited with checking for updates during install so chose last update option during install (manual check for updates) and the Adobe Reader install completed successfully.(yea!).
Adobe Acrobat Reader Installation Error
Symptoms
When an Adobe Reader update package is deployed the installation fails.
- Adobe Reader is not updated to the latest secure version
- The update package loops in Windows Update
- Error 1638 in windowsupdate.log and in secuniapackage.log
Cause
Adobe Reader comes in two versions. In this solution, we will refer to them as the consumer version and the enterprise version. The consumer version will refer to the .exe installer. The enterprise version will refer to the .msi installer. The differences are described below.
Adobe Reader EXE Installer
The .exe installed version, which is intended for consumers:
- is meant to be updated through the Adobe Update Service known as ARM. It is possible to update the consumer version through incremental updates (.msp packages) but errors might occur.
- does not allow for configuration prior to installation.
Adobe Reader MSI Installer [used by Flexera]
Adobe Reader Install Error
The .msi installed version, which is intended for enterprises:
- is meant to be updated through incremental updates (.msp packages) deployed through whichever tool the enterprise uses for deploying updates (WSUS/SCCM/etc.). It is possible to update the enterprise version through the ARM service, but some enterprises report errors installing it.
- The enterprise version allows for multiple configurations prior to deployment, and also supports the Adobe Customization Wizard tool.
Flexera Patches
In order to make our package as resilient, error-free, easy-to-use and configurable as possible, as well as complying with Adobe's best-practice, we have included the enterprise (.msi) installer.
The consumer version installer of Adobe Reader is not compatible with the enterprise version installer, and the two were unable to interact with each other without resulting in an error code of 1638.
Resolution
We, therefore, implemented the clean install workaround, which allows the package to uninstall previous versions of Adobe Reader, and then install the enterprise version, which is what Adobe recommends:
http://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/AdminGuide/basics.html#installation-best-practices
The drawback of this workaround is the loss of settings, but a clean install has always been completely dependent on the uninstaller of the product, so this was inevitable. Since the workaround ensured that the enterprise version would be installed instead, the workaround only had to be applied once, after which the bug would no longer appear. This means that the bug would be a one-time-inconvenience with our workaround, rather than continuously causing issues.
UPDATE 2017-07-01: Adobe Reader DC has been released. This blog post was for an earlier version, but the process is almost identical.
UPDATE 2013-02-06: Both Adobe Customization Wizard X (version 10) and XI (version 11) and has been released. This blog post was for version 9, but the process is almost identical.
If you’re going to deploy Adobe Reader to a large number of computers using Micorosft MDT, SCCM or regular GPOs you’re probably want to stick to your deployed version for a while. And since Adobe seem to release an update of Reader every third hour or so, it can get a little bit annoying with all computers (trying to) update themselves. Also, there might be some other stuff, like the desktop shortcut, that you want to remove so here’s a guide how to do it the correct way.
If you’re not very fond of registry hacks and bat files, the correct way to deploy Adobe Reader is by using the Adobe Customization Wizard. I think it’s a little bit overkill that you need a customization tool to deploy a simple PDF reader but at least it works and it’s the official “Adobe way”.
I’m going to use Adobe Reader 9 with Adobe Customization Wizard 9 in this tutorial but this applies to newer version like version X (version 10), XI (version 11) and DC.
First, download and install Adobe Customization Wizard, for your version. Then you need to get Adobe Reader as an MSI package. The correct way to get a version of Adobe Reader that you can distribute inside your corporate network is by applying for an Adobe Runtimes / Reader Distribution License. You can find the form here. I hate forms too, but it’s not as hard as it sounds, just fill the form and you will have the license and download link e-mailed to you within a couple of minutes. And no, they do not send you useless newsletters but you have to renew the license once a year.
Go to the link you will receive in this e-mail. Download the version of your choice, for example:
Browse to the download location using a command prompt where you downloaded Reader and then run this command (change filename depending on your downloaded file):
AdbeRdr940_en_US.exe -nos_ne
Adobe never makes things easy so the files will be extracted to:
Windows XP – %UserProfile%Local SettingsApplication DataAdobeReader 9.4Setup Files
Windows Vista/7 – %UserProfile%AppDataLocalAdobeReader 9.4Setup Files
If it’s Adobe Reader X and XI, it will be saved here: %ProgramData%AdobeSetup
Move these files to a new directory somewhere. Now, open the Adobe Customization Wizard, click File and select Open Package…
/baker-easy-transition-v2-free-download-mac.html. Browse to your directory where you moved the installation files and open AcroRead.msi.
You can now modify every possible and impossible setting available in Adobe Reader but I will only show some basics in this tutorial.
Disable/suppress reboot is located under Installation Options, this is also where you set silent installation:
And at last, you can remove that annoying Desktop icon of Adobe Reader: Free brain training apps for mac.
Disable/suppress the EULA under EULA and Document Status (On version XI, that is under Personalization Options)
There are also some useful options located under Online and Acrobat.com Features. This is also where you find the holy grale – Disable all updates! Other useful options are Load trusted roots certificates from Adobe: Enable & Install silently and Disable Product Improvement Program.
Look around a little bit and see if you can find any more useful options for your environment. When you’re done, click Transform and Generate Transform.
Save the Transform along your other Adobe files. I personally prefer naming the Transform to the same name as the MSI package. Exit Adobe Customizatin Wizard and notice that a file named AcroRead.mst was created.
You are now ready to deploy Adobe Reader with your deployment software! You can use practically any deployment software like a Group Policy or SCCM but here’s how the install command looks like in Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT):
It installs using the following command line. Make sure you have all the files in the source (working) directory:
msiexec /i AcroRead.msi ALLUSERS=TRUE TRANSFORMS=AcroRead.mst /quiet