Adobe updater could be really annoying, though I find Adobe Creative Suite 3 as a masterpiece. Every time that you start Photoshop, Illustrator or Acrobat Adobe updater pops up and tries to download updates. It is also a big resource hog. So how can you disable Adobe updater?
The solution is very simple. Find through search in disc C file “AdobeUpdaterPrefs.dat” (c:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Local Settings\Application Data\Adobe\Updater5), click with right mouse button and change Attributes of this file to "Read only". UPD: Open this file with any text editor (Notepad) and change year value in this line to 2008 or 2009 <LastDateCheck>2008-10-29</LastDateCheck> or just delete this file, though its very radical cure to my mind.
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Thanks!
thank you ! it has been useful
That did not work for me..the damn thing keeps starting up in the background!
However, I read a solution that asked for the deletion of the Updater5 directory located in (C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\).Try putting it in the recycle bin before completely deleting it.If it works without any problems,you can go right ahead and empty the Trash!
It worked for me! Im update free for now! Hope it works for you too.
Here you can read how to disable ADOBE UPDATER, step by step tut…
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=kb402251
Thank you zextra.
Does any know of removing Adobe Updater 5 from other adobe products like Photoshop.
Has anyone created a Group Policy Object to remove the updater, I have been able to do it via Adobe Reader custom package installer, although other adobe products have installed the Photoshop.
Renaming the Updater5 directory to something like Updater5_backup also works.
That way you can always restore it if you need it again.
I found this information for disabling Adobe’s automatic updater. It will disable updater for all Adobe applications
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=331261
Sorry Zextra…I did not notice your similar post
The goddamn Adobe Updater must have been written by a FUCKIN IDIOT!
Jill~
Excellent find! After following instructions to create a registry entry which kills Adobe Updater I’ve not seen it rear it’s ugly head since. :^) This really seems to work well and permanently. A person does not need this updater to get updates from Adobe, they are available on their site for download.
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=331261
I totally agree with Donkey.
This solution will prevent Adobe to Update even after reinstalling. I like the idea. Check this out:
http://www.evrim-sen.com/html/disable-adobe-updater.htm
Cool, thanks.
It’s really annoying when it doesn’t connect and crashed photoshop at startup
Thanks! It works!
Ray’s solution worked for me…I wonder if the updates can disable the programs from starting. Anyone know?
How do you block this updater on a Mac? It’s so annoying. THanks and happy holidays!
Got this off the Adobe Site. Updater is making my system shut down very slowly. Checking performance logs, it was the updater.
To disable Adobe Updater:
1. Copy the following 3 lines and paste them into a Notepad document:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Updater]
“Enterprise”=dword:00000001
2. Save the document as “DisableAUM_Updates.reg.”
3. Close and then double-click this file, and the Windows registry will import this information automatically.
” Trackback: Adobe Creative Suite 4 is far from meeting user expectations?
Sep 26th, 2008 at 9:56 am”
That is a dead link.
Can someone please post the relevant solution for CS4.
Thx, this works great.
be gone supid updater!!!!!
thanks
great! creative suite 3 updater is really annoying
Thanks! It’s work!
For anyone else who finds this tip – I’ve just been updated to Adobe Reader 9 and it has now created an Updater6 folder – same fix required as before but in a different folder!
Thanks Ray, this worked for me!
>>
Ray Apr 3rd, 2008 at 2:09 pm
That did not work for me..the damn thing keeps starting up in the background!
However, I read a solution that asked for the deletion of the Updater5 directory located in (C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\).Try putting it in the recycle bin before completely deleting it.If it works without any problems,you can go right ahead and empty the Trash!
<<
Here´s an easier way! for those who don´t know how to edit windows registry, etc…
1-Open any CS3 product, i.e. Acrobat reader, Photoshop
2-Go to “Help” – “Updates” or “Check for Updates”
3-Preferences, Uncheck the box that says: “Check for updates”.
Done!
my 3 cents worth- should work for next 4 versions as well
@echo off
for %%x in (5 6 7 8 9) do (
rmdir /s /q "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Updater%%x"
rmdir /s /q "C:\Documents and Settings\Droid\Local Settings\Application Data\Adobe\Updater%%x"
)
# Navigate to …\Documents and Settings\[username]\Local Settings\Application Data\Adobe\Updater5 on Windows XP or …\[username]\AppData\Local\Adobe\Updater5 on Vista and open AdobeUpdaterPrefs.dat in Notepad.
# If the 1 tag already exists, then change the value from 1 to 0. Otherwise, add the line 0 anywhere between the tags.
Worked for me
I have Adobe Reader 9. This is what I did.
1. Open Adobe Reader
2. Click on Edit
3. Click on Preferences
4. Under Categories, look for Updater
5. On the right side, click the radio button that says “DO NOT DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL UPDATES AUTOMATICALLY”.
There are three options, one of which says “Download Automatically” which is probably the default for the program.
Easiest way to fix.
Thanks B, that worked great. Quick and easy!
They should have put an option in its installation process (to disable auto update).
Change updating preferences for Adobe 8
1)Choose Help > Check For Updates.
2)In the Adobe Updater dialog box, click Preferences.
3)Unselect Automatically Check For Adobe Updates
OUTRAGED!!! (and known this for many many years it just becomes more clear every day)
DONKEY AND OTHERS, FIRST OFF
its not that adobe updater was coded by an idiot, in fact it is quite the opposite. it was coded by a genius in the style that a worm virus would be coded, to permiate adobe, by reinstalling itself if removed, and make it unremoveable from a computer for a person with very little computer knowledge. This kind of thing is becoming more and more common, as are programs installing themselves into ur quicklaunch taskbar consumeing massive computer resources , slowing your entire computer, and finding the setting in the program to turn it off is usually hidden in some dark corner and hard to find
I grow weary of these companies doing things that should be considered illegal, and would be if anyone else did so.
Adobe used to be a beutiful company, the top of its league, but as soon as they came out with ADOBE ACROBAT READER * A PROGRAM THAT IS NOT NEEDED FOR ANY REASON ANYWAY * thier company went to garbage. ADOBE READER is a way to controll the market under a false guise that we need it.
forgive me for sounding like a conspiracy theorist, but why are all GOVERMENT DOCUMENTS IN PDF? FORCING YOU TO USE THE PROGRAM. those documents are no more than TEXT DOCUMENTS. I can only assume that adobes virus like software and government connection are closely tied together, and i advise all to boycott the program, as i INSTANTLY uninstall it the second im done useing it, if i HAVE NO CHOICE because of needing to read a legal document.
I fully agree with the previous poster ! ! ! ADOBE Updater is recognized as a virus by AVIRA ! ! ! It can not be deleted ! It only can be disabled temporarily ! It will reinstall itself time after time. Is all about data mining by the parent company !
The original solution worked for me, but I changed something about it:
Rather than date it back a few years, I dated it the “Last Checked” date to 2012, in the DAT file.
FYI, I’m using version 9
A great alternative to Adobe Acrobat reader is foxit. It’s free, its not a resource hog, and theres no BS.
Foxit reader:
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/downloads/index.php
To kill the new Updater 6 I have found this works.
Open regedit and navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe ARM\1.0\ARM
edit the ‘iLastY’ value and change the year to 2999 (00000bb7 in hex!).
Or just create a ‘reg file and paste this in a run
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe ARM\1.0\ARM]
“iLastY”=dword:00000bb7
“iLastD”=dword:00000090
Hope it works for you
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You can also block the updater with a firewall like comodo.
Thanks works, very nice
The location mentioned for AdodeUpdatePerf.dat in Windows 7 is C:\Users\Admin\AppData\Local\Adobe.
Here Admin is the username.
Note: AppData is a hidden folder. So change the settings to ‘view all files’ under ‘view tab’ in ‘folder options’. Then perform a search in the above mentioned Address.
Thanks, I was wanting this for long…
click with right mouse button and change Attributes of this file to “Read only”
————————-
you must deselect the “Read Only” item to have the possibility to chane something in the file.
Greats from Blancke.
Just the job!
Thanks for the post.
thank you very much.. nice article..
adobe flash player is all i have from adobe, but it seems to update itself without any process being evoked! (running process explorer, doesn’t detect any program when it happens)
How to remove it? it’s not an .exe but must be some dll or somethign, no idea how it does it. The f.. up thing is the only ‘official’ way to turn it off is by browser and go to their site.
but i do not WANT to connect to their site at all. and more worrying is that my commodo firewall doesn’t even intercept any traffic, even though i have set it to paranoid!
I could only imagine it uses my browser to somehow connect and *know* there’s a new update, but my browser weasn’t even started yet when it popped up.
This updater is the most persistent and unconventional i’ve ever seen. i wish i could do without flash player, but you know how many sites depend on it!
ok i have found this info when looking for the ‘administrator’ method of disabling flash player updates. I was right. the update is requested along with other http requests from your browser when any flash object is opened. in fact they themselves say the only way to find out if updates are requested is by using a packet sniffer. and look for fpdownload.macromedia.com requests.
turn off disable adobe flash player updater:
in the following directory:
# Windows NT, 2000– C:\WINNT\System32\Macromed\Flash
# Windows XP, Vista –C:\WINDOWS\System32\Macromed\Flash
# Windows 95, 98, or ME–C:\Windows\System\Macromed\Flash
# Windows 64-bit — C:\Windows\SysWOW64
make a file called mms.cfg (using notepad) with content:
AutoUpdateDisable=1
Nothing worked for me :i was unable to open the updater 6.exe that need vista executable to uncheck the automatic box , when my pc was runnin on XP SP3 .
So i decided to get rid of this f*cking annoyance that gulped more than 50% of my ressources ,slowing my pc too much ! it was persistant but at least i did it !
-1rst you ‘ve to delete the adobe ARM file in the C/ program files/common file/adobe (thats no problems) or it ‘ll regenerate the updater file forever each time you start your pc ! go to the garbage bin and erase it .
-then go to msconfig ,the startup column to uncheck ALL the adobe ARM and adobe up & reader updater …by clicking on OK it ‘ll prompt a message telling to reboot .
- dont click yet , go ,open another window to get ready : my computer/C/ program files/adobe to hightlight the updater 6 file ( its still running so you cant delete it)
-click on reboot ,it ‘ll prompt another message to terminate the updater file manually ,wait it loads full .
there you’ve to be fast :
click on the terminate button at left ( or anyelse like it ) then delete the updater 6 right after !
the pc ‘ll reboot and you’ll find the updater file in your garbage bin ! lol !
erase it at will and go to your task manager to see the difference :the used % of ressources dropped significantly ! your pc runs smoothly again …
Nice tip, This had bothered for a long time. But it has been solved here. Thank you for the tip and thanks to all that commented because some of the comments have given me additional information on what to do.