Download Adobe Reader Speed-Up 1.21

To read PDF files you need Adobe Acrobat Reader. The latest versions of this can open a lot more than just a simple document. The disadvantage of this, however, is that the Adobe startup is excruciatingly slow. With Adobe Reader Speed-Up, various components can be disabled so that this problem can be solved. This is not a permanent adjustment, if you need certain functionality again, you can simply turn it back on.

If you have worked with a version earlier than 1.20, it is very important according to the maker that you first reset the settings with version 1.16 before you start working with this new version. The changelog looks like this:

Version 1.20:

• Re-installed Windows98 support. Support for Windows98 was accidentally removed while attempting to fully enable skinning on WindowsXP. This now means that the plugin listview won’t be in the XP style, but it’ll at least display the checkboxes required to enable and disable plugins.
• No Runtimes Required For Windows XP. ARSU can now run on a vanilla installation of Windows XP and so consequently the VB Runtimes pack does not need to be installed.
• Fix Reader Startup Problems. It appears some people are having problems with Reader not starting correctly or freezing for a long time upon startup. This is an inherent problem with Reader that Adobe acknowledge and provide a knowledge base article for. ARSU has a new option in the Tweaks section that tries to fix a broken Reader installation for you.
• Utilizes Optional Folder. ARSU now places unused plugins into the Optional folder. This means that when you open a PDF file that requires the functionality of a plugin that has been disabled, Reader will automatically load that plugin. The next time you start Reader, the plugin will be disabled again. So this basically means plugins are loaded when needed only.

Version 1.21:

• There was a problem in v1.20 in that it wouldn’t perform a Speed-Up if a Restore was done using v1.16. Stupid mistake – and one that I spotted while working on the latest version, too. I just thought I had fixed it, but obviously I didn’t.