Nautilus Unity Client Crashes when viewing a PDF

Unity Client crashes when viewing a PDF document

Posted on November 18, 2020

Description

The Unity Client crashes for many users when viewing a PDF document. This issue is occurring when using Adobe Acrobat DC version 20.013.20064.
  

Resolution

This issue occurs due to conflict in the Adobe PDF drivers when trying to open another PDF while the drivers are being automatically unloaded.

Note: There can be instances where the PDF file itself is corrupted but that usually results in a PDF popup error about the file being corrupt rather than a client crash.

 To prevent the issue from occurring, a registry update is required for the affected machine(s).

 
Warning: The instructions below contain information on editing the Windows Registry. Use extreme caution when making any changes. It is highly recommended to perform a backup of the registry before proceeding. Incorrect changes to the registry can result in data loss and could render the operating system unusable.
  

1. Create an empty text file, and then rename it with a .reg extension.

1. Within the REG file, paste the following:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\FeatureLockDown]
"bDisallowDLLUnload"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\2015\FeatureLockDown]
"bDisallowDLLUnload"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\2017\FeatureLockDown]
"bDisallowDLLUnload"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\2020\FeatureLockDown]
"bDisallowDLLUnload"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\DC\FeatureLockDown]
"bDisallowDLLUnload"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\2015\FeatureLockDown]
"bDisallowDLLUnload"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\2017\FeatureLockDown]
"bDisallowDLLUnload"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\2020\FeatureLockDown]
"bDisallowDLLUnload"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\AVGeneral]
"iDelayBeforeQuitBrowser"=dword:0001FA40

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\2015\AVGeneral]
"iDelayBeforeQuitBrowser"=dword:0001FA40

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\2017\AVGeneral]
"iDelayBeforeQuitBrowser"=dword:0001FA40

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\2020\AVGeneral]
"iDelayBeforeQuitBrowser"=dword:0001FA40

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\DC\AVGeneral]
"iDelayBeforeQuitBrowser"=dword:0001FA40

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\2015\AVGeneral]
"iDelayBeforeQuitBrowser"=dword:0001FA40

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\2017\AVGeneral]
"iDelayBeforeQuitBrowser"=dword:0001FA40

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\2020\AVGeneral]
 "iDelayBeforeQuitBrowser"=dword:0001FA40

1. Save and close the REG file.
     
2. Within the Windows Registry Editor, import the REG file to make the necessary changes.
     
3. Restart the workstation to complete the changes.

The purpose of the registry change is to increase the DLL load time in the system's memory to 36 hours. This timer resets after each PDF opening or on reboot. The extended time for the DLL to stay in memory is to prevent the loading and unloading of the DLLs into system memory and causing a failure when they conflict.