How to Disable Adobe AcroTray.exe from Starting at Startup
Adobe Acrobat is software that allows users to view, create, manipulate, print and manage files in PDF format. It is used in a variety of fields including business, IT, administrative services and educational documentation. However, users will get a software component named AcroTray installed with Adobe Acrobat. This program will load automatically on startup without any need for using it.
What is AcroTray.exe?
AcroTray (stands for Adobe Acrobat Tray Icon) is an extension of the Adobe Acrobat. It is used to open and convert PDF files to various formats. AcroTray will automatically startup when the operating system is booted. It will display notifications whenever a user tries to right-click or try to convert any PDF file. And it is also used to keep track of updates for Adobe Acrobat. You can locate this file in Acrobat installed directory.
Why do you need to Disable AcroTray Assistant from Startup?
There are several different reasons due to which users will want to disable this program from startup. Most of the reported reasons are:
- Makes startup slow for PC – When a user turns on his PC, some programs will automatically start to run in the background which will use the computer’s memory and make the startup slow for PC.
- Can be a malware – Some malware can disguise itself under the same name as AcroTray if it is located in the system Windows folder.
- Consumes memory for no reason – Some users claim that it drains the power of CPU and memory which can immediately slow down the performance of the system.
- It is rarely used – This feature is not frequently used in our daily life usage. Opening it only when the user needs it will be a better choice rather than keeping it always open for no reason.
Now that you have a basic understanding of the nature of the issue, we will move on towards the methods. Make sure to implement these in the specific order in which they are listed to prevent any conflicts.
Method 1: Disabling Adobe AcroTray from Task Manager
A simple method to disable startup programs will be disabling them in Task Manager. Task Manager has a tab for the startup; you can easily check AcroTray in the list and disable it. Before proceeding, make sure that Task Manager is run as administrator. Below you can follow the steps to apply this method:
- Hold Windows key and Press R to open Run, type taskmgr and Enter to open Task Manager.
Opening Task Manager - Go to the Startup tab in Task Manager and search for AcroTray.
- Right-click on AcroTray and choose Disable.
Disabling AcroTray in Task Manager - Now when you restart PC, it won’t start up anymore.
Method 2: Disabling Adobe AcroTray by using Autoruns
Autoruns is a utility that allows you to track and control all programs that starts automatically with Windows startup. If you are unable to find the AcroTray in Task Manager or its not working, you can easily use this utility to turn it off for startup. Follow the steps below to download and use Autoruns utility:
- Go to the following link and download the latest version of utility: Autoruns
Downloading Autoruns utility - Extract the downloaded file using WinRAR.
(if you don’t have WinRar, just open the zipped folder by double-clicking)
Extracting the zipped file - Now open the extracted folder, then right-click on the Autoruns64.exe and choose Run as Administrator.
Opening Autoruns as an administrator - Search for Acrobat Assistant (AcroTray) and untick it from the list.
Disabling AcroTray through Autoruns - Restart your computer and it won’t start up anymore.
Method 3: Disabling Adobe AcroTray from Services
In this method, you can change some of the Adobe services that are set to run automatically. Changing these services to manual can help in stopping the AcroTray from running at startup. Make sure you are logged into a Windows PC as an administrator before using this method.
Note: You might need to apply the Method 1 before this method.
- Hold Windows key and Press R to open Run, type service.msc and Enter.
Opening services through Run - Search for “Adobe Acrobat Update” and “Adobe Genuine Software Integrity” services in the list, right-click on each of them (one by one) and choose Properties.
Opening properties of services - Change the startup type to Manual for both.
Changing the startup type to manual - Restart PC and AcroTray probably won’t start anymore.
