ClearChoice IT Services Knowledge Base

Problem
If you try opening a PDF attachment from an e-mail in America Online (AOL), your computer (AOL, really) may lock up.

Cause
Adobe Reader attempts to open the PDF from within an Internet Explorer window from within AOL.  For some reason, this no longer works right in some cases & this problem has been seen on both Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Workaround

1. Exit from AOL.
2. Start Adobe Reader or Acrobat.
3. Choose Edit > Preferences from the menu.
4. Select Internet in the list on the left.
5. Deselect (uncheck) Display PDF in Browser, and click OK.
6. Restart AOL & see if the problem is now resolved.