Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0

[08012006]

Why do I always get the message

The plug-in failed to initialize.

What does this mean and how do correct it - in terms a novice can understand please - no technical jargon

[thiek]

If you are on the internet why not just update to a newer version, or find one on a disk.

[vehelpfulguy]

A "plug-in" is a small program that loads to help a larger program to work.

So, for example, you have Internet Explorer, but IE on its own cannot play Shockwave files, so you have to download a Shockwave PLUG-IN to make it work.

Now for any plug-in to work it needs to start up and then run. The start up phase is called INITIALIZE.

So your message is saying that a PLUG-IN (small program) failed to INITIALIZE (start up).

You do not say how and when you get it, so it is difficult to give advice on how to correct it.

If it is from Adobe Acrobat well there is a Version 7 so why not download and install that.

Start Acrobat and select "Help" then "Check for Updates" (menu options may be different in V5).