Adobe reader X cannot open in protected mode

Question

I am getting the message "Adobe Reader cannot open in Protected Mode due a problem with your system configuration.
None of the threads or other troubleshooting tips I've found have resolved this.
Just clicking on the Adobe Reader icon by itself causes the problem. 
Here's my process explorer output.
Process PID CPU Private Bytes Working Set Description Company Name
System Idle Process 0 98.46 0 K 28 K 
System 4  0 K 236 K 
Interrupts n/a < 0.01 0 K 0 K Hardware Interrupts and DPCs
smss.exe 576  172 K 440 K Windows NT Session Manager Microsoft Corporation
  csrss.exe 640  1,680 K 3,652 K Client Server Runtime Process Microsoft Corporation
  winlogon.exe 664  7,948 K 8,200 K Windows NT Logon Application Microsoft Corporation
   services.exe 712  2,240 K 4,556 K Services and Controller app Microsoft Corporation
    vmacthlp.exe 892  964 K 3,248 K VMware Activation Helper VMware, Inc.
    svchost.exe 912  3,204 K 6,352 K Generic Host Process for Win32 Services Microsoft Corporation
     wmiprvse.exe 2160  4,376 K 6,028 K WMI Microsoft Corporation
     wmiprvse.exe 3392  7,644 K 6,916 K WMI Microsoft Corporation
     wmiprvse.exe 1124  2,664 K 6,116 K WMI Microsoft Corporation
    svchost.exe 1000  2,068 K 4,740 K Generic Host Process for Win32 Services Microsoft Corporation
    btservice.exe 1096  11,720 K 22,260 K BeyondTrust Shared Service BeyondTrust Software, Inc.
    MsMpEng.exe 1112  90,952 K 56,476 K Antimalware Service Executable Microsoft Corporation
    svchost.exe 1256  18,404 K 29,452 K Generic Host Process for Win32 Services Microsoft Corporation
    svchost.exe 1284  1,536 K 3,980 K Generic Host Process for Win32 Services Microsoft Corporation
    svchost.exe 1400  1,496 K 3,700 K Generic Host Process for Win32 Services Microsoft Corporation
    spoolsv.exe 1500  4,840 K 7,208 K Spooler SubSystem App Microsoft Corporation
    jqs.exe 1820  2,360 K 1,476 K Java(TM) Quick Starter Service Sun Microsystems, Inc.
    vmamqpd.exe 1892  2,500 K 5,260 K VMware AMQP Service VMware, Inc.
    vmtoolsd.exe 388  7,304 K 9,404 K VMware Tools Core Service VMware, Inc.
    vmware-update-agent.exe 460  7,880 K 12,176 K 
    CcmExec.exe 532  15,296 K 26,724 K CCM Executive Microsoft Corporation
    VMUpgradeHelper.exe 1432  1,408 K 4,896 K VMware virtual hardware upgrade helper application VMware, Inc.
    alg.exe 544  1,364 K 3,944 K Application Layer Gateway Service Microsoft Corporation
   lsass.exe 724  5,068 K 2,028 K LSA Shell (Export Version) Microsoft Corporation
explorer.exe 3536  22,392 K 30,256 K Windows Explorer Microsoft Corporation
VMwareTray.exe 3756  5,768 K 8,372 K VMware Tools tray application VMware, Inc.
VMwareUser.exe 3788  7,564 K 11,000 K VMware Tools Service VMware, Inc.
msseces.exe 3812  14,640 K 19,180 K Microsoft Security Client User Interface Microsoft Corporation
acrotray.exe 3904  4,364 K 7,148 K AcroTray Adobe Systems Inc.
jusched.exe 3948  3,272 K 5,604 K Java(TM) Update Scheduler Sun Microsystems, Inc.
ctfmon.exe 3976  2,852 K 4,388 K CTF Loader Microsoft Corporation
procexp.exe 1276 1.54 16,208 K 23,264 K Sysinternals Process Explorer Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com
AcroRd32.exe 1152  1,548 K 5,616 K Adobe Reader  Adobe Systems Incorporated
Process: AcroRd32.exe Pid: 1152
Name Description Company Name Version
AcroRd32.exe Adobe Reader  Adobe Systems Incorporated 10.1.0.534
advapi32.dll Advanced Windows 32 Base API Microsoft Corporation 5.1.2600.5755
btpload32.dll BeyondTrust Profiler Loader BeyondTrust Software, Inc. 5.1.0.10
clbcatq.dll  Microsoft Corporation 2001.12.4414.700
comctl32.dll User Experience Controls Library Microsoft Corporation 6.0.2900.6028
comdlg32.dll Common Dialogs DLL Microsoft Corporation 6.0.2900.5512
comres.dll  Microsoft Corporation 2001.12.4414.700
ctype.nls  
gdi32.dll GDI Client DLL Microsoft Corporation 5.1.2600.5698
imm32.dll Windows XP IMM32 API Client DLL Microsoft Corporation 5.1.2600.5512
kernel32.dll Windows NT BASE API Client DLL Microsoft Corporation 5.1.2600.5781
locale.nls  
msctf.dll MSCTF Server DLL Microsoft Corporation 5.1.2600.5512
msctfime.ime Microsoft Text Frame Work Service IME Microsoft Corporation 5.1.2600.5512
msvcrt.dll Windows NT CRT DLL Microsoft Corporation 7.0.2600.5512
ntdll.dll NT Layer DLL Microsoft Corporation 5.1.2600.6055
ntmarta.dll Windows NT MARTA provider Microsoft Corporation 5.1.2600.5512
ole32.dll Microsoft OLE for Windows Microsoft Corporation 5.1.2600.6010
oleaut32.dll  Microsoft Corporation 5.1.2600.6058
privman32.dll BeyondTrust PowerBroker Desktops DLL BeyondTrust Software, Inc. 5.1.0.42
psapi.dll Process Status Helper Microsoft Corporation 5.1.2600.5512
rpcrt4.dll Remote Procedure Call Runtime Microsoft Corporation 5.1.2600.6022
samlib.dll SAM Library DLL Microsoft Corporation 5.1.2600.5512
secur32.dll Security Support Provider Interface Microsoft Corporation 5.1.2600.5834
shell32.dll Windows Shell Common Dll Microsoft Corporation 6.0.2900.6072
shlwapi.dll Shell Light-weight Utility Library Microsoft Corporation 6.0.2900.5912
sortkey.nls  
sorttbls.nls  
unicode.nls  
user32.dll Windows XP USER API Client DLL Microsoft Corporation 5.1.2600.5512
userenv.dll Userenv Microsoft Corporation 5.1.2600.5512
uxtheme.dll Microsoft UxTheme Library Microsoft Corporation 6.0.2900.5512
version.dll Version Checking and File Installation Libraries Microsoft Corporation 5.1.2600.5512
wldap32.dll Win32 LDAP API DLL Microsoft Corporation 5.1.2600.5512

Answer 1

Your log file shows you to be running v10.1.0.534. Could you please update to the latest version which is v10.1.1 and then try again. You can get it from here: http://get.adobe.com/reader/direct/
Also, has a rule been created in the BeyondTrust Software application you appear to be using to allow Reader X to open in Protected Mode? That application might be interfering with the way Reader X operates. There's a demo on their site which might help: http://www.beyondtrust.com/Products/PowerBroker-Desktops-Windows-Edition/Product-Demo/