Problems with Adobe Acrobat

Question

Hi everyone, I'm new to Apple Discussions and to the Mac world of OSX Tiger. I tried to download the newest version of Adobe Acrobat, tried it and it did not work for me and my computer started acting strange. So then I try and uninstall it, improperly I now know, by dragging everything to the trash. When I try to empty the trash I get a pop up box saying I can't because Splash something is running. Spotlight the name and it is part of the Adobe application. Now in a panic I shutdown the computer and restart. Everything seems to be running fine but I have my doubts. I feel so frustrated because I don't know what I'm doing. I really want to understand and I don't want to hurt my Mac so I'm turning to you for help.
Thanks Lisa
G5   Mac OS X (10.4.6)  

Answer 1

Adobe Acrobat installs an uninstaller in its folder in the Applications folder. Always check an application's folder for an uninstaller or run the application's installer to check if there is an option to uninstall the application. Here's a FAQ on uninstalling:
Uninstalling Software: The Basics
Most OS X applications are completely self-contained "packages" that can be uninstalled by simply dragging the application to the Trash. Most applications create preference files which are stored in the /Home/Library/Preferences/ folder. Although they do nothing once you delete the associated application, they do take up some disk space. If you want you can located them in the above location and delete them, too.
Some applications may install an uninstaller program that can be used to remove the application. In some cases the uninstaller may be part of the application's installer, and is invoked by clicking on a Customize button that will appear during the install process.
Some applications may install components in the /Home/Library/Applications Support/ folder. You can also check there to see if the application has created a folder. You can also delete the folder that's in the Applications Support folder. Again, they don't do anything but take up disk space once the application is trashed.
Some applications may install a startupitem or a Log In item. Startupitems are usually installed in the /Library/StartupItems/ folder and less often in the /Home/Library/StartupItems/ folder. Log In Items are set in the Accounts preferences. Open System Preferences, click on the Accounts icon, then click on the LogIn Items tab. Locate the item in the list for the application you want to remove and click on the "-" button to delete it from the list.
If an application installs any other files the best way to track them down is to do a Finder search using the application name or the developer name as the search term.
There are also several shareware utilities that can uninstall applications:
AppZapper
CleanApp
Yank
SuperPop
Uninstaller
Spring Cleaning
Look for them at www.versiontracker.com or www.mackupdate.com.
For more information visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on removing software.
Unless your computer has become unresponsive you should never force a shutdown. Always shutdown by using the Shutdown option from the Apple menu. Forced shutdowns can result (not always) in disk corruption.
If your computer is running without noticeable problems, then you're OK.
BTW, in order to update Adobe Acrobat you must have a licensed version already installed. New versions cannot be downloaded unless you have purchased it online from Adobe. For example, if you have Acrobat 7 you have to purchase an upgrade to Acrobat 8.
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