Why can't safari display pdf files?

I recently updated Safari to 5.1 and Adobe Reader to 10.1.1. on OS X10.6.8. Now Safari just shows me a flat gray screen when I browse to a location that's a pdf file. Can't say which of the two updates actually broke the function. Used to work, although it's broken like this before. Adobe web site recognizes the general problem and says go to Adobe Help/Repair... but that doens't seem to exist in the current version. Also says to delete Reader and reinstall if the first didn't work, but neigher of those had any effect. Some other references to the same or similar problems in here but I didn't see any useful suggestions.
I can successfully open the pages in question with Chrome, so it's not the source.
Any ideas? Thanks!

>>nothing really works here, am I correct?
for most pdf's & the way they're served up - the built-in pdf support works fine.
a few will require adobe reader to display correcttly or allow form filling - and for safari 5.1, that measn download & open in Reader.
pdf's within a page using embed or object or iframe seem not to display with the built-in support, and for those, the schubertit plugin apparently works ok.
if you link to a problem pdf & say which OS X & safari version, + remove any pdf plugins for now - we can hopefully see what's going on.

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