TechNote

"Error applying transforms. Verify that the specified transform paths are valid." when you try to repair, update or uninstall (Acrobat or Adobe Reader 8.x)

Issue

When you try to repair, update or uninstall affected versions of Acrobat or Adobe Reader, you get the error message, "Error applying transforms. Verify that the specified transform paths are valid."

Reason

A problem in the Windows registry may be present if recent updates, "Acrobat 8.1 Japanese OCR Update" and/or "Adobe Acrobat 8.1.2 Security Update 1 (kb403742)" and/or "Adobe Acrobat 8.1.3 Security Update (kb407016)" have been applied to Adobe Acrobat 8 or Adobe Reader 8. Affected users will not be able upgrade to the latest version or uninstall the existing version while this problem persists. This problem does not affect the correct functioning of the installed application, and no other application is affected.

"Acrobat 8.1 Japanese OCR Update", "Adobe Acrobat 8.1.2 Security Update 1 (kb403742)", and "Adobe Acrobat 8.1.3 Security Update (kb407016)" register additional transforms on the system which may not be done properly in all cases. Systems with multiple transforms and systems set to register transforms in a secure location are affected.

Solution

Run kb404307.exe on affected systems.

Important: You should be logged in as an Administrator in order to use this tool.

Download the kb404307.exe utility from the Adobe website.
Double-click kb404307.exe to run it.

Additional Information

The KB404307.exeutility adjusts the registration of these transforms so that the Windows Installer Service can correctly do maintenance on the affected installed Adobe products.