mcdhu, running XP SP3 on a desktop with no probs while using the Acrobat Reader, however, bought an Acer notebook with Vista Pro and during installation of the reader the whole machine got screwed up.
Since this was during the early phase of having the notebook, there was no restore point to go back to.... A new installation and new setup for everything, creating a restore point and installing the reader again proved a problem with the reader. Restored the system and left it as is.
Looking around for a reader which does not interfere with my system gave me the
Foxit Reader/ as it is also suggested by
Albert Square. It is a bare 7 MB download, free, does a decent job and is very fast. During the installation process, which is quick and simple, it allows for customization, a very much appreciated feature.
Good luck