Thread: Rave stopped working with Windows 11 update

Can't exactly help with acrobat and Win11, but what looks like has happened is that the acrobat has lost the link to where the actual pdf files are stored.

Quick and easy way to locate the pdf files is to open windows explorer, most likely click on the C drive( C / : ) and up in the search box(top right corner) type this search criteria: cdlt033n.pdf
If you have multiple drives and there is a chance that the files are stored on another drive, then try those drives, or just search "this PC" instead. But the search can take longer doing that.

what that file (name) means is, cd=circuit diagram, lt(LT =D2), 033n is just the file name type for that section of the circuit diagram.

Obviously this assumes that you're after the D2(which is the LT model designation) ... LJ = D1, LD = defender .. and I can't really remember what all the other model designations were, but they're something!

The way that the RAVE was structured is that all models are files under a model designation folder hierarchy.
That is you will see in a "pdf' folder, that you have LG, LD, LM, LT ... etc ... folders. These are the "models' .. = rangerovers, defenders, discoverys, etc.

In each of those model folders, will be file names, with .pdf extensions. These are the actual pdf files for various pages of the manual. EL = electrical library, shows you the various connectors, wires, switches etc.
CD = circuit diagrams, WM = workshop manual.

Anyhow, back to the search suggestion. Once you type that file name in, and it locates the file, right click the file and use "open file location" to find out where the file is stored.

I don't use acrobate(I find it cumbersome and slow), and I use a smaller file, quicker pdf viewer called SumatraPDF, and open the file itself. Acrobats operation has changed so many times over the years, it causes the grief you are seeing yourself now .. so easier to just open the pdfs you want to view using a simpler 'more free' program, rather than adobe bloatware.

hope that helps.

I couldn't get SumatraPDF to work with RAVE files.

Originally Posted by p38arover

I couldn't get SumatraPDF to work with RAVE files.

Which exact RAVE files?
The way the RAVE is structured, it's a bunch of files in folders.
The files may be in the root folder of the RAVE CD(if you have a CD that is), and they could be exe, or ini files or whatever.

Once you understand this (folder)structure, it's easy to locate the required files.

Windows(or other operating systems) may by default hide file type extensions. That is, file type name may only be blahblah .. not blahblah.blah .. the dot blah being the extension.

Sumatra, and any other pdf reader will always read .pdf files, unless there is something wrong with the .pdf file like a security lock, or corruption on the file.

So knowing these basics, and assuming you have the RAVE CD setup, in the RAVE file system should be a folder named simply pdf.
Within that pdf folder are the model types(those LGs and LDs and LTs again, referring to Landrovers model designation).
In the model folders, are the required PDF files that any pdf reader will open.

What Sumatra doesn't do with RAVE, is follow the acrobat links to each pdf file.
What I've described is that you can use Sumatra(or any other pdf viewer) to directly open the PDF files in the designated model folders directly .. ie the pdf files themselves.

side note, your web browser most likely can open the pdf files too. Firefox and Edge both open pdf files.
Another side note, if you have a pdf viewer program installed(in Windows), when installing, there are some settings that can be made, sometimes it's automatically done, sometimes you have to manually check these settings at install time.
What these settings can do, is set up windows explorer to preview the pdf files, without opening them. That is, if you click on the PDF file you know you want to view, and have Windows Explorer(not Internet Explorer!!) set up to display the preview sidebar. SO when you click on the PDF file, it shows it to you without the need to actually open it.

Standard rave files are encrypted

Freerave files have the encryption removed so “many” pdf readers that support following links will work with them

Acrobat reader usually does it best sadly

Thank you Arthur AK83 for your help, and also the others. As I couldn't remember where I got that version of Rave from I decided it would be quicker and easier to be the versions from the aulro shop. Which was easier for me and I was up and running pretty quickly. I did actually try the SumatraPDF as I remembered it from my research, unfortunately it didn't work on my old version of rave.

Cheers, James NZ

If it is like my version of RAVE, I'm pretty sure I have to run the Acrobat Reader that specifically came with it to open it.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

If it is like my version of RAVE, I'm pretty sure I have to run the Acrobat Reader that specifically came with it to open it.

One way to fix it is to drop it into a file on your HDD in it's entirety rather than run it off a CD or ISO file.

Once copied, open the Acrobat4 folder, locate the folder named "resource" and either delete of remove the Cmap and Font folders from it.

If it still doesn't work, locate "acroRd32.exe" and right click on it and select "properties". Go to the compatability tab and check "run this program in compatability mode for" and select something like XP or Windows 7.
Go back to the main folder group, locate "tdata.exe" and do the same as above for AcroRd32.

If it doesn't go first time just change the Windows OS selections in the compatability tabs until you get it to work.
I run W11 23H2 and I got it to go under Windows 7.

The odd this is my D2 workshop manual runs under Acrobat 9 but actually displays in my currently installed Acrobat 23 I run under my Adobe account and there's zero problems with it, its only the Rave CD's that play up.

Hope this helps.