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AEM Forms smoke test failures after upgrade to Windows Server 2022

Last update: October 7, 2026

If AEM Forms smoke tests fail after you upgrade from Windows Server 2019 to Windows Server 2022, the upgrade might have overwritten system files and configurations that AEM Forms and PDF Generator require. Re-run the configuration steps, create any missing Desktop folders, and verify the service account permissions to resolve the issue.

Description description

Environment

  • Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms
  • Windows Server 2022 (upgraded from Windows Server 2019)

Symptoms

  • Smoke tests for AEM Forms fail immediately after upgrading the Windows Server operating system.
  • Document generation in AEM Forms does not work as expected.

Cause

Upgrading the Windows Server operating system can overwrite system files and configurations required by AEM Forms and PDF Generator. This may require re-executing configuration steps and verifying system readiness. Missing Desktop folders or incorrect permissions for the service account can also cause failures.

Resolution resolution

Follow the steps below to resolve the issue.

  1. Re-perform all configuration steps for AEM Forms and PDF Generator after the Windows Server upgrade. This includes running the Acrobat_for_PDFG_Configuration.bat file as per the official Adobe documentation for Acrobat PDF Generator Service.

  2. Log in to the server hosting AEM Forms.

  3. Open Task Manager and go to the Details tab. Terminate all running instances of WINWORD.EXE, Acrobat.exe, and AcroDist.exe.

  4. Retry document generation in AEM Forms to check if the issue is resolved.

  5. Verify that the following directories exist, and create them manually if they do not:

    • C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\Desktop
    • C:\Windows\SysWOW64\config\systemprofile\Desktop (if running a 32-bit version of Office)

  6. Right-click both Desktop folders, go to Properties > Security, and ensure the service account running AEM Forms has full read and write permissions.

  7. Run the SystemReadinessTool.html and verify that all checks pass.

After completing these steps, perform a smoke test to verify that AEM Forms is functioning correctly.

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