In both InDesign CS4 & CS5, as well as Illustrator, I have the same problem:
When I go to "export to PDF", the first dialog window opens up and I get the spinning colored wheel.
The only option at that point is to force quit.
I have tried everything I can think of:
I ran disk utility & verified & repaired disk permissions.
I totally reinstalled CS4.
I threw away the CS4 preferences.
I thought I would "uninstall" and re-install Acrobat 9 Professional, but the uninstall hung up with the colored spinning wheel as well.
So I don't know what to do.
I am running OS X Version 10.6.7.