ActiveX Errors Running Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0

ID: Q177943

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

When you start Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.0, the following error message appears:

This page provides potentially unsafe information to an ActiveX Control. Your current security settings prohibit running controls in this manner. As a result, this page may not display correctly.
In addition, when you click one of the drives in My Computer or in Microsoft Windows Explorer, the following error message may appear:
Microsoft Internet Explorer

An ActiveX Control on this page is not safe. Your current security settings prohibit running controls on this page. As a result, this page may not display as intended.
When you click OK, the following error message appears:
Internet Explorer Script Error

An error has occurred in the script on this page.

Line: 78
Char: 1

Error: Object doesn't support this property or method.
Code: 0

Do you want to continue running scripts on this page?
When you click either Yes or No, you can open any of the drives. However, when you open folders on the drives, similar error messages continue to appear.

NOTE: These error messages appear again whenever you restart your computer.


CAUSE

You may experience this problem after you run the Office 97 File and Registry Eraser Utility and you are using Microsoft Windows NT version 4.0 and Internet Explorer 4.0.


RESOLUTION

To correct this problem, reinstall the file Comcat.dll. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Using the Windows Explorer, in the \Os\System folder of your Microsoft Office 97 Compact Disk (CD), click to select the file Comcat.dll.


  2. On the Edit menu, click Copy. Browse to the System32 folder of Windows NT. By default this will be C:\Winnt\System32. On the Edit menu, click Paste.


  3. On the Windows Start menu, click Run, and type the following command line:


    4. Regsvr32 c:\winnt\system32\comcat.dll
    When you click Ok the following dialog should appear: 
    
      DllRegisterServer in c:\winnt\system32\comcat.dll succeeded.


STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. An updated version of the Office 97 File and Registry Eraser Utility is available that does not cause this problem with Microsoft Windows 98.

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Software Library:

~ Eraser97.exe
For more information about downloading files from the Microsoft Software Library, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services


MORE INFORMATION

The Office 97 File and Registry Eraser Utility removes most of the files and Windows registry settings that remain on the computer after you remove Microsoft Office 97. This utility is designed to be run after you run the Setup program for Office 97 and click Remove All. When you run this utility, it removes shared system components. The Microsoft Internet Explorer Active Desktop requires these components and does not work correctly after the files are removed. To restore the Active Desktop, reinstall the file Comcat.dll.

For more information about this utility, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q176823 Off97: Utility to Completely Remove Remaining Office 97 Files

Additional query words: OFF97 eraser97 nt4 winnt ierelease 


Keywords          : 
Version           : WINDOWS:4.0,97; winnt:4.0
Platform          : WINDOWS winnt 
Issue type        :

Last Reviewed: July 2, 1999