BUG: Error 429 "ActiveX Component Can't Create Object" on NT

ID: Q185126

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Office 2000 Developer
Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications version 5.0
Microsoft Office 97 for Windows

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

SYMPTOMS

You receive the following error when attempting to automate either a Microsoft Office application or an ActiveX server created with Visual Basic:

Run-time error '429': ActiveX component can't create object

This problem only occurs on computers running Microsoft Windows NT 4.0.

CAUSE

This problem can occur if the ActiveX server is installed to a long folder path that may conflict with a similar path on the computer. Usually, the problem occurs when the path of the ActiveX server contains spaces and another path on the computer is the same, up to a space. For example, suppose you have this problem when you try to automate a Microsoft Office application. If you installed Microsoft Office to the default path:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office

and you also have a folder named C:\Program or C:\Program Files\Microsoft, you might experience this problem. A conflicting folder can also appear on a different drive.

RESOLUTION

Here are three resolutions:

Reinstall the ActiveX server to a short folder path. For example, you can reinstall Microsoft Office to C:\Office97. To reinstall to a different path, you should first uninstall the application before reinstalling.

-or-

Uninstall any applications that are installed in the conflicting folder (for example, C:\Program), and then delete or rename this folder so that it no longer conflicts. After you rename or delete this folder, you might need to re-register or reinstall your ActiveX server application to ensure it is properly registered.

-or-

Edit the LocalServer32 key in the Registry for the ActiveX server application. The LocalServer32 key specifies the path to the ActiveX server. Change the path from a long path name to a short path name.

To edit the registry, run the RegEdit.exe utility. The LocalServer32 key for your ActiveX server will be located in the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID section of the registry.

To locate the LocalServer32 key for your ActiveX server, choose Find from the Edit menu and specify the file name of your ActiveX server (or search on the ProgID). For example, to find the LocalServer32 key for Microsoft Excel, search for "Excel.exe." You might need to press F3 to Find Next until you see the LocalServer32 key. For the case of Microsoft Excel, the LocalServer32 value might be:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\excel.exe /automation

Assuming that the short path is C:\Progra~1\Micros~1\Office, you can change the LocalServer32 value to:

C:\Progra~1\Micros~1\Office\excel.exe /automation

You should only have to change one LocalServer32 key for your ActiveX server. To determine exactly what to specify for the short path, check the properties of the ActiveX server file in the Windows Explorer. See the MS- DOS name setting in the Properties window. Also check the properties of the folder in which the ActiveX server resides so that you can determine the complete short path of your ActiveX server.

Another way to determine the short path is to use the GetShortPathName API function. For more information about using the GetShortPathName API function, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q175512 HOWTO: Get a Short Filename from a Long Filename

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

Install Microsoft Office 97 to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office.

In Visual Basic, start a new project.

Add the following code to the Form_Click event of Form1:


   Dim x as Object
   Set x = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
   Msgbox x.Name

Press the F5 key to run the project and click the Form.

Result: MsgBox displays "Microsoft Excel."

Stop the project.

Create a new folder named C:\Program.

Press the F5 key to run the project again, and click the Form.

Result: The CreateObject function fails with the following error:

Run-time error '429': ActiveX component can't create object

REFERENCES

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q173430 Off97: Error Inserting an Office Object Under Windows NT 4.0

Additional query words: GetObject instantiate COM CoCreateInstance


Keywords          : kbActiveX kbOLEApp kbVBp500 kbGrpDSO kbOffice2000 kbVBA500 
Version           : :; WINDOWS:5.0,97
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: June 17, 1999