"ActiveX Control" Error Message When You Start SBS Console (257739)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server 4.5
This article was previously published under Q257739

SYMPTOMS

The Small Business Server (SBS) console may generate logon error messages or may not start properly. Also, an authentication dialog box may appear and the following error message may be displayed:
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.
If you click OK, you receive the following error message:
An Error has occurred in the script on this page.

Line:547
Char:2
Error:Object doesn't support property ot method
Code:0
URL:http://localhost/admin/home.asp
If you continue, only the SBS console menu is displayed.

CAUSE

The Comcat.dll file in the Winnt.sbs\System32 folder is missing, corrupted, or has been replaced by an incompatible version.

RESOLUTION

Obtain a correct version of the Comcat.dll file. The file should be version 4.71 with a size of 22,288 bytes. You can copy the file from another Microsoft Windows NT-based computer, or you can extract it from SBS CD-ROM 1. To extract the file, open a command prompt window, switch to the Ie50\I386 folder on SBS CD-ROM 1, and then type the following command:

extract /L c:\ setupnt.cab comcat.dll

This extracts the Comcat.dll file from the Setupnt.cab file and places it in the root folder of drive C.

If the file is missing from the Winnt.sbs\System32 folder, copy the file to the folder and then run the console to verify that it works. If the error message still occurs, register the file by following these steps:
  1. Open a command prompt window, and then change to the Winnt.sbs\System32 folder.
  2. Type: regsvr32 /u comcat.dll. This command unregisters any previous Comcat.dll registrations. You may receive an error message if the file was not previously registered. You can ignore the error message.
  3. Type regsvr32 comcat.dll. You should receive notification that the file was registered.
If the Comcat.dll file was replaced by a different version, follow these steps:
  1. Open a command prompt window, and then change to the Winnt.sbs\System32 folder.
  2. Type regsvr32 /u comcat.dll.
  3. Rename the Comcat.dll file to Comcat.old.
  4. Copy the correct Comcat.dll file (version 4.71) to the Winnt.sbs\System32 folder.
  5. Type regsvr32 comcat.dll. You should receive notification that the file was registered.

MORE INFORMATION

This behavior can also be caused by incorrect security settings in Microsoft Internet Explorer. For more information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

241582 SBS Console May Not Start with 'ActiveX Control' Error Message

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:5/11/2000
Keywords:kberrmsg kbprb KB257739
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.