not able to open VB project, getting error “C:\windows\system32\mscomctl.ocx” could not be loaded

Question

I have a VB project was able to work without any issues, but now when i open the project i am getting the error with mscomctl.ocx. I have re-registered the ocx but still am not

Answer 1

I had a similar problem when my Windows 7 32 bit laptop crashed and the company replaced it with a 64 bit machine... first I tried registering the .ocx using regsvr32 - on the 32 bit machine it would get unloaded from time to time... this did not work at all on the refurbished 64 bit machine...

I tried changing the .vbp file settings as noted in some of the earlier responses without success... I set the .vbp back to 2.0 and later on another issue I was searching the registry and decided to search for mscomctl.ocx and found 3 keys - 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2... since it wasn't working I decided to delete the 2.1 and 2.2 keys and voila! the controls loaded without a problem. Clearly the .vbp and registry have to match.

Answer 2

Try re-registering MSCOMCTL.OCX:

1. download the file: http://www.ocxdump.com/ocxfiles/M/MSCOMCTL.OCX
2. copy it in location c:\windows\system32\

3. open command prompt and run this:

   cd c:\windows\system32
   regsvr32 MSCOMCTL.OCX
   

Than try to run your application again.