Activation of COM DLL Registered with Long Path Does Not Succeed

ID: Q243800

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 4.0, 4.0 SP4, 4.0 SP5
Microsoft Windows NT Server, Enterprise Edition versions 4.0, 4.0 SP4, 4.0 SP5
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 4.0, 4.0 SP4, 4.0 SP5

SYMPTOMS

If a Component Object Model (COM) dynamic-link library (DLL) is registered with a path longer than 127 characters, activation of the DLL does not succeed and the following error message is generated:

0x80040154 "Class not registered"

The same DLL (with a path longer than 127 characters) can be loaded using CoLoadLibrary/LoadLibrary, but COM cannot activate it.

CAUSE

Activation of a COM DLL uses a small buffer to read the 32-bit DLL information from the registry. The registration information is not retrieved if the COM DLL is registered with a path longer than 127 characters.

RESOLUTION

A supported fix that corrects this problem is now available from Microsoft, but it has not been fully regression tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. If you are not severely affected by this specific problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows NT 4.0 service pack that contains this fix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp

The English-language version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:


   Date      Time                 Size    File name     Platform
   -------------------------------------------------------------
   10/13/99  02:28 PM             700,688 Ole32.dll     Intel
   10/13/99  02:27 PM           1,239,312 Ole32.dll     Alpha

STATUS

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

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbbug4.00 kbfix4.00
Version : winnt:4.0,4.0 SP4,4.0 SP5
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug