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Q129800: PRB: VB/VB Apps Won’t Run if Windows NT OLE Service Stopped

Article: Q129800
Product(s): Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows
Version(s): WINDOWS:4.0; winnt:3.51
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kberrmsg kbProgramming kbVBp400
Last Modified: 08-AUG-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Visual Basic Standard Edition, 32-bit, for Windows, version 4.0 
- Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition, 16-bit, for Windows, version 4.0 
- Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition, 32-bit, for Windows, version 4.0 
- Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition, 16-bit, for Windows, version 4.0 
- Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition, 32-bit, for Windows, version 4.0 
- Microsoft Windows NT Server version 3.51 
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 3.51 
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SYMPTOMS
========

If the OLE service under Windows NT is stopped, when you attempt to start Visual
Basic or an application written with Visual Basic, you'll see this error:

  "Unexpected error; quitting"

Or, if the OLE service is stopped while Visual Basic or an application written
with Visual Basic is running and you attempt to use an OLE control in Visual
Basic, you'll see this error:

  "Unable to create embedded object"

CAUSE
=====

Visual Basic uses OLE extensively for controls, data access, and even internal
communication. The OLE Service is a necessary component for Visual Basic, but it
is not absolutely necessary for this service to be running under Windows NT. It
may be stopped to increase the overall performance of other tasks. If this is
done, Visual Basic and Visual Basic applications will not run.

STATUS
======

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION
================

Steps to Reproduce Behavior
---------------------------

Scenario One
------------

1. With Windows NT running, go to an MS-DOS command prompt. (Double-click the
  MS-DOS Command Prompt icon in your Main group in Program Manager.)

2. Type the following at the command prompt:

  " Net Stop OLE" (without the quotation marks)

3. Switch back to Windows, and start Visual Basic. You'll see this error:

  Unexpected error; quitting

4. Switch back to MS-DOS, and type the following to restore everything to
  normal:

  " Net Start OLE" (without the quotation marks)

Scenario Two
------------

1. Start Visual Basic.

2. With Windows NT running, go to an MS-DOS command prompt. (Double-click the
  MS-DOS Command Prompt icon in your Main group in Program Manager.)

3. Type the following at the command prompt.

  " Net Stop OLE" (without the quotation marks)

4. Attempt to add an OLE control to the default form. (Any control where an .OCX
  file appears in your Project window will be an OLE control.) Visual Basic
  reports this error:

  Unable to create embedded object

5. Switch back to MS-DOS, and type the following to restore everything to
  normal:

  " Net Start OLE" (without the quotation marks)

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kberrmsg kbProgramming kbVBp400 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNT351search kbWinNTW351search kbWinNTW351 kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS351 kbWinNTS351search kbVBSearch kbAudDeveloper kbVB400Search kbVB400 kbVB16bitSearch
Version           : WINDOWS:4.0; winnt:3.51
Issue type        : kbprb

=============================================================================

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