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Q262976: PRB: Err Msg "Missing or Not Registered VB6tmpl.tlb" in VB6

Article: Q262976
Product(s): Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows
Version(s): 6.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbsetup kbVBp kbVBp600bug kbGrpDSO kbDSupport
Last Modified: 11-OCT-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows, version 6.0 
- Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows, version 6.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

When you start Visual Basic 6.0 under a new user account or after a new install,
and you try to run the Visual Basic 6.0 executable file (VB6.exe), you get the
following error message:

  Visual Basic was not able to start up due to invalid system configuration.
  Missing or not registered VB6tmpl.tlb.

You are unable to continue and Visual Basic shuts down.

CAUSE
=====

The main Visual Basic type library is either missing or mis-registered for the
current user. This message reflects the original working name of this file but
in released versions of Visual Basic this file was renamed VB6.olb and is
located in the same directory as the Visual Basic 6.0 executable (VB6.exe).

The registry should contain a path to this file under the following key:

  HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{FCFB3D2E-A0FA-1068-A738-08002B3371B5}\6.0\9\win32

If the key is missing or pointing to a location where the file cannot be found,
Visual Basic returns the preceding error message during startup.

RESOLUTION
==========

A missing or mis-registered type library key for VB6.olb would indicate an
improper setup of Visual Basic. Microsoft recommends that you uninstall and
reinstall Visual Basic.

To ensure proper reinstallation of Visual Basic, uninstall the current product.
Then proceed to reinstall Visual Basic from the original installation disks. For
additional information, click the article number below to view the article in
the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q248697 HOWTO: Manually Uninstall Visual Studio with MSDN Library

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

To reproduce this error, simply find and rename the VB6.olb file, try to start
Visual Basic 6.0, and note that the error message appears. Renaming the file
back to VB6.olb resolves the problem.

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbsetup kbVBp kbVBp600bug kbGrpDSO kbDSupport 
Technology        : kbVBSearch kbAudDeveloper kbZNotKeyword6 kbZNotKeyword2 kbVB600Search kbVB600
Version           : :6.0
Issue type        : kbprb

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