ActiveX is a technology developed by Microsoft to use with the windows operating system OLE and COM components that allows using interactive content on a web page or any other browser based application.In this respect ActiveX is similar to Java applets. However ActiveX components have full access to the windows registry so they can be considerably more dangerous and capable of causing many more problems. With the trend to creating mostly browser based applications even if they are designed to run on a single computer, ActiveX errors are common.

As a result of the immense popularity of ActiveX, web developers have created thousands of reusable controls to speed up the process of creating new interactive applications. As a result of this trend practically every program you see in your web browser and many newer applications use some form of ActiveX control modified to work with that specific application.

ActiveX controls applications like Adobe Reader, Flash, QuickTime, Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, and Java Virtual Machines that are routinely used by both web surfers and as independent applications running on the local computer.

With so many different versions of the same control available, conflicts are bound to occur, some just annoying and others that can crash your computer. One reason that this occurs is because your browser will download a newer version of a control that a web page or application is requesting if a new version is available. The result is that many applications that used to older version may no longer work properly.

Causes and Fixes for ActiveX Errors

Missing DLL File

Some controls are lost when software has been uninstalled. This happens because the uninstall program will remove a dynamic link library (DLL) file that is being used by other applications. Therefore, if your ActiveX error is related to a missing DLL, reinstalling the correct DLL will fix the problem.

The first thing you should do is look in the installation media for the deleted application to see if the missing file is available. In most cases, the file you need to restore will be in the form of filename.dl_. All you have to do is copy the file to your computer and using rename change the extension to .dll

If you can’t find the correct file, try searching for the file by name on one of the major search engines or go to a website like drivers.com or download.com to see if the file you need is available.

Restoring the file to the system usually fixes the problem. If not continue.

Invalid Registry Entries

ActiveX errors can be the result of invalid registry entries. These errors can be the result of malware programs such as viruses and spyware that wrote information to the windows registry.

I normally do not recommend that most users even consider editing their windows registry. Any mistake you make has the potential of making it impossible for your computer to ever reboot which will require you to completely reinstall the windows operating system and all of your applications. It may also cause you to lose all of the files you have created or downloaded.

Instead of trying to edit your registry, do the following:

• Run a complete virus and spyware or adware scan to eliminate any malicious files on the computer
• Run a good registry cleaner application to fix the registry errors

That should fix the problem. If not continue.

Configuration Errors

Some errors are caused by improper configuration in the internet explorer web browser. Since it is impossible to uninstall internet explorer, even if you don’t use it for surfing, improper settings can cause you to have problems with other web browsers as well since many controls call internet explorer features directly. To fix the problem perform the following the steps below:

• Click the Tools menu at the top of your browser, and select Internet Options.
• Click the Security tab at the top of the dialogue box, and set Medium as the Security level for this zone.
• Click Custom Level button and enable the following items:
  • Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins
  • Script ActiveX controls marked safe for scripting
  • Scripting
• Click OK when finished.
• Click OK again to save your changes.
• Open your web browser and try using the application again.

If that doesn’t work, then something else is configured wrong. You need to reset the system file to the default settings. Perform the following steps:

• Close all web browsers
• Click the Start button in Windows.
• Select Run.
• Type regsvr32 msxml3.dll in the dialog box
• Click OK
• You should get a message that the file was reset
• Click OK to exit.

If none of these fixes work, contact either Microsoft or the application publisher.