An older version of MSCOMM32.OCX has had the "kill bit" flag set.
The latest Windows Update has set the kill bit flag for an out of date but commonly used version of mscom32.ocx. Microsoft Security Advisory (969898)
Options
- roll back the update. Not recommended however instructions are in the above web page.
- locate the newest version of mscomm32.ocx and distribute to your users/customers. Not recommended as this will require the users to have admin privileges on their system to install the OCX or for the IT staff to do the update. In the meantime your app's serial port logic isn't working
- replace the mscomm32.ocx with API code. Perform Serial Port Communication - The sample code on this page consists of a VB module containing a collection of routines to perform serial port I/O without using the Microsoft Comm Control component. The module uses the Windows API to perform the overlapped I/O operations necessary for serial communications. Recommended
Symptoms
Errors such as
"<your application> doesn't support this ActiveX control".
"no inserted control" (or something like that)
"Object doesn't support this property or method"
When you open the form in design view you will get the following message "There is no Object in this control" and the control will no longer show the telephone icon.