Windows 7 Automation Error Accessing the OLE Registry
Are you a Visual Basic 6 user? Did you upgrade your OS to Windows 7? Did you install the Microsoft Visual Studio 6, and run Visual Basic 6 on Windows 7? Why I am asking you these questions because you might probably encountering the same problem with the mess I’m into two days ago. I normally run VB 6 on Windows XP, but when I upgraded my OS to Windows 7- I encountered this error:
It’s a Data View pop-up saying, Automation Error: “Error Accessing the OLE Registry”.
This usually pops-up when I start Visual Basic 6 in Windows 7. I never encounter this error on Windows XP, so I tried rebooting my PC to Windows XP since I am actually have a multi-boot system. I run VB 6 on XP, and it works fine!
I realized it’s not practical running Windows 7, and switching back to XP just to run VB 6, perfectly. I really like the Windows 7 experience and I don’t want to get compromised just because there’s a compatibility issue with the application I am using.
So, how did I fix this VB 6 error on Windows 7?
Well, my approach was very simple. Knowing that my Visual Basic 6 works fine on my previous OS (Windows XP SP2 and SP3), I just utilized the Compatibility Mode feature of Windows 7. If you have the same problem and don’t know how to fix it, simply go to the Microsoft Visual Basic 6 Properties –either from the Start Menu or from the VB 6 shortcut icon.
On the VB 6 Properties window, select the Compatibility tab. Check the box for “Run this program in compatibility mode for:” and select the earlier version of Windows which you think VB 6 works fine. You can also change this setting for all the users of your PC or just restrict the setting to you as administrator.
Isn’t it cool? It is cool because you will still be running VB 6 on Windows 7 environment… By the way, if you ever encounter related compatibility issues with other applications- just try running the application with the Windows 7 compatibility mode. If you think you have something to share about this VB 6 issue, just leave a comment below…
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