Thursday, November 08, 2007

Error Installing ActiveX in IE

If an ActiveX component fails to install in IE, to find out the source of the problem, you just need to select IE menu: Tools > Internet Options, click "Settings" button in the "Browsing history" group, then click the "View files" button. There should be a file named like this: "?CodeDownloadErrorLog!name={XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX}". This is the error log that contains a bit more information to help find the source of installation failure. The above description is based on IE 7, you should be able to find similar options in other IE versions.

In my specific case, the error log looks like this:

*** Code Download Log entry (07 Nov 2007 @ 10:01:26) ***
Code Download Error: (hr = 800c0300) Unknown Error!!
Operation failed. Detailed Information:
...

...
LOG: Item mfc42.dll being processed.
ERR: INF Processing: Failed (800c0300) processing: mfc42.dll
. Cannot get primary/default language!LOG: URL Download Complete: hrStatus:0, hrOSB:800c0300, hrResponseHdr:0, URL:(*****.CAB)
LOG: Reporting Code Download Completion: (hr:800c0300 (FAILED), CLASSID: e45975a1..., szCODE:(*****.cab), MainType:(null), MainExt:(null))


Below is the related section in the .inf file:

[mfc42.dll]
FileVersion=6,2,4131,0
file=http://[Web Server]/libraries.cab
RegisterServer=no
DestDir=11


After I commented out the "FileVersion" parameter, the ActiveX component is installed successfully.

[mfc42.dll]
;FileVersion=6,2,4131,0
file=http://[Web Server]/libraries.cab
RegisterServer=no
DestDir=11

Since the problem only happens on Windows 2000 computers, and my development environment in Windows XP Pro. I suspect that the MFC42 library provided by me may not be compatible with Win2000. Or the MFC42 is already in use by Win2000, and Win2000 have difficulty upgrading to the newer version provided by me.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Reboot Remote Computer

"Remote Desktop" makes it easy to manage Windows computers remotely.

But, if you want to reboot the remote computer, you will be frustrated. Because there is no "Shut Down" button on the start menu. The trick is to click on the "Windows Security" menu which will bring up the "Windows Security" dialog which gives you the options to "Shut Down..." computer. You can also use the shortcut: Ctrl+Del+End to access the "Windows Security" dialog.

Friday, November 02, 2007

Aptana Out of Beta: 1.0 Released

Just noticed that Aptana has been out of beta. In the 2.0 era when everything stays "BETA" forever, this is a rare achievement.

In version 1.0, an open-source Community edition and a commercial Professional edition are available at the same time. The professional edition definitely deserves the nominal price it asked for. But as its name suggests, only professionals really have an urge for that edition. The free Community edition has enough features for 90 percent of its potential users.

My main IDE is still Visual Studio 2005. But the Javascript editor in Aptana is the best I ever seen. Its auto-complete is way better than even the latest Visual Studio 2008 Beta2.