When you try to install an ActiveX control by using Active Directory in Windows XP or in Windows Server 2003, the operation is not successful (894571)

SYMPTOMS

Consider the following scenario. You use the methods that are described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles to install an ActiveX control on a Microsoft Windows XP-based or Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based client computer:

241163 How to publish ActiveX controls in Windows 2000 using IntelliMirror

280579 How to install ActiveX controls in Internet Explorer using the Active Directory

However, the operation to install the ActiveX control is not successful.

Notes

The methods that are described in these articles are intended for Microsoft Windows 2000-based systems.
These methods involve the use of the Active Directory directory service.

CAUSE

This issue occurs when the following conditions are true:

You access a Web page in Microsoft Internet Explorer that requires that you install an ActiveX control on the client computer.
The client computer is affected by the deployment policy that is described in the Knowledge Base articles that are mentioned in the "Symptoms" section.
You deploy the ActiveX control to Active Directory by using an administrative tool in the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in.

By default in Windows 2000, the COM component information is deployed together with the Microsoft Windows Installer package (.msi file) into Active Directory. However, in Windows XP and in Windows Server 2003, you have the option to include or not to include COM component information in the ActiveX deployment. To include COM component information, use the Advanced Publish feature.

Note Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 were designed with the Advanced Publish feature because the inclusion of COM component information in the ActiveX deployment requires significantly more hard-disk space.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem by using the Advanced Publish feature, follow these steps:

Use the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in to open the Group Policy Editor.

Note To start the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in, click Start, click Run, type dsa.msc, and then click OK.
Right-click the Software installation node, and then click Properties.
In the Software installation Properties dialog box, click the Deployment tab.
Click Advanced, and then click to select the Include OLE Class and Product Information check box.

The COMClassID information will now be deployed into Active Directory.

MORE INFORMATION

To verify that you are experiencing the problem that is described in the "Symptoms" section, use the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) management tool, Ldp.exe, to open Active Directory. Then, expand the Active Directory nodes in the following order:

CN=Domain
CN=System
CN=Policies
CN={Policy GUID}
CN=User
CN=Class Store
CN=Packages
CN={Package GUID}

In the left pane, you will see the COMClassID value. If the COMClassID value for an .msi file that contains an ActiveX control is all zeros, you are experiencing this problem.