Frequently Asked Questions

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General Questions

Technical Questions

Will my ActiveX control work if built without using the apartment threading model?

ActiveX controls must use the apartment threading model to work correctly in Internet Explorer version 4.0 and later.

More information on apartment and other threading models can be found the SiteBuilder Network (SBN) Workshop: Building ActiveX Controls for Internet Explorer 4.0 and in the following Knowledge Base article: INFO: Descriptions and Workings of OLE Threading Models.

How can I improve performance in my ActiveX control?

For better performance, make your control an apartment model control. Internet Explorer 4 uses multiple threads and may host the control in a secondary thread. If the control is not created as apartment model aware and marked as such, it is created and executed in the context of the calling application's primary thread, requiring calls on the control's methods to be marshaled between threads. This can cause a performance hit, which can be very prominent if there are many non-apartment model controls in an HTML page. To make a control apartment model, the control needs to be marked as such in the registry and has to be written so that it is apartment model safe.

More information on apartment model and other threading models can be found in the following Knowledge Base article: INFO: Descriptions and Workings of OLE Threading Models.

In an ActiveX control, how can I detect that the user has clicked Internet Explorers STOP Button?

If your control implements IOleCommandTarget, it will get OLECMDID_STOP when the Stop button is clicked.

Please see the following Knowledge Base article: HOWTO: Detect IE's STOP Button Click in ActiveX Control.

What is the secret to debugging a control embedded in an HTML page in Internet Explorer 4? Whenever I try to start a debug session with Internet Explorer version 4.0 and later in the Visual C++ debugger, I get kicked out of the debugger.

Debugging controls with Internet Explorer 4 is not as straightforward as debugging controls in Internet Explorer 3.x. The details on how to do this correctly are outlined in the following Knowledge Base article: HOWTO: Debugging ActiveX Controls in IE 4.0 Browser.

Deployment

SignCode returns some errors that are numbers, but the descriptions are Cryptic or non-existent. What could these errors mean?

Following are lists of code signing errors and their meanings.

Using Internet Client SDK code signing tools with Internet Explorer 4.0

Error Code/Message	Reason	Solution
80028ca0 The certificate does not have the correct signing authority; signing failed	-$ commercial parameter used with an Individual Software Publisher certificate	Use -$ individual or do not use parameter (defaults to maximum authority for certificate)
80004005 Too many parameters; signcode failed	Too many parameters, such as extraneous quotes	Use correct parameters
80004005 Signcode failed	-x parameter used without -t parameter	Use correct parameters
80070001 Invalid timestamp http address; timestamping failed	Cannot connect to timestamp server through modem/proxy/firewall	Check Internet connection
80070006 Signing failed	Invalid parameter indicating file to be signed; can also occur if combined length of -n and -i parameters is too long	Check length of command line and use correct path for file to be signed
8007000d Connection timed out, or invalid response from the timestamp server; timestamping failed	Invalid timestamp URL	Use valid timestamp server URL
80070057 Signcode failed	Command line parameters missing Group 3 -c, -s, -cn, -r and/or -p parameter(s) used with one or more group 2 parameters such as -spc and -v -r parameter used w/no certificate store -sp parameter used w/no certificate store	Use correct parameter(s)
80070057 Files signed by previous version of the signing tool may need to be resigned; timestamping failed	-x parameter used with a previously unsigned file	Sign file before or at the same time as timestamping
8007007f Signcode failed	Invalid DLL in -j parameter	Use valid DLL in -j parameter
80070485 Signing failed	Imagehlp.dll not present on path	Place imagehlp.dll in System (Windows 95) or System32 (Windows NT) directory
80090016 Unable to sign the program	Incorrect version of SignCode.exe (4.70.1140)	Obtain and use a current version of SignCode.exe
80092006 Unable to open a CSP provider with the correct private key	Private key (.pvk file) not found Private key (.pvk file) corrupt	Obtain and use a valid private key (.pvk file)
80092006 Unable to open a CSP provider with the correct private key	-ky Exchange or -ky n (where n is an integer) Invalid -p parameter Invalid -y parameter	Use correct parameter
80092009 The software publishing certificate and private key do not match or do not contain valid information	Software publishing certificate (.spc file) corrupt	Obtain and use a valid software publishing certificate (.spc file)
8009200c There is no valid certificate in the [store name] cert store; signcode failed	invalid -s parameter	Use correct parameter
8009200c There is no valid certificate in the my cert store; signcode failed	Invalid -c parameter Invalid -cn parameter	Use correct parameter
800b0003	Signing 16-bit PE (.ocx, .exe. or .dll) Signing a corrupt 32-bit .exe	Sign a valid 32-bit PE (.ocx, .exe or .dll)
800b010a Failed to build the certificate chain as requested; signing failed	Software Publisher Certificate (.spc file) not found	Obtain and use a valid Software Publisher Certificate (.spc file)

Using ActiveX SDK code signing tools with Internet Explorer 4.0

Error Code/Message	Reason	Solution
800b0003 Signing failed	Signing code using ActiveX SDK code signing tools on a machine running Internet Explorer 4.0	Use Internet Client SDK code signing tools to sign code on a machine running Internet Explorer 4.0

Using ActiveX SDK code signing tools with Internet Explorer 3.02

Error Code/Message	Reason	Solution
Warning: This file is signed, but not timestamped	Timestamp parameter not used	Timestamp code using timestamp parameter
00000078 Signing failed	Signing non-PE file (for example, text file or word processing document)	Encapsulate text file or document in a cabinet (.cab) file and sign cabinet
8000ffff Signing failed	-commercial parameter used with and Individual Software Publisher Certificate	Use -individual or do not use parameter (defaults to maximum authority for certificate)
80070002 Signing failed	Software Publisher Certificate (.spc file) not found	Obtain and use a valid Software Publisher Certificate (.spc file)
80070006 One or more input parameters are invalid; signing failed	Invalid parameter indicating file to be signed; can also occur if combined length of -n and -i parameters is too long	Check length of command line and use correct path for file to be signed
8007000d Invalid response from the timestamp server; timestamping failed	Invalid timestamp URL	Use valid timestamp server URL
80070057 Signing failed	Private key (.pvk file) not found	Obtain and use a valid private key (.pvk file)
80070057 Files signed by previous version of the signing tool may need to be resigned; timestamping failed	-timestamper parameter used with a previously unsigned file	Sign file before or at the same time as timestamping
80090016 Unable to sign the program	Incorrect version of SignCode.exe (4.70.1140)	Obtain and use a current version of SignCode.exe
80093005 Signing failed	Corrupt Software Publisher Certificate (.spc file)	Obtain and use a valid Software Publisher Certificate (.spc file)
8009300a Signing failed	Signing 16-bit code	Sign 32-bit code

Using ActiveX SDK ChkTrust tool with Internet Explorer 3.02

Error Code/Message	Reason	Solution
800b0004 The subject is not trusted for the specified action.	User clicked No button on ChkTrust dialog box	Error is expected when clicking No button in ChkTrust dialog box; click Yes button to view success results
Certificate signature could not be verified using issuer's certificate.	Private key (.pvk file) corrupt	Obtain and use valid private key (.pvk file )
The component appears to have been digitally signed by its publisher, but the signature cannot be verified. Do you wish to continue? Details: Signature does not contain a valid signing certificate.	-nocert parameter used	Do not use -nocert parameter
The root certificate has not been enabled as a trusted root.	Test certificate handling not enabled	Run SetReg utility to enable test certificate handling: setreg 1 true
Signature does not contain a valid signer.	Private key (.pvk file) corrupt	Obtain and use valid private key (.pvk file )
Software does not match contents of signature.	File modified after signing	Re-sign file
Warning: The authenticity of this software cannot be verified; therefore, this software cannot be trusted. Problem listed below: The signature does not match the content of the signed message. Are you sure that you want to install and run <URL path for signed file> signed on an unknown date/time and distributed by: Unknown Publisher?	Rsabase.dll not registered correctly	In System/System32 directory run: regsvr32 Rsabase.dll