[python]:Installation Problems

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Installation Problems

A number of people have reported problems when installing the Python for Windows extensions. The problem generally shows itself right near the end of the installation, when the installer reports an error message similar to:

Registration of the Python.Server COM server failed. Installation will continue, but this server will require manual registration before it will function

It is very likely we have a COM DLL version mismatch that this document attempts to address.
Step 1 - Check the specific error message

If the message looks like:
pywintypes.com_error: (-2147467262, 'No such interface supported', None, None)
(the "no such interface supported" is the relevant bit!

Then MS have done it to us!  Please read the description of this problem.

If the message is different, please continue to Step 2
Step 2 - Check the correct Python DLLs have been installed

This normally happens when an old version of the extensions has been installed on the PC. You should check the version numbers of the files Pythoncom1x.dll and PyWinTypes1x.dll. Both these files are in your Windows system directory. (Click here for info on how to find a DLLs version)

The version numbers should be 1.5.0.xxx (or 1.6.0.xxx), where xxx is the build number of win32all you installed. For example, win32all-125.exe will install these DLLs with version 1.5.0.125; build 136 is likely to be 1.6.0.136 (by the time we release 136 we will almost certainly be on 1.6 only :-)

If old versions are installed, you should:

    * Uninstall the extensions using Control Panel/Add Remove Programs.
    * Delete these DLLs from your Windows System directory.
    * Reinstall the extensions.

If you are brave: The WinZip program can open the win32all-xxx.exe file, and display and extract the contents. If you are confident that you know all the files that were not installed correctly, you can extract and update the files manually.
Step 3 - Check for a COM/OLE Update

Note: If you do install a COM update, it is recommended you uninstall the failed installation of the Python extensions, then re-install after updating COM.

If you have installed IE5, I doubt it is possible you have COM DLL version problems that would affect PythonCOM. If you have installed IE4, I also believe you should be fine (although the IE4 case is still suspect - check for a COM update anyway!)

The simplest way to get up-to-date COM DLLs is to install the latest DCOM updates. Visit the DCOM download pages at http://www.microsoft.com/com, select Resources->Downloads, and grab the DCOM update for your system.

A small number of users have reported old DLLs that refuse to go away even after updating their system. Although very rare, if all else fails, the key system DLLs appear to be ole32.dll and oleaut32.dll

The versions I have on my Windows NT 4 SP3 machine are:

    * ole32.dll - 4.00
    * oleaut32.dll - 2.30.4265

My Windows 98 box has:

    * ole32.dll - 4.71.26.12
    * oleaut32.dll - 2.30.4261

If your version of these files are significantly out of date, then that is likely to be your problem.
Finding a version of a DLL

Below I will talk about the version number of certain DLLs. This is the process you should use to determine a DLLs version:

    * Using Windows Explorer, locate the DLL in question (usually in the Windows System directory)
    * Display the properties for the file. This can be done by right-clicking on the file, and selecting Properties from the menu.
    * On the properties dialog that is shown, click on the Version tab near the top of the form.

The version number should be displayed.

If you can not locate the file specified, it may be necessary to change the options for Windows explorer. If you select the View menu, then select Options (or Folder Options), there will be an option to hide system files - disable this option. Unfortunately, the exact process is different for Windows 95, 98 and NT
comcat.dll version screwup

This newsgroup posting describes a problem with the version of comcat.dll.  To see if your version of this DLL is affected, you should see the instructions for finding a version of a DLL.

Message-ID: <326536345498D311B3BC00105A39802A074686@newsintern.dspace.de>
From: Stefan Migowsky <smigowsky@dspace.de>
Subject: RE: Problems with PythonWin
Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 11:09:52 +0100
Newsgroups: comp.lang.python
[Other headers trimmed]

>
>pywintypes.com_error: (-2147467262, 'No such interface
>supported', None, None)
>

This error occurs if you have a special version of the comcat.dll which resides in the system32 directory. Microsoft has updated this dll without supporting older interfaces. But now they solved the error.

To register the ActiveX Script Engine you have to have either version 4.71 or the new Version 5.0 from the Internet Explorer 5.0.

The faulty version is 5.0 (!) from Internet Explorer 4.01.

Sometime I don't know what they are doing in Redmond.

Bye
Stefan

[Tue Dec 23 17:17:50 2003 GMT+10]