How can I delete (not disable) ActiveX add-ons in Internet Explorer (7 and 8 Beta 2)?

internet-explorer activex
Tom Kidd picture Tom Kidd · Oct 7, 2008 · Viewed 136.8k times · Source

I'm developing a solution which uses an ActiveX control (a commercial one which we bought and that I did not develop). I need to develop the proper installation pages to simulate what happens when a user who has never visited the site and does not have the add-on installed comes to the page.

I've found the "Manage Add-Ons" bit in Internet Options and I'm not having any luck.

In IE7, I see an ability to enable or disable any control and a "Delete ActiveX" option, but it's disabled for this particular control.

In IE8 Beta 2, the "Manage Add-Ons" bit has been completely reworked and I no longer see an option to delete the control. Each control has a "Properties" dialog and I can "Remove" it, but the button doesn't appear to do anything (could be related to how "Delete ActiveX" doesn't work for this on in IE7).

It looks like maybe this control is installed in such a way that merely deleting it from IE won't work or isn't allowed, but it's not a control with its own entry on the Add/Remove Programs menu in XP, so I can't uninstall it that way either.

How can I delete/remove (not disable) this ActiveX control in IE so that I can simulate what happens when people come to the site and the ActiveX control hasn't been installed yet? I figure there must be a way to "purge" IE of it.

Answer

dummy picture dummy · Oct 8, 2008

You could unregister the control with

regsvr32 /u badboy.ocx

at the command line. Though i would suggest testing these things in a vmware.

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