Error: When trying to Sync, I get an error ‘Unable to import data…” you made need to register MSCOMM32.OCX

When trying to Sync, I get an error ‘Unable to import data…” in one of the following forms:

-Unable to import data using Tcp/Ip. It appears that the Tcp/Ip server control has not been loaded on this workstation.
-Unable to import data from the Handheld Computer. It appears that the Communication control (MSCOMM32.OCX) has not been loaded on this workstation.

The reason this occurs is that Windows no longer automatically installs and registers some OCX files that BarScan uses.

The recommended way to correct this is to update BarScan to version 3.5.0 dated 2023-09-12 and then use BarScan menu option “Register OCX files” since it automatically handles UNC paths. If the issue still persists after this menu option has been used, manual registration can be done.

How to register using the BarScan menu option “Register OCX files”

1: Begin BarScan using ‘Run as administrator’
-Locate the desktop icon used to begin BarScan. Right click on it and select menu option ‘Run as administrator’. If the menu option ‘Run as administrator’ is not available, please consult your IT department. (Alternatively, you can locate the BarScanw.exe in the BarScan root folder and right click on that.)

2: Log into BarScan as a Master User. (If your BarScan login does not have Master User privileges, please consult your company BarScan administrator to help you or grant you these privileges.)

The following image of a standard user screen show where this setting can be found.

3: Select the following menu item:

File-> Company-> Housekeeping-> Miscellaneous-> Register OCX files.

4. Verify that you want to register the OCX files.
You will be asked to verify that you want to register BarScan’s OCX files. Answer ‘Ok’ if you want to proceed (this is recommended).

See below (‘Results of Registration’) to understand the results.

How to register Manually

Manual registration can be done as follows:
1: Verify both mscomm32.ocx and Mswinwck.ocx exist in folder

c:windowssyswow64

(It is possible that this windows folder location is different on your computer if you have the 32 bit version of windows or your IT department has installed windows at a nonstandard location.)
If either file is not there, copy the missing one from the BarScan app folder (on the server this is typically c:barscanw) into the Windows SYSWOW64 folder.

2: Start the CMD window.

– Click on the windows ‘Search’ bar next to the Windows start icon (typically in the lower left of the screen).
– Type ‘CMD’ (without the quotes).
– Select ‘Run as administrator’.
(Note: If ‘Run as administrator does not appear then you must consult your IT department to perform these steps.)

3: In the CMD window make the C:WINDOWSSYSWOW64 the current folder.

– In the CMD window type:
c:
CD windowssyswow64

4: Register the two files.

Enter the following commands at the CMD prompt:
regsvr32 mscomm32.ocx
regsvr32 mswinsck.ocx

Results of Registration

If you see the following error (or one similar) you have not started CMD with ‘Run as administrator’. Restart your CMD and ‘Run as administrator’.

Successful registration will yield a message similar to the following:

If you have any other issues, please consult the Advanced User Notes below before calling or email for technical support.

Advanced User Notes:

Where to find BarScan OCX files.

The BsHandheldAX.ocx file is a BarScan created file and will always be found in the BarScan app folder.

Mswinsck.ocx and mscomm32.ocx (and its associated comcat.dll file) are also in the BarScan app folder but should also exist in the C:WINDOWSSYSWOW64 folder.

1: Verify that all Microsoft control files are in the folder (typically C:BARSCANW if on the server).

Mswinsck.ocx
Mscomm32.ocx
Comcat.dll (required for Mscomm32.ocx)

2: Verify that the BarScan control file is in the BarScan app folder (typically C:BARSCANW on the server).

bsHandheldAX.ocx

The Regsvr32 program

REGSVR32.EXE program is provided by the operating system. It is a 32 bit program
The syntax for using Regsvr32.exe is as follows:

Regsvr32 [/u] [/s] <OCX File Name>
Where:

/u means Unregister the <OCX File Name>
/s means register the <OCX File Name> in Silent Mode (display no messages).

<OCX File Name> is the full path of the MSCOMM32.OCX file. If there are any spaces in the full path it needs to be enclosed in quotes.

There are 2 ways to run this program.

Method 1: Use the built in RUN prompt IF you have access to it from your menu.

Click on the Windows Home menu icon, type RUN.
Select ‘Run as administrator’ if it is available, if not try Method 2.
For a typical BarScan installation enter

Regsvr32 /s “C:BARSCANWMSCOMM32.OCX”

If your copy of BarScan is not in the standard location, use the appropriate path.

Method 2: Use the built in CMD prompt IF you have access to it from your menu.

Click on the Windows Home menu icon, type CMD.

Select ‘Run as administrator’ if it is available.

For a typical BarScan installation enter “Regsvr32 /s C:BARSCANWMSCOMM32.OCX”, excluding the quote marks. If your copy of BarScan is not in the standard location, use the appropriate path.

If registration was successful, you will get a ‘Succeeded’ dialog message. Click on “OK” to close it.

NOTE: If an error occurs when registering a control, you should do the following:

Verify the path that you entered. It may have been mistyped or be in a different folder.

Verify in the Registry that the control has not been registered before.

Verify that the following files are in the WindowsSystem directory:

mfc30.dll
mfc40.dll
olepro32.dll
msvcrt40.dll
msvcrt20.dll

If one of these files is missing, you may receive the following error Message: Error: OLE Error Code 0x80040112: Appropriate license for this class not found.