Question : Active X problem with Windows 2000 TS and IE 6 SP1

I have a situation in which a Web-based custom mulit-user application  runs through IE 6 SP1 on a Windows 2000 Terminal Server. The program has many modules and many screens per module. On  one screen in one module occasionally - not all the time - when one particular screen loads  several of the data fields are missing.  If the user exits the program and starts it again - sometimes this takes several such relogins, other times only one - then the fields show up.  The developer of the application is suggesting that the problem is with the the Active X component in IE 6  SP1.  We have had other folks tell us that if there is an Active X problem it is not a here-and-there type of symptom - it either works or it doesn't work.  I would like to get some insight into this from some specialists.

Answer : Active X problem with Windows 2000 TS and IE 6 SP1

ActiveX is simply a container to run code in other applications.  If there are display or data issues it's not the container's fault.  I completely agree with the other folks, if ActiveX isn't working it's consistent on ALL platforms.

This sounds like a problem with the developers code.  In fact it's a classic problem that sounds like there might be problems with the variable management in the control and that reinitializing the component.  Subtle design flaws in code can remain hidden until the right conditions occur such as a specific server OS and even browser.  However, that doesn't mean it's the fault of the browser and OS.

As an example, I'm actually fixing a web server component I wrote that streams files and it only happens on the x64 version of Windows 2008.  I'm convinced it's my fault and not the OS.  It is very intermittent and hard to consistently replicate, however, I'm sure it's my code.

Another example is last summer I had a bug that only happened on the x64 version of IE 7 on Vista.  The problem didn't occur on the x64 version of IE 7 on XP.  It was REALLY hard to find but ultimately it was a very subtle bug in my AJAX/JavaScript that was exposed only on that specific OS/browser combination.

I think you need to push your developer a little harder to dig deeper.