To use a Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me computer as a Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) server, you need to install and configure the computer specifically to run DCOM applications. This article tells you both how to install DCOM and how to configure Windows 95/98/ME to become a DCOM server.

NOTE: Using a Windows Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me computer as a DCOM server does not provide the same features as a Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 computer. Performance and security are more limited. Additionally, you have to perform some steps manually that are provided automatically by Windows NT and Windows 2000. For instance, you need to start your server application manually and have it waiting for remote clients while Windows 2000 and Windows NT launch it for you when needed. In addition, you need to make sure that Rpcss.exe in the Windows\System folder is running. The DCOM release notes, listed in the "References" section later in this article, provide the complete list of differences for Windows 95 and Windows 98.

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DCOM is included as part of Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows Millennium. DCOM version 1.2 is included in Windows 98. To use the latest version of DCOM with Windows 95 or Windows 98, you need to download and install DCOM, as well as configure the computer to run DCOM applications. To use DCOM with Windows Millennium, you only need to configure the computer to run DCOM applications.

NOTE: Although Windows 98 and Windows Me already include DCOM, they do not include the DCOMCNFG utility. You can download the DCOMCNFG utility from the same locations that are mentioned below.

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Download and Install DCOM on Windows 95 or Windows 98

To download and install DCOM on a Windows 95 computer, follow the download instructions available on the following Microsoft Web site: To download and install DCOM on a Windows 98 computer, follow the download instructions available on the following Microsoft Web site:

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Configure the Computer to Run DCOM Applications

1.	On the Start menu, select Run, and type: Dcomcnfg.
2.	On the Default Properties tab, select Enable Distributed COM on this computer.
3.	On the Default Security tab, select Enable remote connection.
4.	On the Default Security tab, click Edit Default.
5.	In the Access Permissions dialog box, click Add to grant or deny access to users of the server. Click OK to close the Add Access Permissions dialog box, click OK again to close the Access Permissions dialog box, and then click Apply to put your access permissions into effect.
6.	On the Applications tab, select the server component you want to run on this computer and click Properties.
7.	On the Location tab, select Run application on this computer. NOTE: This assumes that the server application you want to run on this computer is already installed on the computer.
8.	Close all windows to close dcomcnfg.

Place a shortcut to the server component that you want to automate through DCOM into the startup group. This is a good technique to ensure that the component is started at startup. The server component must be running before a client can access it.

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Server Applications

A server application needs to remain running so that remote client applications can access it. The easiest way to keep a server application running is to load a blank form in the server application. Use the following steps to load a blank Form when you start the ActiveX EXE server:

1.	On the Project menu, select Add Form. Form1 is added by default.
2.	Set the Visible property of Form1 to False.
3.	On the Project menu, select Add Module. Module1 is added by default.
4.	Paste the following code in the code window of Module1: Option Explicit Public Sub Main() Load Form1 End Sub
5.	On the Project menu, select Project Properties. In the General tab, select Sub Main as the Startup Object.
6.	For the server to be able to receive calls, you need to make sure that Rpcss.exe (in the Windows\System folder) is running. If it doesn't start by default, you can add it to your start up group so that it starts automatically when the system boots up.

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The release notes for DCOM include a section describing the differences between DCOM for Windows 95 or Windows 98 and DCOM for Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000. This is a very important section to read.

The DCOM release notes for Windows 95 are located at the following Microsoft Web site: The DCOM release notes for Windows 98 are located at the following Microsoft Web site:

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