Fix DV_E_NOIVIEWOBJECT (0X8004006D) in Windows

1. What causes DV_E_NOIVIEWOBJECT (0X8004006D)?

This error pops up when a program tries to display an embedded object (like an Excel chart in a Word document) but the object's COM interface doesn't support the IViewObject interface. That means the app can't render the object visually.

You'll usually see this in older software—think Windows 7-era apps, classic ASP pages, or legacy COM components. It's become more common since Windows 10 version 2004 and Windows 11, because Microsoft tightened security around OLE and DCOM. The exact error code is 0X8004006D, which maps to DV_E_NOIVIEWOBJECT.

I've seen this when someone tries to open a Word 2003 document with an embedded Visio drawing. Or when a custom in-house app tries to render a PDF inside its own window.

2. Fix #1: Re-register the OLE component (most common)

Don't overthink this. In most cases, the COM object is simply not registered correctly, or Windows Update changed the registration. You need to re-register it using regsvr32.

Here's the step-by-step:

1. Press Win + R, type cmd, then press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open Command Prompt as administrator.
2. Click Yes on the UAC prompt.
3. In the command prompt, type the following and press Enter:
   

   regsvr32 /u ole32.dll

   After pressing Enter, you should see a popup saying: "DllUnregisterServer in ole32.dll succeeded."
4. Now re-register it:
   

   regsvr32 ole32.dll

   You should see: "DllRegisterServer in ole32.dll succeeded."
5. Do the same for oleaut32.dll:
   

   regsvr32 /u oleaut32.dll

   Success popup again.
   

   regsvr32 oleaut32.dll

6. Restart your computer.

After restarting, try the app again. I'd say this works about 70% of the time. If you still get the error, move to the next fix.

3. Fix #2: Repair the offending application

Sometimes the problem isn't Windows—it's the app that's failing to host the object. A partial install or a corrupted update can break the app's ability to call IViewObject. You'll notice this if the error only happens in one specific program (like Excel 2013 or an old version of OpenOffice).

Here's what to do:

1. Open Control Panel > Programs and Features.
2. Find the application that shows the error. For example, if it's in Word, find Microsoft Office.
3. Right-click the program and select Change or Repair.
4. Follow the on-screen prompts. For Office, choose Quick Repair first—it's faster. If that doesn't fix it, run Online Repair (needs internet).
5. After repair, restart your PC.

I've seen this fix work for people who had a broken Office installation after a failed update. The repair tool re-registers all the COM interfaces, including IViewObject support.

4. Fix #3: Enable the COM+ Event System service

This one's trickier. The DV_E_NOIVIEWOBJECT error can also happen if the COM+ Event System service is disabled. This service handles how COM objects communicate—without it, some objects can't expose their view interfaces.

Here's how to check and fix it:

1. Press Win + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
2. Scroll down to COM+ Event System.
3. Double-click it. Check the Startup type dropdown. It should be Automatic.
4. If it's not, change it to Automatic and click Apply.
5. Next, if the Service status says Stopped, click Start.
6. Click OK.
7. Also check COM+ System Application—same settings: Automatic and Running.
8. Restart your PC.

After restart, test your app. I've seen this fix when someone had disabled services to "speed up" Windows. It broke OLE functionality.

5. Quick-reference summary table

Try fix #1 first. If that doesn't work, jump to fix #2 or #3 depending on the symptoms. Most people I've helped get this resolved within 15 minutes.