Windows 10: Windows 10 Update makes .chm files crash when navigating pages

Hello all,

I recently upgraded to Windows 10 Pro from Windows 7 Ultimate and have been trying to troubleshoot this error on my own for an entire day. I am usually very resourceful and almost never have to resort to creating a topic to solve my issue, but this one has me stumped.

This error only occurs after the .chm file is open in Microsoft HTML Help, no matter what program opened it—if any (note that it is any .chm file, though I will be using just one as an example). I receive the error once I click anything that would change the page (e.g., clicking an internal link on the page that's displayed, clicking one of the links in the content tab, or doing a search and then clicking on a result), but not a link to an external page that would open in my browser or other application. I should note that the page does successfully change, but the error appears.
The msgbox error I get is:

which then stops checking and changes to this:

Closing this msgbox proceeds to close the help file.


Things I have tried that have not made a difference:

• Running MJsDiag305b96, checking the report, and re-registering the correct dlls and ocx files (see attachment for the report) HelpReport.rar
• Downloading and installing HTML Help Workshop 1.3
• Making sure the location of the .chm file is not on a network location and does not include any special characters such as #
• Opening the properties of the .chm file and looking for an option to unblock the file (does not exist; also, files were created from the installation of programs)
• Downloading an older version of winhelp.exe and installing it (per Alan Copp's suggestion on this thread) (I later realized this program was completely unrelated, but the win 10 reinstall brought back the correct version)
• Taking ownership of the .chm file and giving full permissions access to all
• Moving the .chm file to the desktop and trying to run it from there
• Running sfc /scannow in an elevated command prompt
• Opening an elevated command prompt and running the command: C:\Windows\hh.exe "C:\Program Files\AutoHotkey\AutoHotkey.chm"
• Reinstalling Win 10 Pro
• (Of course, rebooting after making significant changes)

Things I have tried that have made a difference (file encountered no errors):

• Running the .chm file in a different application entirely, such as CoolReader, KchmViewer, xCHM (which is working the best for me so far), Sumatra PDF, Okular (part of KDE), ChmFox, etc
• Opening an elevated command prompt and running the command: C:\Windows\SysWOW64\hh.exe "C:\Program Files\AutoHotkey\AutoHotkey.chm"

From what I have found online, this latter one runs the 32-bit version of HTML Help. When I run the file in this way, I get none of the errors. However, even if I select the "Open With" on the .chm file, browse to C:\Windows\SysWOW64\hh.exe, and try to open it with that, it still crashes. I have to open it in command prompt for it to work. Furthermore, attempting to set the file associations in control panel to the same 32-bit hh.exe also does not work.

Does anyone have any clue as to what I could do to solve this?

:)

 

looking for pdf & chm reader

MobiCHM is a good chm reader, you may have a try.

Support Devices:

Compatible with all S60 3rd Edition phones.

Features:

· Read CHM documents anytime, anywhere

· Intuitive navigation and familiar user experience

· Four navigation views: content, index, search, bookmark

· Page view full supports html

· Portrait and Landscape view mode

For more information, you may visit
http://www.hugematrix.com

 

.hlp file support

Paul,

I wrote a file/document managing program (when Windows XP was current) using VBscript for the Windows Scripting Host environment. When Windows 7 then 8 were released Microsoft produced a patch to allow my .hlp files (that I created with their tool) to be
used but when Windows 10 came out they did not. So I spent the time converting my .hlp files to .chm files (again with their tool, but BTW it too a lot of effort after the tool ran to get the .chm files to work). However Microsoft did not update the Scripting
Host to allow the .chm files to work from a Help Button. So there I was, left high and dry after a good deal of work. If Microsoft wants us to upgrade to .chm help they should support it in their platforms. I share your frustration Paul.

 

I found a solution to the problem. It seems HHActiveX.dll in the "C:\Windows\System32" folder was either improperly registered or nonexistent. I was able to obtain a copy of the 64-bit dll by downloading a trial version of Adobe RoboHelp 10 (because I couldn't seem to find it for download anywhere else online).

After taking the file from "C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe RoboHelp 10\Redist\x64" and placing it in the system32 folder, then using "regsvr32 /u HHActiveX.dll" and then "regsvr32 HHActiveX.dll" in an elevated command prompt, I was able to solve the issue. If for some reason anyone out there encounters this same issue, I've attached the 64-bit dll to this post. For the record, it's dated 7/4/2012, version 10.0.0.287.

 

Tried HHActiveX but it didn't work for me. Opening Context-sensitive chm help from a 32 bit editor crashes HTMLHelp. Current work around for me is to use Autohotkey (64bit) to copy and paste the topic from the editor into chm help file. *Sad For those who wants to know, the Autohotkey script is below:
Code: +f1:: Click %A_CaretX% %A_CaretY% 2 send ^c If !WinExist("AutoHotkey Help") { SplitPath, A_AhkPath,, dir Run "%dir%\AutoHotkey.chm" WinWaitActive, AutoHotkey Help } else WinActivate, AutoHotkey Help send !w+{home}^v{enter} return[/quote]

 

Tried the first command but got Error code 0x8002801c
What should I do next.
Thanks