Excel 2016 - Com Add-In: Inquire - Not loaded. A runtime error occurred during the loading of the COM Add-In

Question

The COM Add-In appears under the Inactive Application Add-ins section, when attempting to use the Manage COM Add-ins feature to enable I continue to receive the error "A runtime error occurred during the loading of the COM Add-In.". Everything on the internet refers to Office 2013 still being able to utilize this add-in, while Microsoft themselves state 2016 in some of their literature the majority of their information refers back to 2013. I do have Office Professional Plus 2016 installed as well.

What you can do with Spreadsheet Inquire in Excel 2016 for Windows

If Microsoft Office 365 or Office Professional Plus 2013 is installed on your computer, the Spreadsheet Inquire add-in is available in Excel.

https://support.office.com/en-US/article/What-you-can-do-with-Spreadsheet-Inquire-in-Excel-2016-for-Windows-5444eb12-14a2-4d82-b527-45b9884f98cf

COM Add-in Name: Inquire

Publisher: Microsoft Corporation

Path ... Office15\DCF\NativeShim.dll

Desc: NativeShim Inquire Addins used by SpreadsheetIQ

At this point I've reviewed all registry information, attempted to transfer usable 2013 files as well as consulted other forums where users have experienced the same issue. Any resolution would be greatly appreciated.

https://www.reddit.com/r/excel/comments/3m00nb/excel_2016_missing_feature/

Answer 1

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all your help investigating this issue.  The good news is that we have a fix for this problem, and it's scheduled to be released in an update this week.  Once you get the update, check your Office version number in Excel by going to File > Account > About Excel.  The version number should say 16.0.6528 or greater if you have the update that includes the fix for this issue with Inquire.

Thanks,

Steve (MS)

Answer 2

Hello Alex,

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

To resolve this issue I suggest you to try performing a repair of Office 2016/Excel 2016 and then check if the Inquire Add-in loads normally.

You may follow the steps suggested in the following Microsoft Office link to repair Office 2016:

https://support.office.com/en-US/Article/Repair-an-Office-application-7821d4b6-7c1d-4205-aa0e-a6b40c5bb88b

Check the above and let us know.

Thank you.

Answer 3

I've done the repair, the online repair and even just now did a full uninstall and reinstall - attached is the error that continues to be present, I've even reviewed my machines registry and attached below. I'm honestly at a loss and everywhere Microsoft indicates online is that Excel 2016 still supports this Add-In, my machine with Office 2013 has no issues in utilizing this Com Add-In.

Inquire Registry and Reg_Binary:

NativeShim.InquireConnector.1

0000 05 00 00 00 10 00 00 00

0008 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

0010 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

0018

Answer 4

Confirmed my buddy with Excel 2016 is also experiencing the exact same issue on his machine.

Answer 5

Excel 2016 Inquire was working yesterday.  Today, no.  Get the com add-in error.  I need a fix for this ASAP!  Inquire was the reason for my upgrade...