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

Same problem and same setup as Alex. Would love a solution!

Answer 3

Hi all - I should have asked this earlier, but would you please include a screen shot of the About Excel dialog so that I can get the exact build number as well as whether you have 32 or 64-bit Excel installed.  This will help me investigate the problem faster.

Thanks much,

Steve K (Microsoft)

Answer 4

Just as an aside, I spent an hour and a half on the phone with basic Microsoft Office Support representatives, before they told me they wanted to charge me $419 for what they admitted to was a "Bug in the software, that should have been included within the install." I enjoy having this forum as an outlet and I just wish the support system regardless of call in, posting, twitter, whatever - was more in sync with each other. They should have taken my details over the phone and escalated through a centralized support channel.

Build: 16.0.6366.2062

Answer 5

I just uninstalled 32 bit and reinstalled as 64 bit and the Inquire tab is now functional, if this is any help to isolate the issue Steve.