Question

The code below works the first time it is run but often fails on subsequent runs.
The line where it fails is commented below. I think that looping through SHDocVw.ShellWindows creates the issue and I need to clean up something before running it again. To duplicate the issue, Open google in IE and then run this procedure, repeat. Thanks for any help. The exact error is Exception from HRESULT: 0x800A01B6 . (Note that this is a simplified version of more complex code where I actually do reuse IE_test many times if it’s set.)

    Public IE_test As SHDocVw.InternetExplorer
    Sub TestIE()
    Dim shellWindows_3 As New SHDocVw.ShellWindows()
    Dim htmlDoc As String
    Dim link1 = "google.com"
    If IsNothing(IE_test) = True Then
        For Each ie_x As SHDocVw.InternetExplorer In shellWindows_3
            If ie_x.LocationURL.Contains(link1) Then 'find the google instance
                IE_test = ie_x
            End If
        Next
    End If

    With IE_test
        .Visible = True
        htmlDoc = .Document.Body.InnerHtml 'Fails here on second run
        .Quit()
    End With

    IE_test = Nothing
    MsgBox(Len(htmlDoc))

End Sub

Answer 1

I ended up solving this issue by completely removing .Quit() from any procedure (until the program closes). Now, I am always reusing the existing instances of IE rather than closing and reopening which is what allows the error to be avoided.