Why do I receive a "MCR Instance not available" message when executing a COM object create with MATLAB Builder for COM/.NET/Excel?

I have installed a new version of my COM object created with MATLAB Builder for COM, MATLAB Builder for .NET, or MATLAB Builder for Excel on my deployment machine. When using the new version, I receive an error message box containing the following message:

MCR Instance not available

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

This error often occurs when the extracted <appname>_mcr directory tree appears newer than the new CTF-file. <appname> refers to the name of your executable. This can occur when there is a difference between the system clocks on the development and deployment machines.

To work around this issue, delete the old <appname>_mcr directory tree when installing a new COM object. This will force extraction of the new CTF-file.

If the system clocks differ significantly and are not in different time zones, you may want to synchronize both with a network time source; this situation can cause problems in other file sharing as well.

You may also receive an error if the system clocks differ when using MATLAB Compiler applications, though you will receive a different error message. For more information, see the Related Solution below.

Another cause would be that the dll was created from Trial / Demo MATLAB license and it has expired. Check the packaging log which should indicate if the Add-In was built with DEMO / Trial license.