I'd like to consolidate information from a number of
previous posts in the hope that someone can point me at
documentation so that I can avoid or automatically mend
this misbehaviour.

I have an Access 97 application that needs to record and
playback sounds stored in a table.
The record button includes code that used to work fine
repeatedly:
    Me!Speech.Locked = False
      Me.Speech.Enabled = True
       Me!Speech.Class = "soundrec"
       Me!Speech.ACTION = acOLECreateEmbed
       Me!Speech.Verb = acOLEVerbPrimary
       Me!Speech.ACTION = acOLEActivate
Clicking on the bound object field on my form would play
back the recorded speech fine too.
The application was moved back and forth between an XP
platform at home and both an XP and 2000PE platform at
work.  Note that it will eventually be hosted in an NT
4.0 environment. The moving platforms seemed to break the
OLE Server Connection so that while sounds would still
play back fine, an attempt to re-record using the above
button would crash at the ACTION = acOLECreateEmbed  
instruction with the alert:
"A problem occurred while Microsoft Access was
communicating with the OLE Server.
Close the OLE Server and restart it outside of MS Access."

I found a knowledge-based article that suggested Norton
Antivirus could be the problem so I removed that program
but to no avail.  Trying to bypass the instruction if the
properties were already set bypassed the record function.

Problem solved temporally thus: Created a new form and
table. I Copied data from the old table storing sounds to
the new one piece-by-piece. I then copied code behind
controls and for events from the old form to the new
one.  I reconnected rest of the application to the new
form and table. It magically worked again - until
transported to another platform that is, when the
phenomenon recurred.

Surely there is a technique whereby whatever is hanging
up the OLE Server can be avoided or at least
automatically mended?  One might be able to exogenously
intervene by right clicking on the sound field in the
underlaying table to edit/re-record sounds but that is
not very elegant nor user friendly. I would appreciate a
pointer to some documentation or a tip as to what is
happening and how it should be managed.