Is there a way to make automation calls from VB such that the "Component request pending" message does not come up when the automation server is still processing the request or has hung?

If the automation server hangs, it would be good be allow the user to be able to restart it.

VB only seems to allow you to change the message.

Is it possible to make the automation call in a separate thread within VB, so that the user still has access to the active form while the component request is pending?

I can use a separate thread within the COM server, but this causes problems with third party applications I am interfacing with. I could have a separate multithreaded app which sits between VB and the COM server...