Null check in VB

All I want to do is check if an object is null, but no matter what I do, if it compiles, it throws a NullReferenceException just trying to check! Here's what I've done:

    If ((Not (comp.Container Is Nothing)) And (Not (comp.Container.Components Is Nothing))) Then
        For i As Integer = 0 To comp.Container.Components.Count() - 1 Step 1
            fixUIIn(comp.Container.Components.Item(i), style)
        Next
    End If

    If ((Not IsDBNull(comp.Container)) And (Not IsDBNull(comp.Container.Components))) Then
        For i As Integer = 0 To comp.Container.Components.Count() - 1 Step 1
            fixUIIn(comp.Container.Components.Item(i), style)
        Next
    End If

    If ((Not IsNothing(comp.Container)) And (Not IsNothing(comp.Container.Components))) Then
        For i As Integer = 0 To comp.Container.Components.Count() - 1 Step 1
            fixUIIn(comp.Container.Components.Item(i), style)
        Next
    End If

    If ((Not (comp.Container Is DBNull.Value)) And (Not (comp.Container.Components Is DBNull.Value))) Then
        For i As Integer = 0 To comp.Container.Components.Count() Step 1
            fixUIIn(comp.Container.Components.Item(i), style)
        Next
    End If

I've looked through VB books, searched several forums, and everything that SHOULD work doesn't! Sorry for asking such a remedial question, but I just need to know.

Just so you know, the debugger says that the null object is comp.Container

Change your Ands to AndAlsos

A standard And will test both expressions. If comp.Container is Nothing, then the second expression will raise a NullReferenceException because you're accessing a property on a null object.

AndAlso will short-circuit the logical evaluation. If comp.Container is Nothing, then the 2nd expression will not be evaluated.

Your code is way more cluttered than necessary.

Replace (Not (X Is Nothing)) with X IsNot Nothing and omit the outer parentheses:

If comp.Container IsNot Nothing AndAlso comp.Container.Components IsNot Nothing Then
    For i As Integer = 0 To comp.Container.Components.Count() - 1
        fixUIIn(comp.Container.Components(i), style)
    Next
End If

Much more readable. … Also notice that I’ve removed the redundant Step 1 and the probably redundant .Item.

But (as pointed out in the comments), index-based loops are out of vogue anyway. Don’t use them unless you absolutely have to. Use For Each instead:

If comp.Container IsNot Nothing AndAlso comp.Container.Components IsNot Nothing Then
    For Each component In comp.Container.Components
        fixUIIn(component, style)
    Next
End If