Object variable or With block variable not set? - vb.net

Question

I get this error when i run my program:
A first chance exception of type 'System.NullReferenceException' occurred in Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll
Object variable or with block variable not set
Here is my code:
Dim rt As String = ""
Dim out As String
Dim wRequest As WebRequest
Dim wResponse As WebResponse
Dim SR As StreamReader
Dim time As Date
time = Now()
Try
wRequest = WebRequest.Create(Address)
wRequest.Timeout = 10000
wResponse = wRequest.GetResponse
SR = New StreamReader(wResponse.GetResponseStream)
rt = SR.ReadToEnd
SR.Close()
Catch wex As WebException
Dim status As WebExceptionStatus = wex.Status
If status = WebExceptionStatus.Timeout Then
MessageBox.Show("Could not establish a connection to the selected exchange server.", "Connection Timed Out", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Warning)
ElseIf status = WebExceptionStatus.ConnectFailure Then
MessageBox.Show("Could not establish a connection to the selected exchange server.", "Connection Failed", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Warning)
ElseIf status = WebExceptionStatus.ProtocolError Then
MessageBox.Show("Could not establish a connection to the selected exchange server.", "Connection Protocol Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Warning)
End If
End Try

Answer 1

The source of your error could be your Address variable.
Please try prefix with http:// in front.
Example:
Address = "http://www.google.com"
for more further information, please read MSDN WebRequest.Create Method (String)

Answer 2

The problem is most likely that wResponse.GetResponseStream is failing because wResponse is null. (which is probably because your Address variable isn't valid).
Try adding
Catch ex As Exception
MessageBox.Show("Some other error occurred: " + ex.Message, MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Warning)
End Try
after your WebException Catch block to see what the problem is.
Or just put a breakpoint on SR = New StreamReader(wResponse.GetResponseStream) and look at wResponse (your choice).

Answer 3

I am checking your code and it works fine.
Here's a demo although I made a little change on the declaration of time variable and putting a string on WebRequest.Create() like:
Dim time As Date = Now
and
WebRequest.Create("https://www.google.fm")
And as per my own search there is nothing much to be concerned about with this kind of error, see the link below.
A first chance exception