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Questions tagged [registry-virtualization]

Registry virtualization is an application compatibility technology that enables registry write operations that have global impact to be redirected to per-user locations. This redirection is transparent to applications reading from or writing to the registry.

Registry virtualization is an application compatibility technology that enables registry write operations that have global impact to be redirected to per-user locations. This redirection is transparent to applications reading from or writing to the registry. It is supported starting with Windows Vista.
This form of virtualization is an interim application compatibility technology; Microsoft intends to remove it from future versions of the Windows operating system as more applications are made compatible with Windows Vista and later versions of Windows.
Therefore, it is important that your application does not become dependent on the behavior of registry virtualization in the system.
Virtualization is intended only to provide compatibility for existing applications. Applications designed for Windows Vista and later versions of Windows should not write to sensitive system areas, nor should they rely on virtualization to remedy any problems.
When updating existing code to run on Windows Vista and later versions of Windows, developers should ensure that applications only store data in per-user locations or in computer locations within %alluserprofile% that properly use an access control list (ACL).
Further reference:

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Accessing 64 bit registry from 32 bit application

I need to open a registry entry "SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Uninstall\\{26A24AE4-039D-4CA4-87B4-2F86416024FF}" in c++. It contains the java 64 bit application. The full path of that registry entry is…
Harikrishna R
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KEY_WOW64_32KEY and KEY_WOW64_64KEY

Apart from the MSDN reference, I want to know what these keys do? Does KEY_WOW64_32KEY means that a 32-bit app on x64 OS will access the WOW64 Registry Tree ? And does KEY_WOW64_64KEY means that a 32-bit app on x64 OS will access the normal Registry…
user1696837
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Why is registry written in different location than expected?

I tried to write a registry subkey and its corresponding value to registry like this: const string subKey = @"SOFTWARE\Apple\Banana\"; const string regKey = "pip"; var rk = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(subKey); if (rk == null) rk =…
nawfal
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How to create a 'sandbox' with a virtualised registry for an application?

We have a 3rd party native application (written in C I believe) which we want to run multiple instances of on a machine. however the application reads and writes from one particular registry key in order to find the location of a config file. It…
Sam Holder
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XML as Virtual registry makes the application work slow

I am building an "Application Virtualization" product. I use XML file as a virtual registry. Virtual applications generated from my software accesses the virtual registry Xml. It runs , however runs very slow. I load and unload the XML on every…
Muthukumar Palaniappan
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Inhibiting registry virtualization programmatically

In the context of a generalized .NET-based component, which can be hosted in a variety of scenarios - i.e., 64 bit or not, interactive process or not, I need to write to the registry in an area that's subject to UAC virtualisation. However, I want…
Ruben Bartelink
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Windows preventing reg query on HKLM; returns HKCU instead

I'm using ActivePython 2.5 to read the registry for entries that pGina makes. Specifically, the entries concerning which GIDs are allowed on the computer. This information can periodically change for each computer as edited through pGina, so I want…
radicalbiscuit
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Can I access files and Registry keys in the Windows Virtual Store, from a non-virtualized application?

I have a 'legacy' XP application which writes files in the [ProgramFiles]\[Application] folder, and writes registry keys in the HKLM\Software\[Application] path. When running the application in Windows Vista or Windows 7, the files and registry…
BTownTKD
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After disabling file and registry virtualization my C# application does not work properly after post installation

We have stand alone C# desktop application that also uses VB6 code for some logic to write in .md5 file. Due to windows file and registry virtualization some registry key on some machine do not get values as system redirect the registry reading to…
Akash
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Registry virtualization failing

I have a 32-bit program that is trying to access a key stored in HKLM\Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio in a Windows 64-bit setup running Windows 8.1. Usually it works just fine and it will actually read that key from the Software\Wow6432Node. However…
Emmanuel Stapf
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Cannot bypass registry virtualization

I have created a subkey in the registry, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MyApp\APIConnector. When I load this subkey using Visual Studio's Immediate windows while no launched app is running, I can read the subkey. However, when my application looks for…
Steve
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Standard location of system-wide configuration files of an app?

Since Windows Vista, our friends from Redmond are putting an end to the habit of storing configuration files in C:\Program Files\\config.ini. Ok, they introduced Registry Virtualisation, but it's always better to fix your stuff, right? I'm…
doppelfish
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How to make Delphi applic debugged see the REAL registry - and not the virtual one

Background: I'm developing an windows service and using the registry to get the parameters (using the key Parameters below the service entry). Delphi is installed as an AppWave app (long story I cannot tell here) and therefore when debugging it goes…
Fabricio Araujo
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How reliable is HKEY_USERS if I know the user's SID?

I'm attempting to access registry values (written by another program) that should be readily available via the HKEY_CURRENT_USER registry base key when accessed from the logged on user's context. Unfortunately, I'm accessing this information from a…
CODe
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How to build a x64, Windows 7 compatible application?

We have an legacy application that accesses the registry. Because it is a 32bit application it accesses the registry in Windows 7 through Registry Virtualization when referencing HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software. My question is what setting(s) in…
Achilles
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