Windows vista registry virtualstore

Read Registry Virtualization. If the caller reads from a key that is virtualized, the registry presents a merged view of both the virtualized values from the virtual store and the non-virtual values from the global store to the caller. When the user attempts to read values from this key, the merged view includes values V1 and V2 from the global store and value V3 from the virtual store.

Note that virtual values take precedence over global values when present. In the example above, even if the global store had value V3 under this key, the value V3 would still be returned to the caller from the virtual store. If V3 were to be deleted from the virtual store, then V3 would be returned from the global store. Note that using the registry as an inter-process communication IPC mechanism between a service or any other process that does not have virtualization enabled and an application will not work correctly if the key is virtualized.

For instance, if an antivirus service updates its signature files based on a value set by an application, the service will never update its signature files because the service reads from the global store but the application writes to the virtual store. Processes that impersonate a user. If a process attempts an operation while impersonating a user, that operation will not be virtualized. To do this, use the Reg. The following example shows the use of the Reg. So you need to run it manually from its icon.

Try changing the application so it writes to Windows folder. And check the virtual store folder. Virtualization is not only done with folders but also with registry entries. File and registry virtualization is available only for bit applications. This feature is not available for bit applications on Windows Vista. Don't use virtualization as a feature of your application. It is better to fix your application than to write to Program Files folder and the HKLM hive without elevated user privileges.

Redirection is only a temporary means to fix broken applications. Posted in File System Tagged:. This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Common Public License Version 1.

Was this reply helpful? Yes No. Sorry this didn't help. Thanks for your feedback. Apologies if this is not the right topic area. I am not sure where my question should go. ArsClip requires the ability to read and write files in the same location as the executable. This version of Windows will redirect file outpub in this location to the VirtualStore.

It is not good programming practice to store the read and write files in the same location as the executable. MS created the VirtualStore to prevent that from happening. Some people hate the VirtualStore for reasons I don't understand. This means, some application that view directories will get confused.

The masking of files also is the source of a mysterious problem i have when trying to work with IntelliTypo software. It costed me some 10 hours over several days. See also: File Aliases Considered a Plague.