C# – VirtualStore not working on Vista x64

cvirtualstorevisual-studio-2008win64

I have a little tray application that wants to write to its own folder under the Program Files directory. I know this is not an ultimate design and I will fix it, but first I want to understand how this works.

Running this on a 32-bit Vista machine it writes the files to the VirtualStore and it works just like it should.

But when installing this on a Vista 64-bit machine I immediately get hit with an UnauthorizedAccessException for trying to write to the directory within Program Files (and Program Files (x86)).

The VirtualStore redirect does not seem to work on Vista 64-bit. Any ideas?

It's a C# app written in Visual Studio 2008 and I use a FileStream obj to persist the stream to disk.

Best Answer

Have more info about error ?
Do you use sysinternals tools for monitor execution/access errors ?
Take a look Event viewer for error too.

Related Solutions

C# – How to get Program Files (x86) on Windows 64 bit

The function below will return the x86 Program Files directory in all of these three Windows configurations:

32 bit Windows
32 bit program running on 64 bit Windows
64 bit program running on 64 bit windows

static string ProgramFilesx86()
{
    if( 8 == IntPtr.Size 
        || (!String.IsNullOrEmpty(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("PROCESSOR_ARCHITEW6432"))))
    {
        return Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("ProgramFiles(x86)");
    }

    return Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("ProgramFiles");
}

C# – How to change file permissions to stop Vista from writing to a file in the VirtualStore directory

The UAC documentation “Designing UAC Applications for Windows Vista” should help you solve this.

It sounds to me like you need to add an application manifest.

When your application includes an application manifest with a "requestedExecutionLevel" value specified, Vista's virtualization of the registry and file system will be switched off.

Take a look at Create and Embed an Application Manifest (UAC) for specifics.

If you haven't previously tested your application under non-admin conditions, you might find that you need to make some code changes after you turn off Vista's virtualization.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

C# – How to get Program Files (x86) on Windows 64 bit

C# – How to change file permissions to stop Vista from writing to a file in the VirtualStore directory

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