Another UAC question

  • Thread starter Thread starter DocMAX
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DocMAX

generally when i run the installation of a program, vista asks for
administrator permission. after permission is granted to do what ever the
installation program wants to do - lets say it wrote some files in c:
\program files\myprogramm. then, when starting in user mode, how can the
program write into that myprogram folder? for example when an .ini file
resists in there? virtualisation can't be done because at the time the
program installed itself, virtualisation had been turned off...

hope someone understood me...
 
DocMAX said:
generally when i run the installation of a program, vista asks for
administrator permission. after permission is granted to do what ever the
installation program wants to do - lets say it wrote some files in c:
\program files\myprogramm. then, when starting in user mode, how can the
program write into that myprogram folder? for example when an .ini file
resists in there? virtualisation can't be done because at the time the
program installed itself, virtualisation had been turned off...

hope someone understood me...

The program shouldn't be writing to the program files directory, it should
be writing to AppData under the user folder.

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User.
http://www.windowsresource.net/
Get ready for Windows Vista: http://www.windowsvista.com/getready/

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The program shouldn't be writing to the program files directory, it
should be writing to AppData under the user folder.

but old xp programs write in c:\program files\. with admin rights the
program can write into c:\program files\. programs write into AppData, if
they don't have permissions from the beginning.
 
DocMAX said:
generally when i run the installation of a program, vista asks for
administrator permission. after permission is granted to do what ever the
installation program wants to do - lets say it wrote some files in c:
\program files\myprogramm. then, when starting in user mode, how can the
program write into that myprogram folder? for example when an .ini file
resists in there? virtualisation can't be done because at the time the
program installed itself, virtualisation had been turned off...

hope someone understood me...

DocMAX:

Suppose the installer placed a .ini file in Program Files. The
application can read this .ini file, but then if it tries to write it
there will be virtualization.

Actually this is a mess. Because if the user reinstalls the app, he/she
will get a fresh version of the .ini file in Program Files (assuming
this is what the author intended, and how the installer is written). But
when the application goes to read the .ini file, it will get the old
virtualized copy. So the installer cannot be used to repair the application.

IMO, this virtualization is a terrible idea. It would be much better,
IMHO, if apps that write to Program Files just failed. They shouldn't
have been doing this in the first place.

David Wilkinson
 
DocMAX said:
but old xp programs write in c:\program files\

These are poorly written programs. If program follows design guidelines for
Windows 2000/XP/Vista applications, it doesn't do that (write to
%programfiles%) at run time, only at setup/install time. It doesn't require
admin rights either (unless it is a tweak/system utility which purpose is to
make system-wide changes).
 
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