Problem evaluating "Program Files" environment variable on WinXP x64

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(imported topic written by SystemAdmin)

Hi

Strange one this. I’m trying to evaluate the local environment variable called “ProgramFiles” on an x64 machine.

The relevance is easy:

value of variable “ProgramFiles” of environment

However, it returns “C:\Program Files (x86)”. The actual environment variable returns “C:\Program Files” when queried from the command line.

What’s the way to get the ‘true’ environment variable value?

Adam

2

(imported comment written by arnaud91)

Hi Adam,

Try this:

Q: value of variable “ProgramW6432” of environment

A: C:\Program Files

Some explanations here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa384274(VS.85).aspx

Basically, if you run cmd.exe on a 64bit machine, it runs as a 64bit process, so %programfiles% is set to “C:\Program Files”

But the BigFix Client (or the Relevance Debugger if you use it) runs as 32bit process, so %programfiles% is set to “C:\Program Files (x86)”

Arnaud