I had expected NOT to be able to write to HKLM as Ross says below from
what I had read.
My tests show that my application (installed in Program Files) by
Innosetup IS ABLE to update HKLM. I'm using a Vanilla Vista (Home
Premium) system for the tests. I can update from either an administrator
or standard user. I can see the updates from either user (I've only
tested with two users) and the updates are persistent across a power
off/on. I can also see the updates in the registry editor from either
user. I can't see any virtual registry being placed in the users
directory as far as I can see (I CAN see files that are placed there
when an application tries to write to the program files directory.)
As stated in my original item, the permissions for my applications HKLM
registry key was set (on installation) so everyone has full control -
see below for more details. Since the Borland key has the same
permissions my guess is that it is Vista that has set this.
So I am puzzled. These findings conflict with statements from Ross and
others. I haven't had time to research further at this stage - I know I
ought to!
Brendan.
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Ross Levis
Sent: 26 July 2007 04:58
To: 'Borland's Delphi Discussion List'
Subject: RE: VISTA: Delphi 5 works. HKLM information. Problems creating
Startmenu icons.
Note that programs writing to HKLM under a Standard User will not fail
under
Vista as it would under XP. Instead, it writes to a virtual registry in
the
users folder and not to the actual registry. I believe this is
basically
wiped out after a reboot.
Inno Setup can create the icons for you in the Start Menu folder using
the
[Icons] section. Your program doesn't need to do this.
Ross.
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf
Of Brendan Blake
Sent: Thursday, 26 July 2007 0:01
To: 'Borland's Delphi Discussion List'
Subject: VISTA: Delphi 5 works. HKLM information. Problems creating
Start
menu icons.
Thanks for all the very useful hints and tips on this forum.
The area I'd welcome some help is creating start menu icons (see item 3)
but first let me report what I hope are some useful points.
1. I successfully installed Delphi 5 on Vista Home Premium - so it does
work. Bob Swart's article (http://www.drbob42.net/examines/examin84.htm
) was most helpful in particular. The key point is to change directory
permissions whenever writes fail. This applies not just for the cases in
Bob's article, but some components write to their own directories which
must have their permissions set appropriately. I did have trouble
installing the Delphi 5 update (fix) pack, which just hung, reporting
that Delphi was still running. After a reboot and a wait, it suddenly
decided to install.
2. I've more or less managed to get several applications working, and at
least one happy user! I was expecting more problems, especially since I
use HKLM to store (and modify) configuration settings, and I'd been
warned that you could not write to HKLM. But I have no problem changing
configuration (ie HKLM) settings from a standard user as well as an
administrator, so all users can see the changes.
I checked the permissions for my HKLM key. This has been set so everyone
has full control - not by me, but by the installation process. Curiously
this also applies to my Borland HKLM key, so this may be the default for
keys created during the install process. I use Innosetup. This is an
absolutely excellent program - thanks to Jordan Russell - see
http://www.jrsoftware.org/ ). This supports Vista, and in my case my
installation ran fine without modification, despite creating all sorts
of folders, files, keys and icons as well as running my own setup
program that does further registry modification.
I've also got MAPI working - so good progress!
3. I do have a few problems still to solve:
- I used to be able to create additional icons in the Start Menu from
the application (in the application's folder therein). That doesn't work
now. And it is a real pain to do it manually. I couldn't even create a
new icon in the program files folder manually - even as an
administrator. There is no "new" context menu item anymore. I had to
copy an existing one (authorising the process several times) although
there may be something I missed. I can create desktop icons with a
program, including when run by a Standard User, so that has to suffice
for now. Any ideas will be welcome. I've still got some things to try
here.
- I'm going to have to follow a number of the recommendations contained
in previous posts (eg on where to store control files etc.)
But I'm nearly there.
Finally - Vista is a real pain for a small (and in my case very much
part-time) developer. UAC asks huge numbers of questions. Yes, the extra
security is essential, but I can't help thinking it's not been done very
intelligently. I find the user interface designed for style, not
useability, with even more space used for captions and borders, leaving
less for the real work. It doesn't support all my hardware yet (probably
never will). I can't see any reason users who take care about their
security should upgrade - yet!
Thanks again to all,
Brendan Blake.
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