Subject: RE: Certain files in the system32 directory are not listed
Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2007 18:23:35 +0100
On 07 June 2007 17:55, John Cooper wrote:
> Dave Korn wrote:
>
>>> (could that fact that I'm using x64 be contributing to the problem?)
>> Unlikely to be related.
>
> It turns out that x64 is indeed causing the discrepancy.
> From http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/06/05/x64/default.aspx :
>
> "File activity from a Win32 process that would normally go to the
> System32 directory instead goes to a directory named SysWow64."
Argh. I guess we have to extend the old joke: these days, Windows is a
64-bit file-system redirection on top of a 32-bit patch to a 16-bit shell
for
an 8-bit operating system written for a 4-bit processor by a two-bit
company
without one bit of sense!
> Perhaps something similar should be added to cygwin, as otherwise it's
> impossible to access any files in the "real" system32 directory.
Conceivably we could insert a call to
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/fileio/fs/wow
64disablewow64fsredirection.asp
but who knows what it might break? We'd have to do a lot of testing first.
> Incidentally, would cygwin be able to exec such 64-bit programs?
Well, if calling CreateProcess works on them the same as it does for
32-bit
programs, it /ought/ to work, but GOK what M$ might or might not have done
behind the scenes to sabotage us. For example, cygwin won't be able to
exec a
64-bit program if the O/S fakes us out that the .exe isn't even visible ...