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both 32 and 64 bit installs use the 32 bit registry

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I've noticed that both 32 and 64 bit installs use the 32 bit registry which makes it impossible to distinguish them in the registry. Any workaround on it please?

asked 29 Mar '12, 02:03

Eugenia's gravatar image

Eugenia
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One Answer:

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I'm not sure it would make sense for us to explicitly write to the 64-bit view of the registry, at least for our current set of keys. They are either used by the system (e.g. file associations) or by the uninstaller, which is a 32-bit application created by the NSIS installer utility.

The most reliable way to to find the executable type would probably be to read the value of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\App Paths\\wireshark.exe then inspect the actual executable, e.g. using file or dumpbin /headers.

If you want a method based purely on the contents of the registry you could look for "(x86)" in the file path. By default Wireshark is installed in C:\\Program Files\\Wireshark if the executable and system type match and C:\\Program Files (x86) if you're installing the 32-bit version of Wireshark on 64-bit Windows. Note that this isn't 100% reliable since the user can change the installation directory.

Update

Starting with the 1.7.1 HKLM\\…\\Uninstall\\Wireshark\\DisplayName and …\\Comments will include a the system type, e.g. "Wireshark 1.7.1 (64-bit)".

answered 29 Mar '12, 13:14

Gerald%20Combs's gravatar image

Gerald Combs ♦♦
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accept rate: 24%

edited 03 Apr '12, 17:41