Registry Key Deletion During Installation [Solved]
Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2018 2:26 pm
Hi there,
I just upgraded to the latest version of MainType v 8 (downloaded on 31 Mar 2018) onto a laptop with a cleanly installed Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit (Latest Version 1709 / Bld 16299.309) OS. This was a new install of the MainType software with no previous versions loaded. Once installed, I found that many of my programs that were set to auto-start during Windows start-up no longer did so. Inspection of the Task Manager Start Up list showed indeed the programs were no longer in the list to automatically start.
In order to work out what was happening, I loaded a previous disk image of Windows onto my system, back to a clean state, and brought up on the screen all the user and common startup folders and registry keys that hold the various start up programs. I then installed MainType onto the clean system and monitored any changes to these areas. I found that right at the end of the MainType installation, a registry key was deleted. The key that was deleted holds many of the program files that should be run at start-up. The key is: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. This key is only used on 64 bit systems for running 32 bit start-up items.
I repeated the test twice, and saw the problem could be replicated, at least on my system. I was able to restore the key manually using an exported key taken from the clean system image, bringing the start-up programs back into play. However, as I am not sure if other less obvious keys are being detrimentally deleted/updated during the MainType installation, I have restored my previous drive image, leaving MainType uninstalled for now.
I guess I am hoping this can be checked on someone else's or High-Logic's own clean Windows test computers, and if confirmed as a bug and fixed in a future release. I have attached screen grabs of the registry before and after MainType installation.
I have placed this same post in the support section, in case it is better to have it there (moderators, please feel free to delete).
I trust the above is helpful.
I just upgraded to the latest version of MainType v 8 (downloaded on 31 Mar 2018) onto a laptop with a cleanly installed Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit (Latest Version 1709 / Bld 16299.309) OS. This was a new install of the MainType software with no previous versions loaded. Once installed, I found that many of my programs that were set to auto-start during Windows start-up no longer did so. Inspection of the Task Manager Start Up list showed indeed the programs were no longer in the list to automatically start.
In order to work out what was happening, I loaded a previous disk image of Windows onto my system, back to a clean state, and brought up on the screen all the user and common startup folders and registry keys that hold the various start up programs. I then installed MainType onto the clean system and monitored any changes to these areas. I found that right at the end of the MainType installation, a registry key was deleted. The key that was deleted holds many of the program files that should be run at start-up. The key is: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. This key is only used on 64 bit systems for running 32 bit start-up items.
I repeated the test twice, and saw the problem could be replicated, at least on my system. I was able to restore the key manually using an exported key taken from the clean system image, bringing the start-up programs back into play. However, as I am not sure if other less obvious keys are being detrimentally deleted/updated during the MainType installation, I have restored my previous drive image, leaving MainType uninstalled for now.
I guess I am hoping this can be checked on someone else's or High-Logic's own clean Windows test computers, and if confirmed as a bug and fixed in a future release. I have attached screen grabs of the registry before and after MainType installation.
I have placed this same post in the support section, in case it is better to have it there (moderators, please feel free to delete).
I trust the above is helpful.