Deleted Files Still (Mysteriously) Accessible by Program

I've noticed some odd behavior with Vista recently that I was hoping to
gain some insight into.

We've been running an old VB6 program on Vista. The program accesses a
simple binary .ini file to load and save user settings. We've notice
that even if we delete this file, the program still seems to have no
trouble loading it, reading it, and writing to it.

Is there some weird file caching going on here?

Thank you in advance for any insight...


--
cnewport

On Nov 30, 2:57 pm, cnewport <cnewport.30v...@no-mx.forums.net> wrote:
> I've noticed some odd behavior with Vista recently that I was hoping to
> gain some insight into.
>
> We've been running an old VB6 program on Vista. The program accesses a
> simple binary .ini file to load and save user settings. We've notice
> that even if we delete this file, the program still seems to have no
> trouble loading it, reading it, and writing to it.
>
> Is there some weird file caching going on here?
>
> Thank you in advance for any insight...
>
> --
> cnewport

That really isn't odd, at all. I've written tons of programs that
check for the existence of a file and if it doesn't exist, I create
it. You're just doing CYA as a programmer. But why are you deleting
that file in the first place?

Later,

Andy C.(never #)

"cnewport" <> wrote...
> We've been running an old VB6 program on Vista. The program accesses a
> simple binary .ini file to load and save user settings. We've notice
> that even if we delete this file, the program still seems to have no
> trouble loading it, reading it, and writing to it.

Is the INI file in a protected location, such as under the "C:\Program
Files" directory?

If so, you are probably seeing a side-effect of Vista's file and registry
virtualisation. See:

Common file and registry virtualization issues in Windows Vista
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/927387

The file may still exist in %userprofile%\AppData\Local\VirtualStore.

Hope it helps,

--
Andrew McLaren
amclar (at) optusnet dot com dot au

Andrew,

Thank you for your help. Virtualization certainly seems a likely
culprit, as the program is running under "C:\ProgramFiles." I will
consult the support doc you referenced and see if I cannot gain
additional insight.

Best,
Calvin


--
cnewport