Files Remain Hidden Even though I selected show Hidden & Protected

Would this virtualisation have anything to do with the advice seen in some
places and ridiculed in others to run installers as Admin and to set Admin
privileges on the legacy app itself/run it first time as Admin?

I have a lot of trouble with legacy apps and UAC etc. and trying to work out
what I should be doing to minimise downstream irritation.

"Ronnie Vernon MVP" wrote:

> Hi Stan
>
> A little background first.
>
> Vista is built on a new security model that is based on what's called a
> "Least User Privilege" environment. What this means is that for software to
> be compatible with Vista, it must be designed to run under a Standard User
> account. This means that software programs are no longer allowed to write to
> sensitive areas such as Program Files, System32 folder, HKey_Local_Machine
> in the registry, etc.
>
> Software developed for previous versions of Windows pretty much required
> that the user must use an administrative account to use that software
> because this software did write to these system wide, sensitive areas (even
> though the Microsoft guidelines for developing software tried to deter this
> practice). These developers designed their programs to have system wide
> access, even though this was not really required. This left the system wide
> open to attacks from malware that would use the privileges of the logged on
> user (administrator).
>
> Virtualization.
>
> Going to the next level, Vista now 'requires' that software programs 'must'
> use the least user privileges for software to be compatible with Vista.
> Microsoft recognized that this could have a disastrous effect since so many
> legacy programs would not be compatible with Vista so they implemented file
> and registry Virtualization.
>
> This Virtualization simply means that if a software program attempts to
> write to a restricted area, (such as C:\Program Files\software program
> folder) then that write function will be silently re-directed to a
> non-restricted area, such as C:\Users\username\Local\Virtual Store\Program
> Files\software program folder.
>
> This allows the program to run as designed while still protecting the
> system.
>
> However, file and registry Virtualization is not permanent. It is only there
> to allow the software developers time to update their programs to be
> compatible with Vista. Virtualization will disappear sometime in the near
> future and programs that are not compatible will simply not run on Vista.
>
> Here are some links with more information, if you want to dive deeper into
> this.
>
> Common file and registry virtualization issues in Windows Vista:
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927387
>
> Getting to Know User Account Control: MVP Article of the Month - October
> 2006:
> http://www.microsoft.com/technet/com...vp/sv1006.mspx
>
> Developer Best Practices and Guidelines for Applications in a Least
> Privileged Environment:
> http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/lib...otvista_topic4
>
>
>
> --
>
> Ronnie Vernon
> Microsoft MVP
> Windows Shell/User
>
>
> "Stan" <> wrote in message
> news:B5139EAC-421A-44CB-93B0-...
> > This is the first time I have seen anything about Virtualization. Did a
> > web
> > search but did not find any really useful info. What is it?
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> > Stan
> >
>

I am also having a problem accessing downloaded files, but I am unable to
find the "Show compatability files" button on the
> Command Bar. " you mention

"Ronnie Vernon MVP" wrote:

> Lab Technician
>
> Have you searched the drive for these files?
>
> These files may be subject to the Virtualization for Vista, this is for
> non-compatible programs that store user configurable files such as .cfg,
> .ini, and other user files out of the
>
> %systemroot%\Program Files\program name, folder(s)
>
> and places them in the
>
> %systemroot%\Users\username\AppData\Local\VirtualS tore\Program Files\program
> name, folder.
>
> If this is the case, then when you open your software programs folder In
> Windows Explorer, you should see a "Show compatability files" button on the
> Command Bar. Clicking this button will take you directly to the Virtual
> Store folder.
>
> --
>
> Ronnie Vernon
> Microsoft MVP
> Windows Shell/User
>
>
> "LabTechnician" <> wrote in message
> news:4EDCFB41-22AA-4BB0-9276-...
> > Hello.
> > We have a computer with Windows Vista Business 32bit on a Machine here in
> > our Lab.
> > We are trying to figure out why some of the files in our software are
> > always
> > hidden.
> > We are logged in as administrator, and we have set the folder options so
> > that it always shows hidden files and folders, and to always show
> > protected
> > operating system files. and to always show file extensions.
> >
> > In windows xp we see these files in windows explorer, with no problems.
> > However to see them in windows vista we have to use the following
> > application
> > http://farmanager.com/
> > With this application we can see all the hidden files in the folder,
> > however
> > for some reason windows vista's explorer does not show these files, and we
> > can not see them even in the windows vista Dos comand prompt.
> >
> > We have no idea why these files are hidden or how to make it so that they
> > are not hidden in windows vista, after they are installed through our
> > installer.
> > some of the file names are as follows.
> > _config.cfg
> > _sa.cfg
> > We are not sure if it is because vista will always hide files named this
> > way, we tried renaming one of the files to random dfl.bda, and then all of
> > a
> > sudden we could see the file.
> >
> > We appreciate all the help anyone can give us.
> > Thanks in advance.
>