HKCU keys not getting installed

[sydneygd]

Hi All,

I have a problem with HKCU\software\odbc keys not getting installed when a new user logs into the machine.

I have worked out that if I advertise the shortcut the HKCU\software\odbc keys will be entered into the registry when the user starts the shortcut. If I do not advertise the shortcut (the way we want to go) these keys are not entered into the registry when the shortcut is started.

Another interesting thing is that keys under hkcu\software\vendor install ok either way. So it looks like the user who is locked down with policies isn't allowed to write to the odbc keys.

I have the property ALLUSERS set to 1 thinking this will install all HKCU keys to allusers. Is this correct thinking?

Was wondering if anybody has had a similar problem and knows a way around it.

thanks

[jmcfadyen]

this is not the correct thinking re the allusers=1

HKCU keys are only for that user. The advertised shortcut will in fact repair the keys as it is simply running a user repair when it notices that the keys are missing.

If you do not want advertised shortcuts (I recommend you do) then your only way around this is to create an active setup entry or a run once per user entry that calls this.

msiexec /fu {GUID}

let me know if this is not clear enough

[sydneygd]

thanks for your reply, do you know if I can advertise the shortcut but use msiexec /i to install all the files & machine reg keys onto the machine so it does not have to be installed by a user when someone first starts the shortcut.

[jmcfadyen]

yeah use active setup.

not as elegant but does the job you want.

[sydneygd]

Ok so if I use advertised shortcuts I should not have to use active setup as you suggested?

Could you just clarify one thing for me, if I use
"msiexec /i word.msi /q" with advertised shortcuts should this only repair the hkcu and any user files as all the machine files & reg keys are already installed with the /i function.

thanks again for your advise.

[jmcfadyen]

as i mentioned abouve msiexec /fu is how to heal only the HKCU items. combine that with active setup.