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Title
How To Use Windows 64bit 32bit Redirects -
Description
Version 13.2 (and below) of the Windows KACE agents are 32-bit.
Since the agent is 32-bit when it is installed on a 64bit Windows platform, things it attempts to do can get redirected by the Operating System (OS). Simple things like trying to read or write to the registry or system32 folder just don’t function the same. There are ways to account for/workaround these redirects. -
Cause
The following Microsoft knowledge article goes into detail on 32-bit redirects:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/winprog64/file-system-redirector -
Resolution
On a Windows x64 machine1) A 32-bit application maps as follows:- c:\windows\system32 -> c:\windows\syswow64 (32-bit)- c:\windows\syswow64 -> c:\windows\syswow64 (32-bit)- c:\windows\sysnative -> c:\windows\system32 (64-bit)2) A 64-bit application maps as follows:- c:\windows\system32 -> c:\windows\system32 (64-bit)- c:\windows\syswow64 -> c:\windows\syswow64 (32-bit)- c:\windows\sysnative -> not validThis will also affect registry keys. When needing to write to the actual 64bit registry you need to call the reg command from sysnative. If you are using a batch that has parameters the batch will switch back to 32bit redirects due to switches when executed by the agent.In scripting and Custom Inventory the redirects can be avoided by telling the KBOX when you are looking to read/write to 64bit keys by adding a 64 to the end of the primary key name. This will only be needed for those keys that have both 32bit versions and 64bit versions in the OS like HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.Examples:To access the 64bit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE you would use HKLM64 instead of the typical HKLM.If the redirects aren't accounted for the expected outcome will typically not be achieved. The agent logs themselves contain the paths being called while executing the various functions. More details on Registry access here.Keep this in mind when using PowerShell as well. If you are executing against a x64 system you will want to call c:\windows\sysnative\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe to make sure you are executing the 64bit version of PowerShell, otherwise you might not get the results you are planning for.