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You receive a "Setup could not write to the registry" error message when you install Visual C++ 2.x or a later version in Windows 95 or Windows NT

Article ID: 138786

Article Last Modified on 4/28/2005

Microsoft Visual C++ 5.0 Enterprise Edition
Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 Enterprise Edition
Microsoft Visual C++ 5.0 Professional Edition
Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 Professional Edition
Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 Standard Edition

This article was previously published under Q138786

SYMPTOMS

Although Just-In-Time (JIT) debugging is enabled in the Developer Studio, a debugging utility other than the Developer Studio is invoked when an illegal operation occurs in Windows 95.

CAUSE

In Windows 95, the Developer Studio uses the Win.ini file to maintain the just-in-time debugging settings. If the following registry key exists in your Windows 95 registry, its settings will preempt the settings in the Win.ini file:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version\AeDebug

RESOLUTION

Delete the following registry entry to allow Visual C++ just-in-time debugging to be invoked:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version\AeDebug

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

In Windows NT, this information is kept only in the registry.

In Windows 95, it is necessary for this information to be placed in the Win.ini file only. Installing the Win32 SDK on a computer that is running Windows 95 will create a registry key and cause the problem described. Use Regedit.exe to delete the key from the registry.

The following entries should exist in the Win.ini file:

   [AeDebug]
   Auto=0
   Debugger=c:\msdev\bin\msdev.exe -p %ld -e %ld

The path to Msdev.exe may be different on your computer. The Win.ini file is located in your Windows directory.

REFERENCES

The Readme for Microsoft Visual C++ Version 4.0.

Keywords: kbtshoot kbbug kbide kbdebug kbprb KB138786