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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-24T21:39:31+00:00

I need to execute some additional configuration after installation so I have created a

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I need to execute some additional configuration after installation so I have created a smoll PostInstall.exe console application which should do the work. I need to get winamp install path from the registry.

This PostInstall.exe works fine if I run it alone. But if I use it in custom action “After Register Product”, I get an error “The system cannot find the file specified” returned from the function

DWORD kres  =  RegOpenKeyExW(HKEY_CURRENT_USER, L"Software\\Winamp",0, KEY_QUERY_VALUE, &hKey);

I am 100% sure that the key exists – I verify it before I launch installation. Also when I run PostInstall.exe manually after installation, it succeeds.

I have tried to set “Deferred Execution” and “Deferred execution in system context” but that
does not help.

Why does RegOpenKeyEx fail in my custom action?

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    Make sure that the installation is not being elevated under another user account. This way your custom action process will not be executed for a different user which has a different HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive.

    Also, try getting the current user inside your custom code and determine if it’s the one you expect.

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