Thank you John and dilettante.

The problem John found with WIN 7 has been explained.

What do I want this code for? My programs are not generally distributed, but used on a relatively small number of machines under controlled circumstances. Thus it is not necessary to make distributable packages. I can distribute the dependency files separately and the users can load them (eg. using Windows Explorer) into the correct folder. Most programs share the need for just a handful of dependency files. What I wanted to do was add code to the Form Load event whereby the program whizzes round and checks if all its necessary dependency files are present on a given machine, and flag up to the user which are missing (if any). If all are found, the program will simply run and the user will be unaware of the check's having been made.

To do this I need to know the correct PATH to where the file(s) should be. That path varies with the OS. Hence I need to detect the OS. in use. See my post #26 above where the folder PATH is different between 98, 2000 and XP. In 98 they are in the SYSTEM folder and not in SYSTEM32 for example. That is why I asked you where these files get stored in VISTA and WIN 7 machines. From what you say, dilettante, these use the C:\Windows\System32 folder but I would like just to confirm this so that I have the full correct path.

Your assistance has been much appreciated.

camoore

Wales, UK