[RESOLVED] Windows 7 recent project list empty

[TysonLPrice]

I just installed Windows 7 and I noticed the recent project list is empty after working with a project. If I run the VB6.exe using "run as administraor" it populates. I'm guessing when I run it without "run as administrator" it doesn't have access to write to the registry. Does anyone know how I go about giving it the access?

[Nightwalker83]

Are you using an admin account or a normal account? Also you have posted in the VB.NET section do you wish this topic moved?

[TysonLPrice]

Yes it should be in VB 6.0...thanks!

I am set up as an administrator.

[TysonLPrice]

I just noticed that while VB 6.0 is running and I open a new project with one already open, the list is populated. If I open several projects in a current session they are being saved. When I close VB 6.0 and open it again they are gone. Can someone with Windows 7 check this out? Maybe I'm just doing something wrong.

[Nightwalker83]

I can not remember if it has to do with which folder it was installed to, I can not check at the moment since my laptop has been backed away. Which version of Windows 7 are you using and what is the bit-age 32bit or 64bit?

[Hack]

Yes it should be in VB 6.0...thanks!

And thus it has been moved.

Thanks for the report Nightwalker83

[TysonLPrice]

Windows 7 Professional version SP1 32 bit.

[dilettante]

Actually you need to run VB6.EXE elevated every time. It requires admin rights because it registers many things on the fly, requires "debugger" rights, etc. Running it with a Limited User Account (Standard User) security token results in a mess of virtualized files and registry entries.

It is best to apply a manifest to it to accomplish this. See Going Up!

[Nightwalker83]

Actually you need to run VB6.EXE elevated every time.

Although, Tyson said in post #3 that he installed Visual Basic 6.0 under the administrator account. If that is the case he shouldn't have to do "Run as administrator" when he wants to use Visual Basic 6.0.

[dilettante]

Although, Tyson said in post #3 that he installed Visual Basic 6.0 under the administrator account. If that is the case he shouldn't have to do "Run as administrator" when he wants to use Visual Basic 6.0.

Not true. It must always run as admin or else it can cause registry problems. During its use the VB6 IDE and compiler register referenced components and new components you create. Running w/o elevation lots of junky virtualized registry entries get made and the resulting programs can have issues. The IDE also needs the Debugger right when working with DCOM components.

Back in 2006 during the "Longhorn" developer info transfers and Vista beta programs Microsoft made all of that very clear. The main issue was the removal of the "Power User" security role from Windows. In XP and Win2K VB6 developers needed to be Power Users, though Joe Homeboy tended to just run logged on with an admin account.

Just run it elevated and avoid "mysterious" problems.

[Nightwalker83]

Not true. It must always run as admin or else it can cause registry problems. During its use the VB6 IDE and compiler register referenced components and new components you create. Running w/o elevation lots of junky virtualized registry entries get made and the resulting programs can have issues. The IDE also needs the Debugger right when working with DCOM components.

Interesting! Regardless of whether or not I run VB6 on Windows 7 with run as admin it still comes up with configuration for Visual Studios 2010. Although, I think that is because I have both installed on my laptop and Win7 start the newer version which is VS 2010 by default.

Edit:

In my honest opinion running any program using "Run As Administrator" when you have already installed the program as the administrator and are logged in as an admin to the system is a joke.

[dilettante]

In my honest opinion running any program using "Run As Administrator" when you have already installed the program as the administrator and are logged in as an admin to the system is a joke.

Well the alternative is for VB6 to jump through hoops and raise elevation prompts whenever it needed to do things requiring changes to system state or cross-context debugging. Even so that would mean changing VB6.exe and Microsoft isn't likely to do that.

The truth is that later Visual Studio versions (.Net, C++, whatever) are also supposed to be run elevated every time for the same reasons. The Express editions are crippled enough that this is seldom a problem for them though.

People just don't read the info Microsoft puts out I guess. Here's an oldie from when Vista came out:

Visual Studio 2005 on Windows Vista Issue List (Admin)

It was not reissued for Windows 7 because (a.) Windows 7 is a minor update and (b.) developers were all supposed to pay attention to the Longhorn developer guidance back in 2006 - 2007. You snooze, you lose.

[Nightwalker83]

It was not reissued for Windows 7 because (a.) Windows 7 is a minor update and (b.) developers were all supposed to pay attention to the Longhorn developer guidance back in 2006 - 2007. You snooze, you lose.

Honestly, who is going to right-click the program icon/shortcut every single time when they can just double (left button) click? It is a wonder Microsoft didn't put "Run As Administrator" as the default run program option.

[dilettante]

As the item linked above suggests:

Note You can create a shortcut to Visual Studio and select the option to always run with elevated administrator permissions. Using this shortcut would be the equivalent of the right-click method described above.

But feel free to turn this in as a support incident!

[TysonLPrice]

I tried the "goingup" and it doesn't seem to make a difference. Some of the comments about "junky virtualized registry entries" makes sense to me. The recent project list is populated until I close down VB then it is gone except the one that was added running as administrator.

I'll just live with it I guess. I'm the second or third person on the development team to get Windows 7 and maybe someone else will dig deeper. If I find something new I'll update the post.

[Nightwalker83]

To make the list of recently opened projects appear in the start menu and the programs menu, right click on the taskbar and select "Properties", then select the "Start Menu" tab and make sure both check-boxes under Privacy are checked (they should be called "Store and display recently opened programs in the start menu" and "Store and display recently opened programs in the start menu and the taskbar", the press "Apply"). While, I said check both boxes above I think you might get away with checking only the second one.

[TysonLPrice]

I noticed even though I'm an administrator I don't have rights to the C:\Windows folder. I took ownership and granted permissions to administrator but it will not propogate down to sub folders. I guess I give up :-(

[dilettante]

I'm beginning to wonder which MRU list you were talking about. The one inside the IDE is stored in:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Visual Basic\6.0\RecentFiles

The IDE should be able to reach that whether running elevated or not, so perhaps you were talking about the shell's (Explorer Desktop's) MRU list that Nightwalker83 just talked about.


I'm not sure what any of that has to do with dumping junk into C:\Windows though, which is always a poor idea. Only installers, the OS, etc. should be writing there most of the time. User-created shared libraries would normally go into C:\Programs\Common Files\{company} for example. Do you have a new question?

[TysonLPrice]

I'm beginning to wonder which MRU list you were talking about. The one inside the IDE is stored in:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Visual Basic\6.0\RecentFiles

The IDE should be able to reach that whether running elevated or not, so perhaps you were talking about the shell's (Explorer Desktop's) MRU list that Nightwalker83 just talked about.


I'm not sure what any of that has to do with dumping junk into C:\Windows though, which is always a poor idea. Only installers, the OS, etc. should be writing there most of the time. User-created shared libraries would normally go into C:\Programs\Common Files\{company} for example. Do you have a new question?

The one in IDE. When I checked HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Visual Basic\6.0\RecentFiles the only project in there is the one written when I ran as administrator when starting the exe manually.

Other than that it is not updating. While visual basic is up and I open other projects the list is populated but not in that registry entry. When I close and open again they are gone. I was looking as the C:Windows folder thinking not having admin rights to that was causing the issue.

I don't have anymore questions unless someone else running Windows 7 does not have the issue or did have it and fixed it.

[Nightwalker83]

What happens if you reinstall Visual Basic 6.0?

Edit:

Also, delete any registry entries referring to Visual Basic 6.0 as well.

[TysonLPrice]

What happens if you reinstall Visual Basic 6.0?

Edit:

Also, delete any registry entries referring to Visual Basic 6.0 as well.

I can give that a shot I have a packed day today...I'll do it before I leave.

[TysonLPrice]

What happens if you reinstall Visual Basic 6.0?

Edit:

Also, delete any registry entries referring to Visual Basic 6.0 as well.

Took me awhile to get to it but reinstalling worked. Thanks!