Do Not Run Terminal Server in Installation Mode (186515)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition
This article was previously published under Q186515
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

Terminal Server uses a special installation mode for installing applications for multi-user use. This mode is activated by installing an application through the Control Panel Add/Remove Programs tool or by using the command "Change User /Install" at a prompt. If you use this command, you should return to normal execution mode by using the command "Change User /Execute" after installing the application.

MORE INFORMATION

Do not run the system in install mode (except to install applications). This disables user registry and .INI file mappings, which means each user running an application would share the same .INI file or registry entry, instead of having them on a per-user basis. The Terminal Server computer should always be run in execute mode.

If you have an application that runs only in install mode, the application is probably looking for a file in the SystemRoot directory rather than the user's Windows directory. You can modify the Terminal Server registry so that the system will allow the application to use the SystemRoot as its Windows directory. To do this, perform the following steps:

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

  1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe), and go to the following subkey: 
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE \Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
      \Terminal Server\Compatibility\Applications\Appname
    Where appname is the name of the application's executable file (for example, if the executable file name for an application is PROG1.EXE, appname would be PROG1),
  2. Add the following value: 
    Flags (Reg_DWORD): 0x00000400
This "Do not substitute user WINDOWS directory" bit, when set, retains the SystemRoot directory for GetWindowsDirectory API calls. The default action if this bit is not set is to replace all paths to the WINDOWS directory with the path to the user's WINDOWS directory.

For more information, please see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

186499 Terminal Server Registry Settings for Applications

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:6/29/2004
Keywords:kbinfo KB186515
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.