Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ProgramFiles) returning x86

Question

I'm trying to search for a file that may be in either the "Program Files" or "Program Files (x86)" directory. However, i can't find a way to access the 64bit program files.

Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ProgramFiles)returns the x86 version. A quick google search has many people having this conflict, with people getting varied results using it.

Why am I getting the x86 folder, and how to counter it?

The point of the file system redirector is that you *can't* get to this directory. You could pinvoke Wow64DisableWow64FsRedirection to turn that off, this is however fairly dangerous in a managed app since it tends to load DLLs dynamically. Switching your EXE target to AnyCPU is the simple workaround. — Hans Passant, Apr 13 '13 at 13:46
Thats what i had attempted, though i had forgot to uncheck "Prefer 32-bit" — Michael Parr, Apr 13 '13 at 13:57

score -1 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:03

-1

Probably you run your app as 32 bit Look at this dicussion to get code which returns corectlly x86 program files dir: C# - How to get Program Files (x86) on Windows 64 bit

edited May 23 '17 at 12:03

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answered Apr 13 '13 at 13:39

Piotr Stapp

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So how would i search for 64bit program files if my program target is 32 bit? – Michael Parr Apr 13 '13 at 13:42
I give you a link to find it other way – Piotr Stapp Apr 13 '13 at 13:46
I didn't notice the "Prefer 32bit" option. Turning that off gave me the desired results. Thanks – Michael Parr Apr 13 '13 at 13:51
The provided link isn't of any help. – Marc.2377 May 02 '15 at 23:37

Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.ProgramFiles) returning x86

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