September 10, 2012

Purpose of the Registry key Wow6432Node


What is the Purpose of Registry key: Wow6432Node?

The Wow6432 registry entry indicates that you're running a 64-bit version of Windows.
The OS uses this key to present a separate view of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWARE for
32-bit applications that run on a 64-bit version of Windows. When a 32-bit application queries a value under the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWARE<company><product> subkey,
the application reads from the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREWow6432Node<company><product> subkey

A "registry reflector" copies certain values between the 32-bit and 64-bit registry views (e.g., mainly for COM registration) and resolves any conflicts using a last-writer-wins approach.

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