Re: Cannot access system32 directory from 32 bit cygwin after the commit 456c3a46

[Bill Stewart <bstewart@iname.com>]

On Wed, Apr 21, 2021 at 10:47 AM Corinna Vinschenwrote:


> A sane assumption is for instance, if you cd to foo, that your in foo.
> That's what the FSR breaks in a thorough way.  I. e. on WOW64:
>
>   $ cd /cygdrive/c/Windows
>   $ ls -1d Sys*
>   SysWOW64
>   System
>   System32
>   SystemApps
>   SystemResources
>
> So there are two dirs, one called System32, one called SysWOW64.
>

This is, of course, completely expected (notwithstanding the confusion
caused by the "bitness" names being opposite of what some expect).


> Note how there's *no* such directory called "Sysnative".  Still...
>
>   $ cd System32
>
> works fine.  You're just not in System32, but in SysWOW64.  Sane?
>

This is completely sensible and expected, as the entire point of the WoW
emulator is to emulate 32-bit Windows.

Alternatively:
>
>   $ cd Sysnative
>
> works fine and now you're, oh wonder, in System32.  If that's sane,
> running head first into a wall is, too :)
>

"Sysnative" isn't an actual file system directory, as noted, but an "alias"
(for lack of a better word) that allows, from a Wow64 process, to refer to
the real 64-bit system directory. You can use the name "Sysnative" if you
are certain you really want to refer to the 64-bit system directory.

This all seems like a pretty straightforward and sensible approach, IMO.

Bill