Why can't I read logs stored in C:\Windows\System32\... under Vista without moving them to another location?

Question

I'm using a program that stores its log files at C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Roaming\ProgramName\*.log, but for some reason I can't view these logs unless I move them to another location.

They show up with the proper size and everything in the explorer, but if I try to open one with NotePad++ or Tail I just get an empty file until I copy the log to another location on the disk (at which point all the text shows up fine).

I'm assuming this has something to do with Vista security restrictions but I'd prefer to have a more comprehensive explanation than that and if possible a way to disable the relevant prohibitions so I can access the files without any extra steps.

Answer 1

One feature of Vista is restricting access to specific directories. Google will find MUCH information about security in Vista for you.

Answer 2

One possibility is SysWOW64 file redirection.

If this is a 64-bit version of the Windows OS, and your program -- in the case NotePad++ -- is compiled and linked as a 32-bit application, the operating system will automatically redirect any file open requests from %windir%\system32 to %windir\syswow64.

For reasons that are hard to explain, Microsoft decided that this was the best way of compatibility so that 32-bit applications work correctly under the new 64-bit OSes.