System.IO.Directory.GetFiles Empty

Question

Can anyone shed light on why GetFile() is empty when I enumerate "C:\Windows\System32\Tasks"?

System.IO.Directory.GetFiles(@"C:\Windows\System32\Tasks");

I have checked this:

VS is running as Admin
No exception is thrown
There are files in root
I can copy files out (via explorer) to another folder and it works

Works when I try it... Try running the EXE from as admin from Windows Explorer, see if that makes any difference. — Matthew Watson, Sep 02 '16 at 08:14
will this help? - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9485449/directoryinfo-getfiles-method-not-returning-any-files — Developer, Sep 02 '16 at 08:14
Do you have permission to this folder? did you access it manually — Ahmad, Sep 02 '16 at 08:15
maybe you are getting redirected to C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Tasks? — slawekwin, Sep 02 '16 at 08:15
Sounds like your application isn't running as 64-bit. Try changing the bitness or using `c:\Windows\Sysnative\Tasks\` instead. — Luaan, Sep 02 '16 at 08:18

Matthew Watson · Accepted Answer · 2016-09-02T08:23:30.653

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The problem here is that you are running the program as x86, and it's being silently redirected to another folder that has no files in it. (It will be redirected to C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Tasks)

If you compile it as x64 or AnyCPU, you should see the files.

edited Sep 02 '16 at 08:23

answered Sep 02 '16 at 08:16

Matthew Watson

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Explanation of the background of the redirection e.g. [here](http://serverfault.com/a/315906/54658) and [here](http://icelava.net/forums/thread/5391.aspx). – Uwe Keim Sep 02 '16 at 08:23
Thank you, Matthew. This was driving me mad. Don't know why I missed the "System32" part – Shaun Vermaak Sep 02 '16 at 08:26
@ShaunVermaak It's kindof counterintuitive, isn't it? You are running as x86, but you are redirected AWAY from a folder called `System32` to one called `SysWOW64`... wut? – Matthew Watson Sep 02 '16 at 08:36
@Matthew: You pointed me in the right direction. I actually removed the "prefer 32-bit" tick so now it works on both 32bit and 64bit – Shaun Vermaak Sep 02 '16 at 08:46

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 02 '16 at 08:16

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Just an assumption. Do you use any try catch blocks? This folder can have permission settings which can give you access denied error and void try catch block doesn't show you any error.

answered Sep 02 '16 at 08:16

Dmitrij Kirikil

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System.IO.Directory.GetFiles Empty

2 Answers2