- 1 year ago
Why is the value of the ProgramFiles variable different in cmd.exe and PowerShell?
The difference in the value of the ProgramFiles
variable between cmd.exe
and PowerShell is due to the different execution environments and default configurations of these command-line interfaces.
System Environment Variables:
- Both
cmd.exe
and PowerShell read system environment variables, includingProgramFiles
, from the Windows environment settings. - System environment variables are typically stored in the Windows Registry and shared across all user sessions.
- Both
Shell-specific Environment Variables:
cmd.exe
and PowerShell also have their own sets of environment variables that can override or supplement the system environment variables.- These shell-specific variables can be customized independently, allowing different behavior or configurations for each command-line interface.
32-bit vs. 64-bit Environment:
One possible reason for the difference in
ProgramFiles
variable values is the distinction between the 32-bit and 64-bit environments.On a 64-bit version of Windows, there are separate
Program Files
directories for 32-bit and 64-bit applications.cmd.exe
typically runs in a 32-bit environment by default, while PowerShell can run in both 32-bit and 64-bit environments.In
cmd.exe
(32-bit), the value ofProgramFiles
points to the "Program Files (x86)" directory, which is where 32-bit applications are installed.In PowerShell (64-bit), the value of
ProgramFiles
points to the "Program Files" directory, which is where 64-bit applications are installed.To access the "Program Files" directory in a 32-bit environment (e.g.,
cmd.exe
), you can use theProgramFiles(x86)
variable instead.
These differences in the default configurations and execution environments of cmd.exe
and PowerShell can result in different values for environment variables like ProgramFiles
. It's important to take these variations into account when writing scripts or working with environment-dependent variables.