[issue20883] Windows 'for current user' installation - 32/64-bit registrations overwrite each other

[Jurko Gospodnetić]

New submission from Jurko Gospodnetić:

When running the Python Windows installer 'for all users', the 32-bit installation and the 64-bit installation each gets a separate registration in the Windows registry. E.g. under:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Python\PythonCore\3.4

and:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Python\PythonCore\3.4

However, when running the installer 'for the current user only', the 32-bit and the 64-bit installation both use the same Windows registry key:

  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Python\PythonCore\3.4

Note that a 64-bit installation does not automatically uninstall a previous 32-bit installation in either case, or vice versa.

As I understand it, whichever installation you use, you should be able to run a specific Python interpreter using the py.exe runner, as in:

  py.exe -3.4
  py.exe -3.4-32

As it stands now - both of those run the same interpreter when they have been installed 'for the current user only', although when running
'py.exe -3.4-32' the runner will make an extra check and reject running the Python executable if the 64-bit version was installed last.

So:
1. If you install the 64-bit version first and then the 32-bit version, both 'py.exe -3.4' & 'py.exe -3.4-32' run the 32-bit executable.
2. If you install the 32-bit version first and then the 64-bit version, 'py.exe -3.4' runs the 64-bit version, and 'py.exe -3.4-32' exits with an error.

----------
components: Installation, Windows
messages: 213045
nosy: Jurko.Gospodnetić
priority: normal
severity: normal
status: open
title: Windows 'for current user' installation - 32/64-bit registrations overwrite each other
versions: Python 3.3, Python 3.4

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Python tracker <report at bugs.python.org>
<http://bugs.python.org/issue20883>
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