The Old New Thing

Practical development throughout the evolution of Windows.

Latest posts

Two related questions about keeping track of PIDs of IPC clients
Aug 1, 2025
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Two related questions about keeping track of PIDs of IPC clients

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

Since you're doing IPC, you may as well let IPC do the work for you.

A consequence of the weird <CODE>wReserved</CODE> value at the start of the <CODE>DECIMAL</CODE> structure
Jul 31, 2025
Post comments count 4
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A consequence of the weird wReserved value at the start of the DECIMAL structure

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

It overwrites things by accident.

In C++/WinRT, how can I await multiple coroutines and capture the results?, part 0
Jul 30, 2025
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In C++/WinRT, how can I await multiple coroutines and capture the results?, part 0

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

If you don't really care about what happens if something goes wrong.

Why is there a window with no name blocking Windows shutdown?
Jul 29, 2025
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Why is there a window with no name blocking Windows shutdown?

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

They never expected you to see it.

API design note: Don’t make up multiple names for the same thing
Jul 28, 2025
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API design note: Don’t make up multiple names for the same thing

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

It may be obvious to you, but that's because you wrote it.

How can I confirm in the Windows debugger that I’m looking at a COMDAT-folded function?
Jul 25, 2025
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How can I confirm in the Windows debugger that I’m looking at a COMDAT-folded function?

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

Ask for all the names for an address.

How can I wait until a named object (say a mutex) is created?
Jul 24, 2025
Post comments count 6
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How can I wait until a named object (say a mutex) is created?

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

You can't, but maybe you can wait for something else.

Exploring possible solutions to the inconsistency in how Windows searches case-insensitively for named resources
Jul 23, 2025
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Exploring possible solutions to the inconsistency in how Windows searches case-insensitively for named resources

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

Maintaining compatibility while addressing flaws.

Being more adamant about reporting that C++/WinRT was unable to resume execution on a dispatcher thread
Jul 22, 2025
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Being more adamant about reporting that C++/WinRT was unable to resume execution on a dispatcher thread

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

Better versions in a different box.