A Visual Basic script creates registry subkeys and values very slowly under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER subtree on a Windows XP-based computer

When you try to use a Microsoft Visual Basic script to create registry subkeys and values under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER subtree on a Microsoft Windows XP-based computer, the subkeys and values are created much more slowly than whey you use a Visual Basic script to create subkeys and values under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subtree.

This problem may occur if you use the objReg.CreateKey method from the Windows Management Instrumentation StdRegProv class in your Visual Basic script. Inefficient code in the registry provider (Stdprov.dll) causes the delay that is described in the "Symptoms" section.

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft Windows XP. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Hotfix information

To resolve this issue, use the hotfix for Knowledge Base article 819536. This article includes the necessary code changes.

For additional information about changes that improve performance when you create subkeys and values under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER subtree, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Windows XP service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question. The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2.

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: