FIX: GetSetting Function Is Leaking Handles

• Microsoft Visual Basic Control Creation, Learning, Professional, and Enterprise Editions for Windows, version 5.0

SYMPTOMS

The GetSetting function leaks one handle per use of the function.

CAUSE

The GetSetting function was not calling RegClose on the key that it was opening. This caused the key to be left open each time the function was called.

RESOLUTION

Install Visual Studio 97 Service Pack 2 (SP2) or use the registry API functions from the article in the REFERENCES section below.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This bug has been fixed in Visual Studio 97 Service Pack 2.

For more information on the Visual Studio 97 Service Pack 2, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q170365
   TITLE     : INFO: Visual Studio 97 Service Packs - What, Where, and Why

   ARTICLE-ID: Q171554
   TITLE     : INFO: Visual Basic 5.0 Fixes in Visual Studio 97
               Service Pack 2

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

1. Create a Standard EXE project and add a CommandButton (Command1) to the default form (Form1).

2. Put the following code in Command1's click event:

         Private Sub Command1_Click()
             Dim LoopCount As Integer
   
             Call SaveSetting("MyApp", "Options", "TestValue", "Hello")
             For LoopCount = 1 To 100
                 Call GetSetting("MyApp", "Options", "TestValue")
             Next LoopCount
         End Sub
   
   

3. Under Windows NT, start the Windows NT Task Manager, select the Processes tab, click on menu View | Select Columns and turn on the handle count column. (Under Win95, a third-party utility would be required to monitor the handle count for a process.)

4. Run the application and click the Command1 button. Note that the handle count in the Task manager increase by 100 for every button click.

   The expected result is that the handle should be released or should be re-used on subsequent calls.

REFERENCES

For more information on the Registry API functions, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q145679
   TITLE     : HOWTO: Use the Registry API to Save and Retrieve Setting

Keywords          : vb5all VBKBRegistry VS97FixlistSP3 VS97FixlistSP2 VB5FixlistSP2
Version           : 5.00
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbfix kbservicepack