Windows 10: System Path variable length problem

I was having a problem with Apple's SyncServer.exe (part of iTunes). It was choking on the length of my system PATH environment variable (2388 bytes), so I temporarily hacked it below 2047 bytes, and it worked OK.

BUT I couldn't use Control panel/System/Advanced Systems Settings to restore it to what it was previously as that complained that the variable was too long.

To quote MSDN:

Luckily I was able to restore my PATH by using regedit to change the variable Path stored at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment which doesn't appear to suffer from the problem of the control panel.

Is there any chance this will be fixed (ho ho).

Dave

:)

 

Cannot edit long Path Environment variable

I was having a problem with Apple's SyncServer.exe (part of iTunes). It was choking on the length of my system PATH environment variable (2388 bytes), so I temporarily hacked it below 2047 bytes, and it worked OK.

BUT I couldn't use Control panel/System/Advanced Systems Settings to restore it to what it was previously as that complained that the variable was too long.

To quote MSDN: The maximum size of a user-defined environment variable is 32,767 characters. (omitted) Starting with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, there is no technical limitation on the size of the environment block.

Luckily I was able to restore my PATH by using regedit to change the variable Path stored at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment which doesn't appear to suffer from the problem of the control panel.

Is there any chance this will be fixed (**** ****).

Dave

 

Attempts to get into the System Protection menu of System Properties fails.

I haven't been able to find a good answer for this error. It is not likely a RAM or HD space issue. It is more likely a hard coded limit in a variable. Often related to path length limits of 256 char.

On the off chance it is a RAM issue, have you tried restarting the computer since encountering the problem, and retrying the process.