The executable is absent yet I can execute the command on the command line

Question

There's such utility for Windows developers called regtlib. I have three computers - one with WinXP, another two with Win2k3. If I run built-in Windows search for file with wildcard regtlib* on the whole filesystem search finds nothing on all three computers.

If I try to execute regtlib on WinXP command line it says it can't find such a file or built-in command. The same on one of the two Win2k3 computers. But when I do that on the other Win2k3 computer I see typical regtlib output.

What happens? What is the magic that invokes regtlib without the file being present on the filesystem?

Answer 1

Make sure you are searching hidden folders/files.

Answer 2

regtlib does have to be present on the file-system. There are a couple of things you can do to find it. First, if it is not in the current directory it has to be in one of the directories in the PATH environment variable. You can see the directories using this command:

echo %PATH%

If that doesn't help you could use Sysinternals Process Explorer or Process Monitor to help you track down the path to the executable that is running.

Answer 3

You can try the following:

for %x in (regtlib.exe) do @echo.%~dp$PATH:x

which should show you the place where the program resides.

Answer 4

It could be coming from a Windows cache.