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ERROR_KEY_HAS_CHILDREN
A registry key with existing content cannot become a symbolic-link source
Windows registry symbolic links use a special source key created for link semantics. MS-RRP specifies that the source contains a SymbolicLinkValue of type REG_LINK and that symbolic-link source keys must not have subkeys. ERROR_KEY_HAS_CHILDREN reports a structural conflict when code attempts to use an already populated key in that role.
Inspect the exact source key rather than the link target. Existing subkeys or ordinary values usually mean the application selected the wrong key, reused a configuration container, or left data from an earlier version. Do not recursively delete children merely to make link creation succeed until ownership is established. A safer migration is to create a dedicated empty link-source key, populate the REG_LINK value as required by the registry contract, and update the owning component to reference that location.
What to inspect
- Inspect the proposed link-source key for subkeys and ordinary values.
- Confirm the key is dedicated to symbolic-link semantics.
- Prefer a new empty source key over deleting unrelated existing configuration.
References
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