"when I remove the registry entry, aliases.conf and firebird.msg are
not being found - even though they are in the directory - one above
the bin directory."

"1) What's the exact Windows version (including service pack and
localization)?"

I'm using XP Professional Version 202, Ver. 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2
Localized for English - United States


"2) Could you please check what the Win32 API function
GetModuleFileName() returns on that machine? Something like:
GetModuleFileName(NULL, buffer, sizeof(buffer)) in any program."

I ran this command in C++ and it executes as expected. The buffer
returns the exact drive:path\filename of the application that ran it.
The return accurately showed the bytes of the buffer.


"We had reports about related failures on some win32 installations,
but I never could confirm that."

If there is anything else that I can do to help track it down, please
let me know.

Thanks.