> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://wongkenny240.gitbook.io/computerforensics/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://wongkenny240.gitbook.io/computerforensics/incident-response-artifacts/appcompatcache.md).

# AppCompatCache

## Overview

* Created by Microsoft to identify application compatibility issues, helps developers troubleshoot legacy functions
  * Windows looks at AppCompatCache to determine if modules require shimming for compatibility
* The Cache data tracks file path, size, last modified time, and last execution time (depending on OS)
* Most recent on top, written on shutdown

## Registry Key

XP:

```
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\AppCompatibility\AppCompatCache
```

Non-XP:

```
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SessionManager\AppCompatCache\AppCompatCache
```


---

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