Windows path searching in LoadLibrary with manifest

Question

If you call LoadLibrary without a path (e.g., LoadLibrary(\"whatever.dll\"), Windows will generally follow its standard search algorithm, the same

Answer 1

To probe the loader when having troubles with missing libraries, you can use the "sxstrace" feature. www.codeproject.com/KB/DLL/QueryAssemblyIdentities.aspx gives some details about the dependencies between manifest and WinSxs.

Answer 2

From Microsoft:

Applications can control the location from which a DLL is loaded by specifying a full path, using DLL redirection, or by using a manifest. If none of these methods are used, the system searches for the DLL at load time as described in this topic.

So yes, if a manifest is present, it will directly go to the SxS folder.