Вот из MSDN, обрати внимание на выделенное
| Цитата | | Calling SetEnvironmentVariable has no effect on the system environment variables. The user can add or modify system environment variables using the Control Panel. To programmatically add or modify system environment variables, add them to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment registry key, then broadcast a WM_SETTINGCHANGE message. This allows applications, such as the shell, to pick up your updates. Note that environment variables listed in this key are limited to 1024 characters. | |