Determining Whether Windows DVD Maker is Running on Your Computer

You can determine whether Windows DVD Maker is running on your computer by using the following system services function:

HANDLE WINAPI CreateMutex( LPSECURITY_ATTRIBUTES 
lpMutexAttributes, BOOL 
bInitialOwner, LPCTSTR 
lpName ); 

By calling CreateMutex with the string "Global\\BurnWizard" as the value of the lpName parameter, you will be attempting to create the same mutex that Windows DVD Maker creates when it runs. If your creation fails (the handle returned is NULL), then Windows DVD Maker is already running on your system.

For more information, see the reference for the CreateMutex function on MSDN.

Getting Information from Windows Vista About Windows Movie Maker and Windows DVD Maker