GnuPG 2.42 on Windows XP: cannot connect to gpg-agent with a non-default homedir

[Anton Shepelev]

Hello, all.
I observe this problem with GnuPG 2.42 -- the last
version that works on my Windows XP.  gpg-agent does not
seem to work with any home directory except the default
one, e.g.:

   rem Change to my home directory:
   > cd C:\Documents and Settings\Anton\Application Data\
   rem Connect with the default homedir:
   > gpg-connect-agent --homedir gnupg /bye
   gpg-connect-agent: no running gpg-agent - starting 'C:\Program Files\gnupg\bin\gpg-agent.exe'
   gpg-connect-agent: waiting for the agent to come up ... (5s)
   gpg-connect-agent: connection to agent established

   rem Duplicate the default directory to a location nearby:
   > xcopy /S /E gnupg gnupg1

   rem Connect with a non-default homedir:
   > gpg-connect-agent --homedir gnupg1 /bye
   gpg-connect-agent: no running gpg-agent - starting 'C:\Program Files\gnupg\bin\gpg-agent.exe'
   gpg-connect-agent: waiting for the agent to come up ... (5s)
   gpg-connect-agent: waiting for the agent to come up ... (4s)
   gpg-connect-agent: waiting for the agent to come up ... (3s)
   gpg-connect-agent: waiting for the agent to come up ... (2s)
   gpg-connect-agent: waiting for the agent to come up ... (1s)
   gpg-connect-agent: can't connect to the agent: Filename too long
   gpg-connect-agent: error sending standard options: No agent running

It says "no running gpg-agent" even though a
gpg-agent.exe process remains from the previous
invocation.  Killing it does not help.  How does
^gpg-connect-agent test whether an agent is running, and
how is that test related to the homedir?  Can it be
looking at the wrong place because the home location is
somehow hardcoded somewhere, or must be additionally
specified somewhere else?

I fully realise that Windows XP and GnuPG 2.42 are both
unsupported, and ask this question in the hope that
someone remembers encoutering and solving this problem.
Any suggestions on how to investigate and troubleshoot
this situation are welcome.
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