Solved Permissions Headache

Boatdude · Jun 11, 2011

Okay here we go...

Installed a new anti virus called "Bit Defender" only to find that it would not run due to permission problems. I tried to take ownership of the files and folders using the normal interface. That kinda worked... Gave me about 60 percent ownership. Not very useful huh

Then I tried to use the regedit way, that also didn't work. I have just now tried going through cmd. That gave me full control but... yep only the same 60 percent. So as a test I chose one file without my ownership and tried to take ownership through cmd. I got "access denied". The thing is that this happens to alot of programs of mine (all legal of course) I-tunes, Mcafee, Poweriso to name a few. Only with poweriso I could change ownership of every file. I have UAC deactivated. Oh and this is also stopping me up dating my graphics card. So if anyone has a clue or maybe knows of a way please tell me. I have tried for over 3 months to get rid of the problem and now I have finally (I think) tried everything.:huh:

Oh btw I'm new, so Hi! :D

richc46 · Jun 11, 2011

Hi right back
Ownership is half the battle, set up permissions. This should work
Permissions - Allow or Deny Users and Groups - Windows 7 Forums
Same in Vista

Boatdude · Jun 11, 2011

richc46 said:
Hi right back
Ownership is half the battle, set up permissions. This should work
Permissions - Allow or Deny Users and Groups - Windows 7 Forums
Same in Vista

Okay strange thing is that on the Main folder I have full permissions. Only on the folders which I cannot take ownership on that i do not have permissions. I cannot change the permissions without taking ownership... As far as i can understand vista.
Thanks for the quick reply.

richc46 · Jun 11, 2011

Can you go back with system restore to before the problem?
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76905-system-restore-how.html

Boatdude · Jun 11, 2011

richc46 said:
Can you go back with system restore to before the problem?
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76905-system-restore-how.html

Thats kinda the major problem. I haven't got a restore point BEFORE the problem

. What I don't understand is how I install a program, then get denied access. Just not all programs :confused:

Is it some kind of bug in vista or could it be a virus?

richc46 · Jun 11, 2011

Dont know of any such bug, but to be safe run a full anti virus scan and then download and run a full and updated scan with malwarebytes. It should take at least 90 minutes. Do them separately.

richc46 · Jun 11, 2011

So easy I almost missed it. You are just the owner, Ill get the download for the real boss.
If its possible good chance this guy can do it.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/507-built-administrator-account-enable-disable.html?filter[2]=User Accounts

Boatdude · Jun 11, 2011

Thanks,

Looks like its on the right track but the tut is for windows 7 not vista. I will look into it later because its almost 4 in the morning lol Will get back a.s.a.p (ok when I wake up :D)

Slammer · Jun 11, 2011

Well I'll say some stuff in case Rich's ideas don't work. I'll assume you're a pretty competent user based on your language and therefore are on an administrator account, and ran all your cmd prompts as an admin too (if you're an admin it should do it automatically as far as I've used it). Ok here is an excerpt from a text file I created for my own reference based on what I've read from various other help forums; credit for this info goes to howtogeek.com and is just rephrased in my words:

cacls C:\users\username /t /g username:f

Takes control of all files, including subdirectories. Useful for tech-savvy people sick of that stupid "you need permission to continue" crap. This action could potentially compromise the security of your computer if you use it where you shouldn't. Try to only use it on personal files, maybe Program Files if you have to. Replace the "C:\users\username" part with the path of the folder (containing all the files and subdirectories) you want control of. And username is, of course, your user account name. I think you get the idea.

takeown /f "C:\Windows\Users\username\My Games" /r

*note that the quotations are necessary if your path has spaces in it (Notice the space between "My" and "Games"). Otherwise you can leave them out*
This command basically gives you control of all the files inside a folder (including subdirectories of course) It's faster than manually editing the permissions via the Right Click->Properties method.

Using these commands (inside command prompt) I've been able to take control of any files I've wanted when I couldn't do it with the normal methods. Just fair warning, use it carefully and sparingly because I accidentally messed up my Windows Installer when I used it in a system folder. Even Microsoft Support couldn't figure out my problem (luckily I did later and fixed it). I'm not entirely sure the extent of what the cacls command does, but it's worked miracles for me before. Try these out on the Bit Defender folder in your Program Files folder and see if that helps

richc46 · Jun 11, 2011

Boatdude said:
Thanks,

Looks like its on the right track but the tut is for windows 7 not vista. I will look into it later because its almost 4 in the morning lol Will get back a.s.a.p (ok when I wake up :D)

Use that administrator same as Vista. It is all powerful.
Here is the Vista version, to make youi more comfortable
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/67567-administrator-account.html

Boatdude · Jun 12, 2011

richc46 said:
Boatdude said:

Thanks,

Looks like its on the right track but the tut is for windows 7 not vista. I will look into it later because its almost 4 in the morning lol Will get back a.s.a.p (ok when I wake up :D)

Click to expand...

Use that administrator same as Vista. It is all powerful.
Here is the Vista version, to make youi more comfortable
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/67567-administrator-account.html

LOL thanks it does make me more comfortable.

Heres what i get from that...

"The user name cannot be found"

So i replaced "user" with my user name. This is what i get.

"The syntax of this command is;

NET [ACCOUNTS : COMPUTER.... Etc]

So maybe I did something wrong. I also ran in admin mode.

richc46 · Jun 12, 2011

Try setting up a new adminsitrator account and then try to give permissions.
Use the All Powerful Adminstrator to perform these tasks.

Boatdude · Jun 12, 2011

Slammer said:
Well I'll say some stuff in case Rich's ideas don't work. I'll assume you're a pretty competent user based on your language and therefore are on an administrator account, and ran all your cmd prompts as an admin too (if you're an admin it should do it automatically as far as I've used it). Ok here is an excerpt from a text file I created for my own reference based on what I've read from various other help forums; credit for this info goes to howtogeek.com and is just rephrased in my words:

cacls C:\users\username /t /g username:f

Takes control of all files, including subdirectories. Useful for tech-savvy people sick of that stupid "you need permission to continue" crap. This action could potentially compromise the security of your computer if you use it where you shouldn't. Try to only use it on personal files, maybe Program Files if you have to. Replace the "C:\users\username" part with the path of the folder (containing all the files and subdirectories) you want control of. And username is, of course, your user account name. I think you get the idea.

takeown /f "C:\Windows\Users\username\My Games" /r

*note that the quotations are necessary if your path has spaces in it (Notice the space between "My" and "Games"). Otherwise you can leave them out*
This command basically gives you control of all the files inside a folder (including subdirectories of course) It's faster than manually editing the permissions via the Right Click->Properties method.

Using these commands (inside command prompt) I've been able to take control of any files I've wanted when I couldn't do it with the normal methods. Just fair warning, use it carefully and sparingly because I accidentally messed up my Windows Installer when I used it in a system folder. Even Microsoft Support couldn't figure out my problem (luckily I did later and fixed it). I'm not entirely sure the extent of what the cacls command does, but it's worked miracles for me before. Try these out on the Bit Defender folder in your Program Files folder and see if that helps

Okay hit a snag, check the image below,

As for the "takeown" cmd line. That I tried before and got the 60 percent. When I tried on a file without my permission I got the "no access" crap. Check image below;

The worst bit is that I cannot format everything and start again, because my cd drive is broken lol Thanks for your help guys! Its one hell of a learning curve :eek:

Boatdude · Jun 12, 2011

richc46 said:
Try setting up a new adminsitrator account and then try to give permissions.
Use the All Powerful Adminstrator to perform these tasks.

Okay given your suggestion a shot. Same problem as before also for some reason with the new admin account, I found that all files in "program files" I got access denied. (I wanted open up my browser and couldn't find the shortcut) So thats very strange. Is there a way to simply reset all permissions then try "takeown" cmd. Maybe thats a way? :confused:

richc46 · Jun 12, 2011

I did not check back to read all that has hapened, but if you did not try in safe mode give that a try. Use the Adminsitator, again.

Boatdude · Jun 12, 2011

richc46 said:
I did not check back to read all that has hapened, but if you did not try in safe mode give that a try. Use the Adminsitator, again.

Thats a very good suggestion because I didn't think to even try that lol! Alas I tried all the previous suggestions in safe mode and still got the same problems. I got a nagging feeling that all my permissions are screwy, like that there is an ultra admin already. The major headache is that when I bought this laptop it was originally in spanish. I spent a long time changing the language (It was not installed and my spanish reading skills was lacking somewhat. As you can imagine my spanish is now rather good lol) Maybe the retailer has the ultra admin. Sounds strange I know but its all I can think of, only I can check through the usual interface. Is there a way to see all the user plus their access level in cmd? Sorry but my knowledge on cmd is rather limited to say the least.

richc46 · Jun 12, 2011

The only administrator is the one that I gave you access to, sorry.

Boatdude · Jun 12, 2011

richc46 said:
The only administrator is the one that I gave you access to, sorry.

Shame. Okay I have an idea but I am not sure if it will work. Normally to run cd's etc.. I use power iso. I have a second laptop which i can create an iso file then transfer to my computer. Then of course mount it to a virtual drive. Now if i take the iso from vista and extract it to my second partition. Could i reinstall vista from the extracted files? I do not want to try this unless i know i can, due to the fact it takes a long time. Maybe by reinstalling vista (repair it basically) and try the following suggestions given by you guys, it might work.

richc46 · Jun 12, 2011

Im not sure if it will work, dont want to mislead you.

Slammer · Jun 13, 2011

Dang. That's a real issue you've got there. Sorry, your command line pics are too blurry for me to read. If you could repost them, but use the Snipping tool to capture a single window instead of your whole screen, that might help. In the meantime, try the attached admin.exe file to enable the account. It's a simple shortcut I created that plugs that command directly into cmd. Run it as an administrator just to be sure. See if it works. (hmmm. I tried to upload it and it puts in the shortcut location instead of the actual file; I don't know why, or if it will still work. But it shouldn't hurt to try it anyway)
As for your partition idea, it sure sounds like a good idea, but I have a nagging suspicion it won't work. There's a way to install an operating system off a flash drive instead of a CD if you have the files to burn like you said. Check this out: Boot From A USB Flash/Pen/Key Drive or you can just google it. I think you have to wipe the flashdrive clean though, so make sure you back up any stuff on the flashdrive before doing that.
Also, here's a page with some info about restoring security settings: How do I restore security settings to a known working state? It's some pretty heavy stuff, and I can't get through all of it myself. But you can take a look and see if it helps. Also, Rich, if you wouldn't mind going over that page and seeing if you can find what's relevant to this situation that would probably help, you seem more adept than I am at doing stuff like that.
If you want, I'd be willing to take a look at your computer using TeamViewer and see what I can do, if that doesn't bother you. But try those last few things first.

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