Error running file on PC #2

DrDOS

DrDOS

Member
Hello. I was able to do this on mine but when I gave the file to a friend (he's an admin on his computer too) to try, he got this error - Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item.

The file contains
vssadmin list shadowstorage > %userprofile%\desktop\myshadow.txt

Permissions on file show Full Control for all users (3) listed. It seems like this is a permissions issue but why? Files inherit permissions right?

UAC was also turned off to see if this was an issue.

Thanks to anyone who can point me in the right direction. :cry:
 

My Computer

System One

I think I'm missing something... you posted a command line prompt (vssadmin list shadowstorage) and then the path of a text file (%userprofile%\desktop\myshadow.txt) Maybe I'm just not familiar enough with the syntax for vssadmin, but I don't understand what that part means. Are you trying to open a txt file, run a command, open a txt file with a command, or something else?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 1545
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 @ 2.00 GHz
    Motherboard
    DELL - 27d90219 Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A05
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (DPMS), 15.3" (34cm x 19cm)
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Internal 320 GB Portable 320 GB used for separate storage of media, plugged into USB port as needed.
    Cooling
    Single built in fan
    Mouse
    Touchpad, + Logitech wireless mouse (USB)
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Internet Speed
    ~150 kilobytes/sec DL
    Other Info
    Usually have low HD free space left (<10 GB), often left on overnight. I really push its capabilities.
Slammer,

I was trying to help my friend who said they had no restore points. I wanted to compare my setup with theirs. Here's a breakdown of this file

vssadmin list shadowstorage - shows the space set up and used by Restore Points - for more info see How to Change and Limit System Restore Storage Space Usage Size in Vista with VSSAdmin « My Digital Life

> - sends somewhere, in this case a file - for more info see Using command redirection operators

%userprofile%\desktop\myshadow.txt - trying to create text file on desktop

worked fine on my computer. I was just wanting to see how it was set up on his computer and make it easy for him to give me this info. Best laid plans...

I submitted the file this time but originally was a cmd file. Changed per forum rules.

Hope this clears things up.
 

Attachments

My Computer

System One

Oh ok gotcha now. Well I suspect that if he has no restore points then it's probably not turned on for his computer. And if it's not turned on, then it makes sense that running vssadmin might not return any results. Can he run vssadmin list shadowstorage without trying to save it to a file?

It might also be a strange anomaly between different OS's, what OS is he running? Just to be sure, have him run the command prompt as an administrator (via the right-click menu) and see if that helps. Also, try to save it to a different location, like his Documents folder.

As an alternative, he could just take a screenshot (using the built-in snippet tool on Vista and 7) and send that to you to analyze.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 1545
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 @ 2.00 GHz
    Motherboard
    DELL - 27d90219 Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A05
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (DPMS), 15.3" (34cm x 19cm)
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Internal 320 GB Portable 320 GB used for separate storage of media, plugged into USB port as needed.
    Cooling
    Single built in fan
    Mouse
    Touchpad, + Logitech wireless mouse (USB)
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Internet Speed
    ~150 kilobytes/sec DL
    Other Info
    Usually have low HD free space left (<10 GB), often left on overnight. I really push its capabilities.
Slammer,

Again, thanks for the reply.

Since - System Protection is turned on by default on all hard disks on your computer - I will check that the checkmark is there. I can't imagine it's not there as he wouldn't know how to uncheck it. Wonder if some spyware would have ...

Can he run vssadmin list shadowstorage without trying to save it to a file? - trying that next. He said UAC was off but cmd.exe has no Administrator on title bar so access denied. Working on that as admin.

It might also be a strange anomaly between different OS's, what OS is he running? - Same as me - Vista Home Basic (Grr).

Just to be sure, have him run the command prompt as an administrator (via the right-click menu) and see if that helps. Also, try to save it to a different location, like his Documents folder. - good ideas.

As an alternative, he could just take a screenshot (using the built-in snippet tool on Vista and 7) and send that to you to analyze. - since I have Basic, don't believe I got that tool. (Grr Grr)

I'll post back with results of above. If RP not ON, will try file again when it is.

Some history - I am disabled so doing this thru AIM. He has had this laptop (1st one) for about a year. He is 61. If he was here, it would be easier on both of us.

Thanks!!
 

My Computer

System One

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Thanks Richc46. I see what you're saying.

His UAC was On. Turning off, rebooting and testing batch file again.

Fingers crossed ....
 

My Computer

System One

Well UAC was the culprit. I was informed it was Off but it wasn't.I'll turn Off if I need to in future but Safe Computing says to turn On.

I'll see if there is a way to determine this via Reg Query (or something). Save a post!

Appreciate ALL the info.

Thanks for the help. I hope I can return the favor someday.

Take care.
 

My Computer

System One

Glad to help! Here's my opinion on UAC: it's basically just a way of saying "if you continue, this action could make big changes to your computer." So for people who aren't very good with computers, it's helpful to keep them from accidentally changing something they won't be able to figure out how to undo later. But for people who really know how to use their computer and know how to use Goole to solve their problems (such as myself) UAC is really just a big nuisance. Although I'm not sure about the actually added "security"it provides, (maybe someone else can enlighten us) turning it off is one of the first things I do when I get a new computer. So there's my rant :)

Also, it could have been malware that turned system restore off, but some computers just don't have it turned on by default. I'm not sure why, but some just don't. Now, if he had it turned on in the past and it turned off mysteriously, then malware is a definite possibility.

To "return the favor" just click on the blue picture of the scales in the top right (middle icon) of one of our posts :)

And feel free to let us know if you need any more help!
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 1545
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 @ 2.00 GHz
    Motherboard
    DELL - 27d90219 Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A05
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (DPMS), 15.3" (34cm x 19cm)
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Internal 320 GB Portable 320 GB used for separate storage of media, plugged into USB port as needed.
    Cooling
    Single built in fan
    Mouse
    Touchpad, + Logitech wireless mouse (USB)
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Internet Speed
    ~150 kilobytes/sec DL
    Other Info
    Usually have low HD free space left (<10 GB), often left on overnight. I really push its capabilities.
UAC does implement a little bit of security, but not much against modern infections. If you disable UAC then you will not be able to use the Internet Explorer Protected Mode, which essentially creates a sandbox for IE. I would suggest that you use an alternative browser if you have disabled UAC - FireFox is brilliant!

Tom
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Build #1
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770K @4.4GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3 1600MHz Low Profile (White)
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 (2GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Integrated on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" LG LCD/LED IPS
    Screen Resolution
    1920*1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO 128GB SSD Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm 2x500GB Seagate FreeAgent 5400rpm
    PSU
    Corsair TX650W V2 (80+ Bronze)
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 410
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 Water Cooler, 1x140mm and 1x120mm stock fans
    Mouse
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Mouse
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    95 Mb/s Download 70 Mb/s Upload
Tom,

Thanks for that link. I even reverted to IE8 and nothing on System Tray re Protected Mode with UAC On ever appeared (I wondered where it went). Guess once you upgrade you lose that warm and fuzzy notification. Seems the notification for Security Zone in System Tray should be an option to display or not, not just removed (2 cents).

Thanks to you and everyone who contributed to my concerns. It was enlightening. :D
 

My Computer

System One

Well that's strange, but oh well, it doesn't seem to be a problem :)

No problem - even though my contribution was small, I think I speak on behalf of anyone who helps you when I say its our pleasure

Tom
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Build #1
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770K @4.4GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3 1600MHz Low Profile (White)
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 (2GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Integrated on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" LG LCD/LED IPS
    Screen Resolution
    1920*1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO 128GB SSD Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm 2x500GB Seagate FreeAgent 5400rpm
    PSU
    Corsair TX650W V2 (80+ Bronze)
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 410
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 Water Cooler, 1x140mm and 1x120mm stock fans
    Mouse
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Mouse
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    95 Mb/s Download 70 Mb/s Upload
If for some reason you insist on using IE instead of something awesome like Firefox, and still want to achieve the "sandboxed" effect with UAC off, you can grab Sandboxie for free (albeit with a 5 second delay every time you start it if you don't buy the full version) here: Sandboxie - Sandbox software for application isolation and secure Web browsing As far as I know the only advantage the full (paid) version has is it doesn't make you wait 5 seconds to use it on startup, which really isn't a big deal. It's a little advanced to use, but gets the job done pretty well.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 1545
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 @ 2.00 GHz
    Motherboard
    DELL - 27d90219 Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A05
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    IDT High Definition Audio CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (DPMS), 15.3" (34cm x 19cm)
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Internal 320 GB Portable 320 GB used for separate storage of media, plugged into USB port as needed.
    Cooling
    Single built in fan
    Mouse
    Touchpad, + Logitech wireless mouse (USB)
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Internet Speed
    ~150 kilobytes/sec DL
    Other Info
    Usually have low HD free space left (<10 GB), often left on overnight. I really push its capabilities.
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