# Removing All Need for Permissions to Read/Write to Drives?



## avrona (Dec 28, 2019)

I remember doing it somehow or at least to some extent using the Registry Editor in Windows, though I can't remember exactly how, so does someone know how to do it? I'm using Windows 10 in the latest version.


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## DeathtoGnomes (Dec 28, 2019)

for optical drives?


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## avrona (Dec 28, 2019)

DeathtoGnomes said:


> for optical drives?


No as in all drives.


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## DeathtoGnomes (Dec 28, 2019)

internet search of how to change permission will pop up a number of walk thru's.


But why? what reason?


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## avrona (Dec 28, 2019)

DeathtoGnomes said:


> internet search of how to change permission will pop up a number of walk thru's.
> 
> 
> But why? what reason?


I tried finding the tutorial I used to edit the registry editor as it fully removed the issue before, but I can't find it anywhere.


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## eidairaman1 (Dec 28, 2019)

Doing that increases security breach


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## newtekie1 (Dec 28, 2019)

Just add "Everyone" to the permissions on the security tab for the root drive and give Everyone full control.  I'm not sure why you'd want to do this, but that's how you do it.  Nothing in the registry will remove permission requirements for a drive, it's built into ntfs.  You could format the drive(losing all data on it) to something like exFAT too, which removes security permissions, but you won't be able to do that on a Windows boot drive.


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## avrona (Dec 28, 2019)

eidairaman1 said:


> Doing that increases security breach


Ok... How do I do it though?


newtekie1 said:


> Just add "Everyone" to the permissions on the security tab for the root drive and give Everyone full control.  I'm not sure why you'd want to do this, but that's how you do it.  Nothing in the registry will remove permission requirements for a drive, it's built into ntfs.  You could format the drive(losing all data on it) to something like exFAT too, which removes security permissions, but you won't be able to do that on a Windows boot drive.


Sadly just changing the permissions in the security tab doesn't seem to work, as it seems that even that cannot be done because of some lack of permissions.


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## newtekie1 (Dec 28, 2019)

avrona said:


> Ok... How do I do it though?
> 
> Sadly just changing the permissions in the security tab doesn't seem to work, as it seems that even that cannot be done because of some lack of permissions.



Then you need to take ownership of the drive first.


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## avrona (Dec 28, 2019)

newtekie1 said:


> Then you need to take ownership of the drive first.


So how do I do that?


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## Solaris17 (Dec 28, 2019)

Arent you the one that told us backups are bad?

Didnt you already make this thread 8 months ago?









						How to Remove All Permission and Privilege Restrictions?
					

Does anyone here maybe know how to remove all permissions and privileges and admin stuff from a system? I remember I somehow did it previously before I had to reinstall Windows a few days ago because of constant BSODs, but I can't remember how and I can't seem to find it and now it looks that I...




					www.techpowerup.com


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## newtekie1 (Dec 28, 2019)

avrona said:


> So how do I do that?








						LMGTFY - Let Me Google That For You
					

For all those people who find it more convenient to bother you with their question rather than to Google it for themselves.




					lmgtfy.com


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## avrona (Dec 28, 2019)

newtekie1 said:


> LMGTFY - Let Me Google That For You
> 
> 
> For all those people who find it more convenient to bother you with their question rather than to Google it for themselves.
> ...


I tried doing the whole method in the security tab in properties but that doesn't work.


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## Solaris17 (Dec 28, 2019)

How to Take Ownership of a Folder in Windows 10 Using File Explorer
					

If you're unable to edit a file or folder in Windows 10, here's how to take ownership and full permissions.




					www.laptopmag.com


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## avrona (Dec 28, 2019)

Solaris17 said:


> How to Take Ownership of a Folder in Windows 10 Using File Explorer
> 
> 
> If you're unable to edit a file or folder in Windows 10, here's how to take ownership and full permissions.
> ...


That's the exact thing I tried already and nothing.


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## Solaris17 (Dec 28, 2019)

Looks like you will have to try again.


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## avrona (Dec 28, 2019)

Solaris17 said:


> Looks like you will have to try again.


And unsurprisingly it didn't work again...


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## Solaris17 (Dec 28, 2019)

Ah, dont be so moody, you tried to take us by storm with your "backups are bad" thread, and defended it with a holier than thou attitude.

It was clear then as is clear now that you do not understand this technology enough to even know why well known copied guides are failing. Yet you offer no information as to what issues you are even experiencing.

Some in this thread already gave you links and attempted to ask these questions, which is probably more than I can say for myself. This community certainly isn't lacking in talent.

Just make sure you realize you will only get out of it what you put in. None of these responses are useless from what I see, they are just giving you the same in weight.


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## avrona (Dec 28, 2019)

Solaris17 said:


> Ah, dont be so moody, you tried to take us by storm with your "backups are bad" thread, and defended it with a holier than thou attitude.
> 
> It was clear then as is clear now that you do not understand this technology enough to even know why well known copied guides are failing. Yet you offer no information as to what issues you are even experiencing.
> 
> ...


So because I have more controversial opinions and that a tutorial just doesn't work in my case that means that I somehow don't know technology? How on earth does that make sense? I don't know where on earth this all came from and I'm not sure how it's my fault the trick doesn't work. I tried it several times, and always it doesn't work as it says that access was denied to every single file.


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## newtekie1 (Dec 28, 2019)

avrona said:


> And unsurprisingly it didn't work again...



That sucks, I hope you can fix the permissions and get access to your data.  If not, I hope you have backups of the important stuff...


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## DeathtoGnomes (Dec 29, 2019)

TBH, I dont this is the kind of information someone without much experience with windows security, permissions can really screw you over if you set one thing wrong. I know what OP wants and he is not entirely forthcoming with what he wants to do exactly, so I will refrain from passing along how to do it. 

I hope others will take the same approach to this thread.


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## avrona (Dec 29, 2019)

So now people are just upfront refusing to actually answer? Why? What's the big deal? Can someone please just tell me how to do it so I can actually write stuff to my own drives?


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## P4-630 (Dec 29, 2019)

avrona said:


> Can someone please just tell me how to do it so I can actually write stuff to my own drives?



Reinstall windows.


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## avrona (Dec 29, 2019)

P4-630 said:


> Reinstall windows.


Anything that doesn't involve reinstalling Windows?


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## Vayra86 (Dec 29, 2019)

avrona said:


> Anything that doesn't involve reinstalling Windows?



Honestly right now this is your best bet because it is clear as day your Windows install is borked in several ways. Between BSODs and the no backup topic earlier you've clearly created your own problem and are now failing to solve it.

Luckily you've backed up your data. Right? 

Its time to be humble and start learning. You will find that with such an attitude, these topics turn into very useful places to be and people are ready to help. For now though, start with a clean slate. I'm not even kidding. Format everything and clean install the OS. Then after a clean install, start using best practices instead of the 'Windows XP era' OS management that brought you here in the first place...


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## newtekie1 (Dec 29, 2019)

avrona said:


> So now people are just upfront refusing to actually answer?



You've already been given the answer, I told you want to do. Take ownership of the drive then set permissions to everyone.  If that isn't working then there is something really wrong, possibly even a bad drive itself.


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## Steevo (Dec 29, 2019)

Man these threads make me glad I'm not doing IT work anymore. This reminds me of so many users demanding I do something for them they don't understand but by damned they I know I was stopping magic from happening.

Dear OP, the advice given here is free. As in, no one is getting paid to tell you answers to problems you created, or in your own head. Also the amount of advice is backed by years and years and years of collective experience. More years than you have probably existed.

OP if you want to learn, listen, read, ask questions and read the whole answer, not just what you think you need.


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## avrona (Dec 29, 2019)

newtekie1 said:


> You've already been given the answer, I told you want to do. Take ownership of the drive then set permissions to everyone.  If that isn't working then there is something really wrong, possibly even a bad drive itself.


What about doing it via the registry editor like I did before though? That did the trick.


Steevo said:


> Man these threads make me glad I'm not doing IT work anymore. This reminds me of so many users demanding I do something for them they don't understand but by damned they I know I was stopping magic from happening.
> 
> Dear OP, the advice given here is free. As in, no one is getting paid to tell you answers to problems you created, or in your own head. Also the amount of advice is backed by years and years and years of collective experience. More years than you have probably existed.
> 
> OP if you want to learn, listen, read, ask questions and read the whole answer, not just what you think you need.


Ok... never did I doubt that advice is given for me, and I'm not sure how me asking for solution is somehow me not "learning,listening,reading", etc.


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## newtekie1 (Dec 29, 2019)

avrona said:


> What about doing it via the registry editor like I did before though? That did the trick.



There is no way to bypass ntfs permissions with the registry. I don't know what you did before, but it didn't bypass permissions.


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## avrona (Dec 29, 2019)

newtekie1 said:


> There is no way to bypass ntfs permissions with the registry. I don't know what you did before, but it didn't bypass permissions.


Well what's something similar to that that will also solve the issue without, either using the registry editor or some other way?


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## newtekie1 (Dec 30, 2019)

avrona said:


> Well what's something similar to that that will also solve the issue without, either using the registry editor or some other way?


Well, you never actually told us the issue. So...


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## DeathtoGnomes (Dec 30, 2019)

newtekie1 said:


> Well, you never actually told us the issue. So...


Exactly. Any user that avoids answering questions so they can get the correct help, is not getting it. IDK, if the OP is embarrased or ashamed for screwing up, it doesnt matter, porting here means you need to suck it up and dont worry, you will get the help needed. I suggested finding a tutorial on permissions, I have ran across several all over the place in the past even on youtube. saying you cant find one is ...   

Dear OP, you are not the first and wont be the last to mess up windows. [funfact: m$ was the first to screw it all up ]


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## R-T-B (Dec 30, 2019)

He probably needs to set himself as owner on the object and all subobjects.  Not that that'll do anything good, but it'll at least do what he thinks is good.


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## avrona (Jan 4, 2020)

newtekie1 said:


> Well, you never actually told us the issue. So...


I did though, I have issues accessing certain random locations on drives, I did something in the registry editor that fixed it so I want to do it again as just trying to change permissions in the security tab doesn't work.


DeathtoGnomes said:


> Exactly. Any user that avoids answering questions so they can get the correct help, is not getting it. IDK, if the OP is embarrased or ashamed for screwing up, it doesnt matter, porting here means you need to suck it up and dont worry, you will get the help needed. I suggested finding a tutorial on permissions, I have ran across several all over the place in the past even on youtube. saying you cant find one is ...
> 
> Dear OP, you are not the first and wont be the last to mess up windows. [funfact: m$ was the first to screw it all up ]


How on earth am I avoiding answering questions though? What would be the sense in that anyway? And I didn't screw up anything at least as far as I can tell.


R-T-B said:


> He probably needs to set himself as owner on the object and all subobjects.  Not that that'll do anything good, but it'll at least do what he thinks is good.


If that's the thing you do in the security tab then that doesn't work either as apparently I don't have permission to change permissions on items.


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## R-T-B (Jan 4, 2020)

avrona said:


> If that's the thing you do in the security tab then that doesn't work either as apparently I don't have permission to change permissions on items.



If your an admin account you can always set owner.


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## avrona (Jan 4, 2020)

R-T-B said:


> If your an admin account you can always set owner.


How can I check if I am or not? This is the only account on this PC.


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## R-T-B (Jan 4, 2020)

avrona said:


> How can I check if I am or not? This is the only account on this PC.



Then it is likely an admin account.

I'm still unsure what read/write errors this would "fix" that would not be denying you access for a good reason...  care to elaborate in specifics?


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## c2DDragon (Jan 4, 2020)

You could try the icacls commands here there are some good reading : https://theitbros.com/using-icacls-to-list-folder-permissions-and-manage-files/ & https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/icacls
If you were the legit owner of those files you could try to reset the whole drive permissions. Never tried on a whole drive but only on specific folders but you can try your luck where "X" is your drive :

ICACLS X:\ /T /Q /C /RESET

Then try to take ownership : https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/takeown

(All those commands to be made in an admin CMD prompt)


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## avrona (Jan 4, 2020)

R-T-B said:


> Then it is likely an admin account.
> 
> I'm still unsure what read/write errors this would "fix" that would not be denying you access for a good reason...  care to elaborate in specifics?


The error message says "insufficient privileges are held by the client" whenever I can't write to a few random folders and locations, and when I try to change it in the security tab, I get an error saying "access is denied".


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## DeathtoGnomes (Jan 4, 2020)

avrona said:


> The error message says "insufficient privileges are held by the client" whenever I can't write to a few random folders and locations, and when I try to change it in the security tab, I get an error saying "access is denied".


that sounds more like sharing was not set up correctly.


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## avrona (Jan 4, 2020)

DeathtoGnomes said:


> that sounds more like sharing was not set up correctly.


How do I fix it then?


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## DeathtoGnomes (Jan 4, 2020)

avrona said:


> How do I fix it then?


do what i told you the first time, search for a tutorial, there are tons of them, online.


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## avrona (Jan 4, 2020)

DeathtoGnomes said:


> do what i told you the first time, search for a tutorial, there are tons of them, online.


Sharing just seems to be for network locations though as far as I can tell? While all of my drives are local.


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## Athlonite (Jan 4, 2020)

If it's saying in the error msg that you don't have enough permission or privileges then your logon account is not an admin account. you'll need to go here 

Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\User Accounts then click on change account type in there you'll see two account types 1: Standard and 2: Administrator you need to select admin


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## avrona (Jan 4, 2020)

Athlonite said:


> If it's saying in the error msg that you don't have enough permission or privileges then your logon account is not an admin account. you'll need to go here
> 
> Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\User Accounts then click on change account type in there you'll see two account types 1: Standard and 2: Administrator you need to select admin


Ok so I went into there and it says the account is admin already.


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## Athlonite (Jan 4, 2020)

Then you've screwed something else that is denying you permissions/privileges and you'll need to reinstall windows if that's the case


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## avrona (Jan 4, 2020)

Athlonite said:


> Then you've screwed something else that is denying you permissions/privileges and you'll need to reinstall windows if that's the case


I didn't touch the permissions in the drive itself before I had these problems, just tried to fix them using the security tab and didn't work either. There's literally nothing I've done that could've caused that.


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## Athlonite (Jan 4, 2020)

Which folder exactly are you trying to remove permissions on and why


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## avrona (Jan 4, 2020)

Athlonite said:


> Which folder exactly are you trying to remove permissions on and why


It's just several random locations and folders across the PC.


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## lexluthermiester (Jan 4, 2020)

avrona said:


> Ok... How do I do it though?


While in Windows Explorer(inbuilt file manager) right-click on each drive and click on the Security tab. 
On that tab, click the " Edit... " button next to where is says " To change permissions, click Edit ". 
The Permissions windows will pop up. In that window click the " Add " button. 
A new window will open named " Select Users or Groups ". 
In the box that says " Enter the object names to select " type in " Everyone " and then click the " Check Names " button. " Everyone " should now be underlined. Click ok. 
In the " Group or user names " field " Everyone " should now be present. Click on it. 
Below that field is the permissions selection field with check boxes to allow or deny. 
Check the " Allow " box on the line that says " Full Control ".
Now click OK and every account that exists on the PC in question will have full access to that drive.

This of course is not recommended if you are connecting said PC to the internet because anyone who direct addresses that PC will be able to walk right into it with very little effort.


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## Athlonite (Jan 4, 2020)

can you screen shot one of the folders permissions tab so we can see what permissions it already has


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## avrona (Jan 4, 2020)

lexluthermiester said:


> While in Windows Explorer(inbuilt file manager) right-click on each drive and click on the Security tab.
> On that tab, click the " Edit... " button next to where is says " To change permissions, click Edit ".
> The Permissions windows will pop up. In that window click the " Add " button.
> A new window will open named " Select Users or Groups ".
> ...


So I tried doing this before already, and just like before it fails, here's the error message, which appears for most files in the drive:


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## lexluthermiester (Jan 4, 2020)

avrona said:


> So I tried doing this before already, and just like before it fails, here's the error message, which appears for most files in the drive:


Hmm...


Athlonite said:


> can you screen shot one of the folders permissions tab so we can see what permissions it already has


Please do this and post the screen shots.


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## Steevo (Jan 5, 2020)

avrona said:


> So I tried doing this before already, and just like before it fails, here's the error message, which appears for most files in the drive: View attachment 141307




That message is usually only when a user, even administrator tries to access system level folders or registry keys. 

So something has screwed up access, or you are trying to access files that aren't yours. 

I googled that and found the answer on the first try, but I am concerned that you may be trying to access files that do not belong to you.


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## FordGT90Concept (Jan 5, 2020)

1. You have to be an administrator to change permissions.
2. You can't change permissions, generally, on C:\Windows and some hidden files in drive roots relating to the NTFS file system.  They're controlled by the SYSTEM user and they shouldn't be changed or else malicious software can ruin the system (delete file system data, remove operating system, insert malware into existing operating system, etc.).
3. Always use Advanced for security.  The tab never works in my experience.  Advanced Security window gives you ownership and access options.  You can also propagate those permissions to all subitems.


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## lexluthermiester (Jan 5, 2020)

FordGT90Concept said:


> 2. You can't change permissions, generally, on C:\Windows and some hidden files in drive roots relating to the NTFS file system.


Yes they can. It takes a bit more effort but it can be done. However...


FordGT90Concept said:


> They're controlled by the SYSTEM user and they shouldn't be changed or else malicious software can ruin the system (delete file system data, remove operating system, insert malware into existing operating system, etc.).


...you're correct on this point. Unless someone knows what they are doing, system folders and files should be left alone.


FordGT90Concept said:


> 3. Always use Advanced for security. The tab never works in my experience. Advanced Security window gives you ownership and access options. You can also propagate those permissions to all subitems.


Also correct with a catch. You have to create the group/user to edit in the Advanced window and set permissions before setting ownership and whatnot.



Steevo said:


> I googled that and found the answer on the first try, but I am concerned that you may be trying to access files that do not belong to you.


This also possible.

@avrona If we are taking about your system that you own, then there is no problem. If it's not your system you are trying to modify and you do not have permission from the owner, altering permissions in the way you're describing could be a crime. It's totally on you if that's the case, but fair warning..


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## avrona (Jan 5, 2020)

Steevo said:


> That message is usually only when a user, even administrator tries to access system level folders or registry keys.
> 
> So something has screwed up access, or you are trying to access files that aren't yours.
> 
> I googled that and found the answer on the first try, but I am concerned that you may be trying to access files that do not belong to you.


What? Like I said earlier they are my files on my own PC, none of the drives are network locations either, all local and on my machine. 


FordGT90Concept said:


> 1. You have to be an administrator to change permissions.
> 2. You can't change permissions, generally, on C:\Windows and some hidden files in drive roots relating to the NTFS file system.  They're controlled by the SYSTEM user and they shouldn't be changed or else malicious software can ruin the system (delete file system data, remove operating system, insert malware into existing operating system, etc.).
> 3. Always use Advanced for security.  The tab never works in my experience.  Advanced Security window gives you ownership and access options.  You can also propagate those permissions to all subitems.


Everything point towards the account being an admin account already, this isn't just affecting areas it's supposed to like windows directories but also just random folders around the PC, and the advance tab in security just throws out an error saying "access is denied" whenever I try to change permissions.


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## FordGT90Concept (Jan 5, 2020)

Is this an SSD by any chance?  Might be read-only.

If it's not an SSD, I think a clean Windows install is in order.  I suspect malware.


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## avrona (Jan 5, 2020)

FordGT90Concept said:


> Is this an SSD by any chance?  Might be read-only.
> 
> If it's not an SSD, I think a clean Windows install is in order.  I suspect Malware.


No it's just a standard hard drive. And checked with everything I can, nothing is pointing out any malware.


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## P4-630 (Jan 5, 2020)

avrona said:


> I did something in the registry editor



Do a system restore or reinstall windows.


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## newtekie1 (Jan 5, 2020)

avrona said:


> I did though, I have issues accessing certain random locations on drives, I did something in the registry editor that fixed it so I want to do it again as just trying to change permissions in the security tab doesn't work.



No, you never told us that.  Also, you still, through this whole thread, still haven't told us the issue.  You keep giving vague bits of info, but never telling us exactly the issue.

What exact locations on the drives?  Did you have access to these locations before?  Did you change or do anything to make these location not accessible?

It's like you go to your mechanic about an issue on your car, but you won't even give the mechanic all the symptoms and he definitely can't look at the car, but expecting a solution to the problem.  It's not going to happen.

We shouldn't have to pry information out of you.



avrona said:


> How on earth am I avoiding answering questions though? What would be the sense in that anyway? And I didn't screw up anything at least as far as I can tell.



Well, you still haven't fully told us the issue, so there is that.  And even when people ask you for information to help move things along, you just ignore them.




avrona said:


> If that's the thing you do in the security tab then that doesn't work either as apparently I don't have permission to change permissions on items.



You also have to realize that there are some folders that Windows will not, under any condition, let you access or modify.  You can't take ownership of them, you can't change the permissions on them, you can't even go into the folder and view the contents.  If it is one of these directories you are trying to mess with, no one here is likely going to be of any help to you.


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## avrona (Jan 5, 2020)

newtekie1 said:


> No, you never told us that. Also, you still, though this whole thread, still haven't told us the issue. You keep giving vague bits of info, but never telling us exactly the issue.
> 
> What locations on the drives? Did you have access to these locations before? Did you change or do anything to make these location not accessible?
> 
> ...


How was I supposed to know that I'm not allowed to access random locations on my own PC and that the normal stuff you do to fix that in the security tab is not enough information? I must have had access to them before as there files there I added in, but I did nothing that could've changed that.


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## newtekie1 (Jan 5, 2020)

avrona said:


> How was I supposed to know that I'm not allowed to access random locations on my own PC and that the normal stuff you do to fix that in the security tab is not enough information? I must have had access to them before as there files there I added in, but I did nothing that could've changed that.



The same way I know it, research.  Or you would have told us from the beginning what locations you were trying to access.  If you actually told use the issue, the ENTIRE issue, from the beginning we would have been able to help you much better.

Even now, when I have told you the information we need from you, you still haven't given it.  You obviously think we are mind readers or something.  Since you don't seem to want to cooperate with the people trying to help you by giving us the information we need, and have directly asked for, I'm done here.  You aren't going to get a solution, or find a lot of people willing to help you, if you don't give the information they need to help solve the problem.  You definitely aren't going to get help if you keep up this entitled attitude.


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## avrona (Jan 5, 2020)

newtekie1 said:


> The same way I know it, research.  Or you would have told us from the beginning what locations you were trying to access.  If you actually told use the issue, the ENTIRE issue, from the beginning we would have been able to help you much better.
> 
> Even now, when I have told you the information we need from you, you still haven't given it.  You obviously think we are mind readers or something.  Since you don't seem to want to cooperate with the people trying to help you by giving us the information we need, and have directly asked for, I'm done here.  You aren't going to get a solution, or find a lot of people willing to help you, if you don't give the information they need to help solve the problem.  You definitely aren't going to get help if you keep up this entitled attitude.


Listen, I'm not sure where you pulling all this out of, thinking I have an entitled attitude or thinking I think people are mind readers, but if you get so annoyed over someone just asking for help, I'm not sure how you can think I'm the problem here despite explaining the problem.


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## DeathtoGnomes (Jan 5, 2020)

avrona said:


> Listen, I'm not sure where you pulling all this out of, thinking I have an entitled attitude or thinking I think people are mind readers, but if you get so annoyed over someone just asking for help, I'm not sure how you can think I'm the problem here despite explaining the problem.


asking for help is not the problem here. we need information so we can help you the right way, we asked you, we dont beg. If you dont give what we need, then ya we cant help  you.

afaik you are just trolling here now.


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## lexluthermiester (Jan 5, 2020)

DeathtoGnomes said:


> afaik you are just trolling here now.


That's is my conclusion as well. I'm out..


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## AlienIsGOD (Jan 5, 2020)

avrona said:


> Listen, I'm not sure where you pulling all this out of, thinking I have an entitled attitude or thinking I think people are mind readers, but if you get so annoyed over someone just asking for help, I'm not sure how you can think I'm the problem here despite explaining the problem.




THEN ANSWER THE QUESTION AND GIVE PROPER INFO


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## EarthDog (Jan 5, 2020)

avrona said:


> I'm not sure how you can think I'm the problem here


And therein lay the most fundamental problem... 

GL to you..another avrona thread where the help bails, lol.


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## avrona (Jan 5, 2020)

DeathtoGnomes said:


> asking for help is not the problem here. we need information so we can help you the right way, we asked you, we dont beg. If you dont give what we need, then ya we can help  you.
> 
> afaik you are just trolling here now.


Not sure how asking for help is trolling...


AlienIsGOD said:


> THEN ANSWER THE QUESTION AND GIVE PROPER INFO


Again, what other info apart from all the info I've already mentioned in this thread do you need?


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## FordGT90Concept (Jan 5, 2020)

Full path of what you're trying to change permissions of that gives an access denied error and why, exactly, are you trying to change permissions at all.


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## avrona (Jan 5, 2020)

FordGT90Concept said:


> Full path of what you're trying to change permissions of that gives an access denied error and why, exactly, are you trying to change permissions at all.


An example will just be the root of my F drive. When I try to write something to there it says "insufficient privileges are held by the client" and when I try to change permissions in the security tab it just says "access is denied" for each file on the whole drive. And I'm trying to change permissions because I'm trying to fix the problem.


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## FordGT90Concept (Jan 5, 2020)

Is F: a mapped network drive? The system the data resides on controls permissions.
Is F: BitLocker encrypted? Need the password to decrypt; there's nothing to take ownership of without decryption first.
Is F: writable at all by any user? The disk is read-only.


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## avrona (Jan 5, 2020)

FordGT90Concept said:


> Is F: a mapped network drive?


No it's a local drive.


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## FordGT90Concept (Jan 5, 2020)

I edited: there's three scenarios off the top of my head that can cause an entire letter to be inaccessible.


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## avrona (Jan 5, 2020)

FordGT90Concept said:


> I edited: there's three scenarios off the top of my head that can cause an entire letter to be inaccessible.


It's local, it's not encrypted in any way, and I'm the only user with the only account on the PC so I'm not sure about how to check the last one.


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## c2DDragon (Jan 5, 2020)

Look, download this : http://www.zeus-software.com/downloads/ntfsaccess
Here is the virustotal so you can trust or not : https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file...911625705b433dbf5f257ed88f04ba66ea7/detection
Launch it with admin privileges, select the folders you want, if this doesn't work, give up.
It's just a program giving you the rights on folders because it seems you don't manage to do it.
If this doesn't work, enable and use the superadmin account (at your own risks) : https://www.thewindowsclub.com/activate-windows-super-administrator-account

Oh and don't ignore this time and tell if it worked or not please. Thank you.

If this doesn't work the only remaining solution would be to install a VM (linux or windows 7) and add the physical drive into the VM, disconnect the drive from windows 10 and launch the VM with the drive you want to access installed in it, take ownership from there and THEN if this doesn't work I guess you can just give up.

Good luck.


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## avrona (Jan 5, 2020)

c2DDragon said:


> Look, download this : http://www.zeus-software.com/downloads/ntfsaccess
> Here is the virustotal so you can trust or not : https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file...911625705b433dbf5f257ed88f04ba66ea7/detection
> Launch it with admin privileges, select the folders you want, if this doesn't work, give up.
> It's just a program giving you the rights on folders because it seems you don't manage to do it.
> ...


I downloaded and targeted a whole drive, and after it was done I was still having the same issue. Also I tried using the method in the article to change local policy, but the program needed to edit local policy refused to launch for me.


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## c2DDragon (Jan 5, 2020)

*secpol.msc* ?
If you have enabled the superadmin you can just log off and log in the Administrator session.
Once you did type :
Net user administrator /active:yes
Just disconnect your session and log on the administrator session
Edit : It's either typing the command in an admin CMD prompt OR using secpol.msc.


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## R-T-B (Jan 5, 2020)

What is drive F:\ exactly?  A hdd/sdd partition?  Make/model of drive?


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## avrona (Jan 5, 2020)

R-T-B said:


> What is drive F:\ exactly?  A hdd/sdd partition?  Make/model of drive?


It's an HDD, a Seagate ST31000524AS.


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## R-T-B (Jan 5, 2020)

avrona said:


> It's an HDD, a Seagate ST31000524AS.



The first thing I would do in this instance is check the drive health using something like HDD Sentinel free trial, or anything else capable of checking SMART data.  Under these circumstances a possible scenario is the drive is failing and that's why you are getting permission denials.


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## avrona (Jan 5, 2020)

R-T-B said:


> The first thing I would do in this instance is check the drive health using something like HDD Sentinel free trial, or anything else capable of checking SMART data.  Under these circumstances a possible scenario is the drive is failing and that's why you are getting permission denials.


Checked using CrystalDisk and the health is displaying as good.


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## Athlonite (Jan 5, 2020)

If you're happy to use a bootable version of linux (Mint is pretty easy to use) then I'd be doing that then remove the files you want from those "Random" folders and store them on a different drive in a new folder. Then reboot into windows and format the HDD as somewhere somehow the permissions have become corrupt for that drive you can also do the above for any HDD that is giving you permission problems


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## moproblems99 (Jan 5, 2020)

My recommendation is:

Access the files from a backup
Boot a Live Linux distro and pull files to a directory you have access to
Remove the drive and put it in another PC and take ownership.
Questions:

Is the drive USB?
Can you read files with an admin level cmd prompt?
Is it only F or are there folders on other drives?
Do you have backups of these files so you can ignore this and wipe F?


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## notb (Jan 6, 2020)

Out of pure curiosity, and partly because installing Fedora is so slow, I went through 80+ posts. Lovely thread as usual by this OP.

@avrona
You can't properly describe what you see or are unwilling to do so.
So either you're really unskilled with computers and (unsurprisingly) ruined your installation or, as some already said, you're trying to get into someone else's data.
I'll assume good intentions.

There's a good chance you've messed that PC up - beyond a point where anything can be done.
Don't worry. You're learning OS administration and this will happen.
You've already got the right answer: *reinstall Windows*. It's a routine task. I don't understand why you're so against the idea.
Even if you somehow fix that particular access issue, there's a good chance something else will come up.


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## FordGT90Concept (Jan 6, 2020)

Since it's not C:, I don't think reinstalling Windows will help.  I think the file system on F: is FUBAR so I would try running chkdsk on it.  If chkdsk won't work, the drive probably needs to be formatted (whatever data was on it will be lost in the process).


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## c2DDragon (Jan 6, 2020)

At this point, we don't know what OP is trying to get.
We don't even know if the drive folders are encrypted or not because we don't have any clue of the folders.
Making a dual boot with a linux distribution or putting the physical drive into a VM could show the folders are encrypted and OP could give up.
I don't even know if he/she did log in superadmin to try the take ownership moves.
Please OP give us screens or names of the folders so we can know what you REALLY want to access so somebody in here can tell you if it's just possible or not xD


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## newtekie1 (Jan 6, 2020)

FordGT90Concept said:


> Since it's not C:, I don't think reinstalling Windows will help.  I think the file system on F: is FUBAR so I would try running chkdsk on it.  If chkdsk won't work, the drive probably needs to be formatted (whatever data was on it will be lost in the process).



Assuming F is the only drive/folder affected.  I've asked for a list of locations and he only gave F "as an example".  We've asked for screenshots of the security tab for the folders and he's refused to provide them, just giving vague error messages.  But, hell, something could have decided to FUBAR the file system on all his drives if he's having problems with multiple drives.

He's being purposely vague and withholding information for some reason.


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## notb (Jan 6, 2020)

FordGT90Concept said:


> Since it's not C:, I don't think reinstalling Windows will help.  I think the file system on F: is FUBAR so I would try running chkdsk on it.  If chkdsk won't work, the drive probably needs to be formatted (whatever data was on it will be lost in the process).


If this is something he caused (and he said it's his drive) I see no reason why other files would not be affected. He just noticed this on a non-OS volume.
From this and earlier threads we know OP is very careless. Look at his posting history. It's a constant battle with all kinds of PC issues.

Some of us are too young and some just forgot, but that's how general PC experience looked 15-20 years ago. Most people were still learning how to use computers. Almost everyone was staying on admin account all the time. Most were removing programs (not uninstalling them), turning of PCs with the power switch, downloading cracked executables etc. PCs crashed all the time. "BSOD joke" was one of the most popular t-shirt theme. It was generally accepted.
My bet is OP still uses his PC like that. Seriously, read the thread topic. Once, twice, 10 times. Who the f... does that?


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## lexluthermiester (Jan 6, 2020)

FordGT90Concept said:


> Since it's not C:, I don't think reinstalling Windows will help. I think the file system on F: is FUBAR so I would try running chkdsk on it.


That would not help, permissions are stored within the Windows Registry, not the file system. Running chkdsk is very unlikely to help. If the OP is unwilling to fresh install Windows(and if he believed in backups such would be a trivial effort. Still think backups are a bad idea @avrona?) then we can not be of any help to him as he has not posted screencaps to show us the problem areas and none of us are physically at the system in question to assist in troubleshooting.

As was mentioned earlier, either the OP is trying something shady and is unwilling to show us the problem or he's trolling us. Either way, this thread seems to have run it's course.


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## Tatty_One (Jan 6, 2020)

This was a painful read,  @avrona it's no wonder members are getting frustrated you are going around in circles, you have been asked for screenshots of error messages and you have totally ignored them all, you were asked for step by step details of what you are trying to do, you have been given links and some very good advice but reading this you appear reluctant to fully cooperate. I appreciate some of what you have tried has not worked for you but the best of that advice at this late point in the life of this thread is to do a fresh install of Windows as it would appear that either you have played around too much and borked something or your system is compromised, either way this thread is as they say "flogging a dead horse" and to avoid any further torment it is closed.

I hope you can solve your problem but I fear unless you sort out a fresh installation of Window's you won't.


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