How can i easily override VISTA permissions?

[daniel1212]

I am running Vista HB, and turned off UAC rather quickly after i received this new PC.. I am the only administrator, and am not on a network or suing share folders, and i am the only account listed under User Accounts.  However, too often i am prevented from renaming a folder a program just made, or deleting it. I have a folder now made by Windows Movie Maker which i recently made, on a second internal HD, which Vista tells me i cannot delete. 

I am aware of a complicated procedure that i have used, which is not guaranteed to work. I usually just boot into XP and delete it no problem, or use a freeware utility called Unlocker which will do it upon rebooting.

But after using W/98 for years in  very extensive internet use and having virtually no problems with viruses (one) or the like (thank God), i would just like to override the   permissions entirely.

[patio]

What method did you use to turn off UAC ? ?

[DaveLembke]

You can also force your profile into admin mode by using the Offline NT Password Editor which now supports vista, or use it to confirm that you are in fact an admin if the systems SAM.

I had a client a few months ago who got a real good deal on a computer from Staples, and when he got it home he had nothing but troubles with it. Since he bought it on clearance he could not return it. So he called me to check it out at $35 an hour. Immediately I found out that it was on clearance because it was the floor model and was sold at $400 for a $1000 computer. Staples so called didnt have the Admin password or wouldnt release it because they didnt want the password for all the floor systems leaking out. The client had an account that was a user account and not an admin account. I suggested that we blow everything away and start new off the restore CD, but what do you know, Staples didnt have that bundled with the computer. So I said ok, lets edit the SAM and force your profile to Administrator with a blank password. And after that  I earned a quick $70 and he then had a good system at a fraction of the cost of a new computer.

This tool can be found here if you want to check it out... (( This is dangerous if you dont follow the directions and do soemthing abnormal during the process like shutdown before saving the edited SAM.))

You simply download and burn the ISO to a CD and then boot the computer off of this tool that will boot in a Live Linux mode and the tool will launch. You then select from the menu's that are presented to you.

http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/

[Anodoin]

That doesn't sound like a UAC, permissions or "limited account" issue.  Daniel, you already hit upon the issue when you downloaded the "Unlocker" software. 

 A program will lock a file when it is in use.  For instance, you can't move a file while it's being downloaded because it gets locked.  If you load a movie into Windows Movie Maker you can't delete that file without first removing it from Movie Maker because it's locked.  And if you try to delete a folder that has a locked file inside it, you get the same issue.  MOST programs releas locked files once you close the program, but not always.  You just need to make sure nothing's using that file anymore.  If nothing running is using the file, and it's still saying it's in use or locked or whatever, then something might not have closed properly and you'll need to use your current methods to get rid of it.

As far as actual file permissions are concerned, they're built into the NT file system and cannot be disabled.  You could always run Fat32 if you're that against it.

[daniel1212]

First, i am pretty sure i went to Ctrl Pnl>Security>Other Settings and turned off the UAC there.

2. I have read about changing the SAM, and in fact i have that burned that app to a disk because i was going to mail it to a family that could not login. But as i reinstalled this OS from scratch soon after i received it, and did not add users or anything that is not strictly required, i do not know why i would not be the system administrator.  From what i read not being able to modify/delete folders/files - even one's you have made - without jumping through a lot of hoops is a rather common issue. XP has never presented me with this problem.

I also have since used a reg file i first found thru the NeoWin forums called TakeOwn.reg, which when merged allows you to Shift R. click on a file and choose TakeOwn, and then you can delete it (Elevated privileges or something). http://www.neowin.net/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t597175.html
Except that it does not always seem to work - i deleted some files and then they reappeared! 

3. That WMM folder was just an example, and the Movie Maker was closed.  And the reason given for not being able to modify it was because of a lack of permissions. I am not knowledgeable enough about vista protocols  or able to replicate this problem enough to get a fuller analysis of this issue, but was looking for a fix so that it does not happen anymore.  Thanks for all your input.