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If I log in as a Standard User in my BRAND NEW Windows 7 install, i have no access to Windows Explorer.

If I click on "Computer" in the start menu or the "Windows Explorer" folder icon in the taskbar I get an error as follows:

The Window is labeled as "Explorer.EXE" and the error is "Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item."

I have one Administrator account (that works fine) and 4 other Standard accounts. I have this problem with ALL the accounts (except for the admin account).

Any idea what the heck is going on here???

Did I waste a whole day installing Windows 7 just to face this kind of nonsense???

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2 Answers

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Type the following in an elevated command prompt window:

sfc /scannow

This will check that all of your system files are in fact ok.

I would also run chkdsk /f to make sure your file system isn't corrupt for some or other reason.

Scan for malware too. It's possible, even on a fresh install, to have been infected by a drive-by download. I use SuperAntiSpyware, MalwareBytes and ComboFix (which now supports 64-bit, incidentally).

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Wierd, as this is a brand new install, but I'll try it and see what happens... – trusktr Jan 30 '11 at 3:10
Also, i've noticed that only 3 out of 4 standard account on the system have this problem... – trusktr Jan 30 '11 at 3:11
I don't think the number of accounts is relevant, unless one of them picked up malware, in which case you should scan for an infection as well. – Randolph West Jan 30 '11 at 3:15
Is it possible to pick up malware solely from downloading Chrome and System updates? – trusktr Jan 30 '11 at 3:29
SFC didn't find anything. I'm just going to create new accounts and delete the old ones I guess and that'll probably solve everything. – trusktr Jan 30 '11 at 3:33
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Alright, so making new user accounts worked perfectly. Advice for anyone performing a clean install of Windows: let windows download all automatic updates before creating any user accounts.

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Interesting. Did you possibly add the accounts during the installation of said updates? – Randolph West Jan 30 '11 at 6:03
Sorry for such a late response. At this point in time I'm not quite sure because its been too long. I guess that may have been the issue. I made the accounts as soon as was possible I would imagine. – trusktr Jul 19 '11 at 1:59
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