windows 7 security settings for non-admins

Question

I was recently modifying the security settings for my drive C. I did not notice that i was logged in as a user and changed the permissions for users to "read". Later i realized that there was no admin set up on the pc (when switching user). Now with the security settings changed I can't do anything on the computer. I can only read the files that previously existed. And this applies to every drive on my computer. Now the user accounts do not have the privileges to change the permissions. How can i allow users to have full control without having admin on my pc

Answer 1

How can i allow users to have full control without having admin on my pc?

That's impossible.

edit Specifically, you need an admin account to take ownership of files. Only with ownership can you grant other accounts permissions. /edit

I'm surprised how often this happens. There is a reason why Microsoft makes the effort to block user's access to their own drives. . .

Follow the directions here. . .

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-performance/how-to-reset-all-user-permissions-to-default/9da312d2-c99b-4283-a275-e74d93dcc366

You will need to run ‘Subinacl Tool’ to reset the permission to normal. To reset system permissions, follow the steps:

1. Download subinacl.msi from the following link, and save it on the desktop. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e8ba3e56-d8fe-4a91-93cf-ed6985e3927b&displaylang=en#AffinityDownloads (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e8ba3e56-d8fe-4a91-93cf-ed6985e3927b&displaylang=en#AffinityDownloads)

2. On the desktop, double-click subinacl.msi to install the tool.

3. Select C:\Windows\System32 as the destination folder. Note This step assumes that Windows is installed in C:\Windows. If Windows is installed elsewhere, select the appropriate path to .\System32.
4. Open Notepad.
5. Copy the following commands and then paste them into the opened Notepad window.

subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE /grant=administrators=f subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CURRENT_USER /grant=administrators=f subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT /grant=administrators=f subinacl /subdirectories %SystemDrive% /grant=administrators=f subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE /grant=system=f subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CURRENT_USER /grant=system=f subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT /grant=system=f subinacl /subdirectories %SystemDrive% /grant=system=f

1. In Notepad click File, Save As, and then type: reset.cmd
2. In Notepad click Save as type, and then select All Files (.).
3. Save the reset.cmdfile to your desktop, and close Notepad.
4. Double-click the reset.cmdfile to reset the Windows Update permissions. Note This step may take several minutes, so please be patient. When the permissions have been reset, you will be prompted with "Finished, press any key to continue."
5. Press any key to complete the installation. Check if you have the right permissions to all the folders for all users. For more information you may check the article given below. The article given is for Windows XP updates, but still holds good for Windows Vista as well as Windows 7. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/968003 Hope this information is helpful. Amrita M Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

I hope that was a lesson. Please make a backup.

Answer 2

If there's really no admin user on your computer (I don't think that is possible?), you will have no way of changing that permission back under your current Windows installation, because if you can the security model of Windows will be a complete failure (M$ had it certified, so it's probably sound).

What you can do now it to use another system to change the permission, e.g. a Windows PE CD or another Windows installation. You might also use some tools like ERD Commander to create an admin user.

Answer 3

You may find it helpful to enable the Administrator account (disabled by default). From an elevated command prompt run the following command:

net user administrator /active:no

Answer 4

Agreed with "edusysadmin"

You'll want to unlock the hidden admin as you'll inevitably run into permissions issues, lots of them later. I'm not sure if you can get those permissions from where you are now, but you'll want it inevitably. How To Geek walks you through very intuitively.