Vista - need to restore permissions in command line

hey, i messed with the ownership and permission settings of my windows directory and now, even the system doesnt have permission to access the files...so vista doesnt start up... is there a way to open command prompt without starting up vista and use the icacls command to restore the permissions?

Also, if i use my vista boot cd and repair my vista installation, will it delete my files?

Hello Huki, welcome to the vista forums,

Before you do anything else you may want to try this

You can get to a command prompt from the vista disk assuming a retail copy not sure if icacls is available though

Vista’s System Recovery Console - BestTechie Forums

Startup Repair

if that is unsuccessful a repair install may be needed.

Repair Install For Vista

be sure to read the tutorials before you start as there are several options available.

if you have any questions please post back before you start and I'm sure someone will be able to help

If you want to open command prompt without booting into windows vista then you can use the option of command prompt in system recovery options by booting through windows vista dvd.

weew, thanks a lot...somehow i got to the command prompt..and i tried the icacls option to restore permissions..it worked!

Hi huki,

glad to hear you got it sorted

can you edit your first post to add solved to the start of the title as this will help others with similar problems

thanks