Vista - Read only ???

Why does it always says, that disk is read only when i want to write to C:\
!?!? Same thing happens with p2p programs etc if i dont run them as
administrator, i cant save to c:\...! Where to set that- run this and this
program as admin permanent? And where to set atributes to C:\ to be writeable
and readable ? Cause thats annoying!!!


Thanks!

Hey David. If you're referring to the "Continue" screen I think you're
talking about you should be able to turn off the service in Control Panel >
User Accounts > Turn User Account Control off. After you restart it should no
longer ask.

"David" wrote:

> Why does it always says, that disk is read only when i want to write to C:\
> !?!? Same thing happens with p2p programs etc if i dont run them as
> administrator, i cant save to c:\...! Where to set that- run this and this
> program as admin permanent? And where to set atributes to C:\ to be writeable
> and readable ? Cause thats annoying!!!
>
>
> Thanks!

Hello,

<snip>
> Why does it always says, that disk is read only when i want to write to C:\
> !?!? Same thing happens with p2p programs etc if i dont run them as
> administrator, i cant save to c:\...!

This is the way security in Windows Vista works. Applications that don't
need admin power (such as your p2p program) don't automatically receive it,
and can't do admin-type stuff, like writing to the root of your c:\ drive.

> Where to set that- run this and this
> program as admin permanent?

Right-click the program (the actual program, not its shortcut), click
properties, click the compatability tab, and enable run as administrator.
This will make it always prompt for admin permission whenever it starts.

However, I must object to running a p2p program as admin. What if a hacker
or malware gains control of your p2p program and installs a bunch of trojans
and whatnots on your computer [and yes, this does happen]? Not running it as
admin will prevent most of these types of malwares from working.

The best solution is to keep running your p2p as a non-admin and save the
files inside of your user folder and not the root c:\ drive.

> And where to set atributes to C:\ to be writeable
> and readable ? Cause thats annoying!!!

Why do you want to save all of your downloaded files to the root c:\ drive?
If you make a new folder for your stuff inside the c drive, you should have
no problems saving your files to the new folder.

The best place to put your files is inside of your user profile folder
(c:\users\USERNAME\) - you will not run into any problems by using this
folder.

However, for the sake of completeness, to change security permissions on
your c drive you need to use the security tab of the properties page for the
drive. It is very dangerous to change permissions on a drive, so MS made it a
little harder to do in Vista. You first must take ownership of the drive
through the advanced screen before being able to change permissions.

If you decide to make changes to the permissions on your drive, you need to
use the advanced button to add/edit permissions and DO NOT USE the standard
permission editor on the main security tab. Inside the advanced add
permission screen, make sure you set the scope of the permission changes to
'This folder only' INSTEAD OF the default 'This folder, subfolders, and
files'. This is because you don't want your changes to affect the other
folders and files on your drive, just the folders and files directly inside
the root of your drive.

I will add, however, If your intent is to make all folders and files on your
hard drive read/writable by everybody with no prompts, don't bother messing
with file security - just turn off UAC as the other poster recommened. You
will be sacrificing all the new security in Vista and will inevitably suffer
as a result, but it will make things less annoying in the short term.

>
> Thanks!

You're welcome .

- JB

<snip>
> If you decide to make changes to the permissions on your drive [...]
> Inside the advanced add
> permission screen, make sure you set the scope of the permission changes
> to
> 'This folder only' INSTEAD OF the default 'This folder, subfolders, and
> files'.

I messed up here, and the steps for gaining write-access to a root drive for
non-admins is a bit more complicated than I originally thought . This
should read:

Make sure you set the scope of the permission changes to *'files only'*
INSTEAD OF the default 'This folder, subfolders, and files'. Also, check the
box that says "Apply these permissions to objects and/or containers within
this container only'

Also, you will need to run the following command from a command prompt that
has been elevated (right-click it and click run as administrator).

icacls c:\ /setintegritylevel (OI)(NP)(IO)medium

To set it back to default security, run this command:

icacls c:\ /setintegritylevel (OI)(NP)(IO)high

Again, I should point out that I highly recommend that you do not do this.


--
- JB
Microsoft MVP - Windows Shell/User

Windows Vista Support Faq
http://www.jimmah.com/vista/