Solved UAC and can't access anything

[TMJJS]

I turned on User Account Control on another computer in my house and now I "don't have permission" to run anything. There is only the Owner account, so I'm guessing that has ADMIN rights. I have searched and even tried to do "regedit", but again get the error I don't have permission.

I know just enough about computers to really make a mess of them, so I need detailed instructions

The system I'm running is a HP Pavillion a6600f using Vista Home Premium 64bit. Intel Pentium Dual 2.2 GHz processor with 3GB of memory

I actually have 3 of these exact same machines set-up on a network in my house to play multi-player games with my boys over the internet.

What happened is on one machine the little sheild down in the bottom right hand tray had the red thing on it. I clicked on it and it brought up the security screen and it looked to me like I should check the box saying turn on UAC. I did and restarted the computer. Now I can't run any .exe programs or much else.

I did try restart the system and pressed F8 and got the screen. I tried using "Last Known Good Configuration", but that didn't work.

I called my computer guy, but he was the one who said the above. He thinks I have a virus that causes .exe programs not to work. He told me to look for a EXE FIX program. However, I just think it has more to do with me changing the UAC setting, but now I don't have permission to change it back.

Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[stoneys-nutz]

Hello TMJJS,
Take a look at this tutorial and see if this helps, the registry part may be of interest to you.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/48893-user-account-control-uac.html


It may be a good idea to scan your PC for malware with this free program.

Malwarebytes.org

Good luck and post your results.

 

[TMJJS]

Hello TMJJS,
Take a look at this tutorial and see if this helps, the registry part may be of interest to you.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/48893-user-account-control-uac.html


It may be a good idea to scan your PC for malware with this free program.

Malwarebytes.org

Good luck and post your results.

Any idea how to download the file to desktop since I can't get on the internet from that computer? I could save it to another computer and get to it, but it won't be on the desktop.

 

[TMJJS]

I tried the registry part, but when I right click and select Merge, I get the error message:
Windows cannot access the specified device, path or file. You may not have the apporiate permissions to access the item.

 

[lemur]

Can you restore your computer to a previous day?
Windows Vista System Restore Guide

 

[stoneys-nutz]

Did you try the download way of doing it or the manual way ?.

 

[TMJJS]

Did you try the download way of doing it or the manual way ?.

I tried the download way since I have already tried the manual way and I get the same error when I type in regedit.

 

[TMJJS]

Can you restore your computer to a previous day?
Windows Vista System Restore Guide

I have tried this as well, but I get the same "no access" error when I click on Restore.

 

[TMJJS]

Hello TMJJS,
Take a look at this tutorial and see if this helps, the registry part may be of interest to you.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/48893-user-account-control-uac.html


It may be a good idea to scan your PC for malware with this free program.

Malwarebytes.org

Good luck and post your results.

Any idea how to download the file to desktop since I can't get on the internet from that computer? I could save it to another computer and get to it, but it won't be on the desktop.

I downloaded to another computer and then copied it over to the desktop. However, I get the "Cannot access" error when trying to merge.

 

[stoneys-nutz]

The easiest way would be to use a USB memory stick, or put it on to a disk.

 

[TMJJS]

The easiest way would be to use a USB memory stick, or put it on to a disk.

Thanks! I was able to copy it over, but again got the "cannot access" error.

 

[stoneys-nutz]

I read something about Windows Defender and UAC, try turning Windows Defender off and having another go.
You will have to re-boot after turning it off.
Dont forget to turn it back on though.

 

[TMJJS]

I read something about Windows Defender and UAC, try turning Windows Defender off and having another go.
You will have to re-boot after turning it off.
Dont forget to turn it back on though.

I found Windows Defender in my list of programs, but can't open it - get the "cannot access" error.

I would really like to "restore" my computer to it's state a couple of days ago. However, since I don't have access to any programs - any ideas how to do this?

I also back-up my data using Norton Ghost 14. I have a restore disk and a back-up image on another drive. However, I can't run the restore program or at least I don't know if I'm doing it correctly since I never did it before.

 

[stoneys-nutz]

Take a look at this tutorial for restoring your system.


http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/194765-system-recovery-options.html

 

[TMJJS]

Take a look at this tutorial for restoring your system.


http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/194765-system-recovery-options.html

Tried this, but when I go to the "repair" option, I get a message saying I need some disk. I don't have any OS disk and it tells me to contact the network admin.

This is so frustrating:sa: However, thanks for all your suggestions!

 

[TMJJS]

Finally might have figured out a solution.

1) Boot up and start in Safe Mode (I did with networking)

2) I could then go into accessories, system tools & do system restore.

Looks to be working now from restoring from a spot yesterday afternoon before I changed the UAC setting.

 

[JMH]

Finally might have figured out a solution.

1) Boot up and start in Safe Mode (I did with networking)

2) I could then go into accessories, system tools & do system restore.

Looks to be working now from restoring from a spot yesterday afternoon before I changed the UAC setting.

Keep us posted.

 

[TMJJS]

Finally might have figured out a solution.

1) Boot up and start in Safe Mode (I did with networking)

2) I could then go into accessories, system tools & do system restore.

Looks to be working now from restoring from a spot yesterday afternoon before I changed the UAC setting.

Keep us posted.

Well it seems to be working ok. Installing a Java update right now.

However, my gold shield in the bottom right tray still has a big red circle with X on it. When I click there is still a message saying I need to turn on UAC in "Other Security Settings". Guess I'll just ignore that for a while

 

[stoneys-nutz]

I'm glad you got it sorted.
Don't you dare touch that UAC button.

 

[TMJJS]

I'm glad you got it sorted.
Don't you dare touch that UAC button.

Thanks! I'll probably have the most unsecure computer now that I won't be changing any security settings