Ok, so I was trying to edit files in the the WindowsApps directory (I made this post ) and I set myself as the owner of all of the folders in this directory. Then, this made Windows Store unlaunchable, so I began fiddling with the permissions, which was a big mistake. If I add a permission rule giving "All application packages" full control of the WindowsApps folder and subfolders, then Windows Store begins functioning again, but this seems like a band-aid fix so I tried to find another solution. I tried resetting Windows twice (once keeping files and once losing files) but this issue still persists.  I am running 64-bit Windows 10 Pro - I am preparing to reinstall Windows with a USB drive created through the  but I am worried this will install a standard version of Windows. Will I be able to keep the Pro version?   Does anyone have any other ideas - maybe ways to reset permissions of an entire folder tree or is there a way to delete the entire WindowsApps directory and have Window update repair it?  At this point, I am considering just using my computer as-is, because I don't really use the Windows store.. please help!
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I had to take ownership of the special folder C:\Program Files\WindowsApps to fix . The issue is now resolved, so I'd like to reset the permissions to the way they were before I took ownership of the folder.  I reverted NT SERVICE\TrustedInstaller to the owner and removed my account's permission entries:     But I still have full control of the folder and can browse the folder in Explorer without getting the usual warning that I would have to take ownership:     Is it possible to restore the default permissions of this folder?
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I was wondering if it was possible to reset all the folders' rights. I was having trouble when trying to install LAMP on my Ubuntu 11.04 installation, and I modified many permissions like /var /etc and I want to cancel everything I did and have permissions set to how they would be after a new install.
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Ok I just royally screwed up my /var folder's permissions.  I thought I was inside /var/www and did a chmod xxx ./* on the parent folder /var instead.  Now all the permissions inside /var are messed up. What can I do to correct it?
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How can I find all files I can not write to?  Would be good if it takes standard permissions and acls into account.  Is there an "easy" way or do I have to parse the permissions myself?
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I have moved contents of another drive into my home directory, but the permissions are not what they should be. First, I changed ownership by entering:    ~$ sudo chown -R USERME /home/USERHOME/   Which I think works now.  But now, I wanted to simply change all of the files and sub-directories into the default permissions, with files being read+write, and directories being r+w+x. I have not found a recursive way of handling this. I have run:    ~$ sudo chmod 755 -R /home/USERHOME/   To make everything available to me. However, files appear as executables, and this is not what I want. There are plenty more sub-directories and files so I am looking for a simple recursive solution.  Basically, I think I am looking for a recursive way to reapply the default umask parameter to a whole folder with (I think) chmod.    Update:  I have posted a solution thanks to @SkyDan and
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Since the fall update last month, Windows 10 automatically keeps changing the default apps for certain types (mostly browser,pdf,mp3,jpg). I have tried changing them back from the Settings app as well as the Control Panel.  I have observed that this happens mostly while unzipping files using WinZip. Windows changes the default programs back to Microsoft recommended programs such as Edge, Photos, Groove etc.  Is there a way to restrict this from happening? Has anybody else encountered a similar situation? I couldn't find similar question anywhere so I'm asking this here.
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I need to free space on Windows XP SP3.  Q1) What system folders can be safely delete in case I don't need to have restore points etc?  Q2) Can I delete content from C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download
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I am trying to fix start menu damage after windows 10 install.  Currently, I removed all files from known locations of start menu files, but still have some entries in Start Menu.  Here is the proof folders are empty:    And here is the proof that I still have some entries in Main Menu:    What are all locations of Start Menu folders in Windows 10?
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I updated my laptop's OS from Windows XP to Windows 7. There are some leftover files from Windows XP on the computer now. If I try deleting them I get the following error:     You need permission to perform this action.      You require permission from S-1-.... to make changes to this folder.   What's weird is that I am logged in with the only user account on this machine and I have administrator privileges. I tried turning UAC off, but I still can't delete the files.  How can I force removal of these files?
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Lately, I've been quite annoyed at the fact that I can't edit files in C:\Program Files\WindowsApps folder. I've used the takedown command, in elevated CMD, and changed permissions, to allow admins to have full control (I am an admin), and changed owner to Administrators. I can delete files/folders, yet, whenever I try to edit files, or add files, I get the error message "Access is denied." How do I enable creating files and editing files in WindowsApps?
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I need to amend the default user account during deployment of Windows 7. Having read the following MS article:  I have a few questions.  The article suggests that the amendments must be made under the built in local administrator account. Does this have to be the built in Admin account? or can the changes be made under the context of another local account within the local administrators group. The customer does not wish to enable the the built in admin account.  Is the profile copied from the account that is currently logged in when the specialise path is initiated?   The article also says to remove all existing local accounts. I assume this is because the amendments to the default profile will not apply to these accounts. Basically, the image has some existing local profiles that must remain. The default settings do not need to be applied to these accounts.   I would test this out but I currently do not have access to my test environment unfortunately.   Any guidance is greatly appreciated.   Thanks in advance.
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I opened up my flash drive this morning and all of my folders and files are normal, except for one folder and all its included files, which is the most important folder. The subfolders and files are renamed with bizarre characters and when I click to open them, a pop-up appears saying it's not accessible and the filename or directory name is incorrect. I don't want to reformat the flash drive because I'd lose all those files. Is there a way for me to restore it or something?  I would attach a screen shot, but apparently new users do not have that privilege. If you have a vague idea of what I'm talking about, let me know and I can email you screenshots so you can have a better understanding. Any help is greatly appreciated!
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So, I have Windows 7 pro, and I'm looking to upgrade so that I can use some of the apps that are only available in Windows 8+. I considered just taking advantage of the free Windows 10 upgrade, and actually installed it at one point, but then I found out that there's forced automatic updates and decided that wasn't for me(I'm a bit paranoid after Android 4.4.4 killed Flash Player without telling me. :P). So, I did some research.   From what I read, the Windows 10 upgrade "consumes" your Windows 7 license into a Windows 10 license, and so even if you revert back after upgrading then you can still change your mind later and jump back to Windows 10. () I also read that Windows 10 has "downgrade" rights to Windows 8 and Windows 7, which to my understanding meant that if you have a Windows 10 key, you can also use it to install Windows 8 or 7 if you want. ()  My plan for the process is re-upgrade to 10, pull the license key, downgrade to 8 and use the license key, then upgrade to 8.1 via Windows Store, and end up on 8.1. So my questions are: Is this possible?  Will it wipe all my data in the process?(not a dealbreaker if it does, but I'd need to know that so I can back it up) Do I need to re-upgrade to 10 in order to downgrade to 8?  Any input is definitely appreciated. Thanks!
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Sometimes when I'm working in Windows I'll get this prompt when I try to delete a directory:    Folder In Use The action can't be completed because the folder is open in another program Close the folder and try again.   However, the folder isn't "in use" at all, and I don't have it open. So how can I delete it short of rebooting?
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I have got this file that I can't delete. It happened after a system crash, so the CHKDSK kicked in upon next reboot. After that, I can't delete the file.  THis is on Windows Home Server, and the file is one of those hidden Thumbs.db, and my WHS reports a "File conflict" on the file, the reason: Access Denied"  What I have tried so far, running as an Administrator: Delete: Access Denied TakeOwn.exe : Access Denied Attrib.exe -s -h : Access Denied cacls.exe : Access Denied   (even whe trying to display the current owner) Rename: File not found (its hidden) Re-boot in to safe mode and tried the above: Access Denied Running the above commands as Local System: Access Denied   Tizer Unlocker: Fail (Doesn't find anything locking the file) File Assasin: Crashes ("FindRemoteFileHandles returned NULL value.")  I have used the CHKDSK /f again, rebooted since some suggestions is that the file has been corrupted, but that didn't change anything. Any suggestions ?  Update: In a total separate scenario, I experienced a similar situation; Access Denied when trying to take ownership of a file. It turned out that the file was owned by TrustedInstaler, which is not possible to override just by being an Administrator. In this case, one can use psexec /ids cmd to elevate yourself to System and then TakeOwn.exe /a
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I've been using Windows 10 for a couple of month now (joined the Insider Preview).  Now my hard drive started ticking so I've bought a new SSD and I want to move the windows installation to the new hard drive, which has been connected to the computer (unpartitioned). I don't mind and I even prefer reinstalling it over again.   Since I have the free version of Windows 10 pro, can I still reinstall it anew? Does the windows 10 installation offer disk management and partition like the older Windows installations used to? How should I reinstall Winodws 10 x64 the easiest but still remain on free mode?
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I'm only granting permission to all to do anything but why does the system crash by giving permissions only? I'm only modifying the permission not changing the files.