Windows 7: Finally found a permissions fixing tool that actually works.

Permissions Time Machine. AMYD Projects: Permissions Time Machine v1.4 Install, tell your antivirus it is NOT malware and move the executable out of the virus chest (I'm beginning to dislike Avast) then Run as an administrator. Choose the drive you're having file access issues with then click the Default button and wait until you get the Successfully popup. It works! It works where every other action that's supposed to do a mass fix on permissions fails. The only other thing I'd found to work is Windows 7 Tweaker that added a right click option to Take Ownership - but it could only do One. File. At. A. Time. So after several days of fighting with Windows over access to MY files from the previous XP install, it only took a few minutes for Permissions Time Machine to set things right. It also has functions for fixing WMI permissions, Registry permissions and some other things.

This works right clicking a folder. Just don't right click on C: or the Windows folder. Worked fine for me right clicking on Program Files and Program Files (x86)

Take Ownership Shortcut

Edit: Thanks for sharing the utility you found.

I tried that one too. Wouldn't do any more than single files for me.

If you used the first one in the list ... step 2, it has folder settings. I just looked at it and I've used it on folders on several systems. It should open a command prompt and all the files in the folder are processed.

I have no idea why it doesn't work on your system.

What means "fixing" permissions, exactly?

Neither do I. At least I found something that worked.

Thanks for posting it.

In my case some programs like AutoHotkey would write executables compiled to the AutoHotkey folder under Program Files. It seems each release of Windows after XP requires more and more permissions, run as admin etc.. for this to work. You can move the source scripts to another folder. But some user written scripts expect the folder layout to be that made by the installer. It's just annoying to have to mess with it.

I'm not certain I would trust software from a site named crackgrabber on BlogSpot.com

If your AV application flags it, that's another reason to avoid it.

Or at least do a RegShot snapshot and see what it does when installed.

Edit: and maybe in a VM at that.

afa that Take Ownership context menu item in the tutorial, I think I've used it on at least 3 Windows OS flavors. I can't see why it would be broken unless the files got corrupted on the server.