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Can't edit permissions or add new users to C Drive. (FIXED, SOLUTION IN OP)

Anonymous
2018-06-16T17:18:17+00:00

I was messing around with the permissions the other day and I unchecked Full Control and Modify on my Administrators and User account. Now I can't add or change permissions since everything is grayed out. I will provide pictures to show.

I didn't touch System or Authenticated User.

The last picture shows what happens when I hit the edit button, everything is grayed out... 

How can I restore these settings and if I can't, will this eventually lead to a bigger problem in the future? So far everything seems to be working fine.

FIXED: Last ditched attempted at fixing this, thanks to Reddit. Saved me a lot of time instead of resetting PC

Step 1: On the drive with the issue (my case it was the C Drive), right click it and select properties. Under the security tab click Advanced, then at the top next to Owner change it to you (name/whatever your account is called), instead of TrustedInstaller. Click Apply then OK.

Step 2: Exit out and fix the Administrator and User permissions by rechecking the boxes that you accidentally unchecked. Hit Apply then OK.

Step 3: Restoring TrustedInstaller as Owner (important step) follow guide: http://www.thewindowsclub.com/restore-trustedinstaller-as-owner-windows

Step 4: After restoring TrustedInstaller, hit Apply then OK. 

Fixed.

Thanks all that helped, and good luck!

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Settings

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-06-16T19:31:00+00:00

    This is how you do it and works for any item.

    How to take ownership of any item:

    Right Click on any Item>>Properties>>Security Tab>>Advanced

    You can see here that TRUSTED INSTALLER is the Owner and all the user names listed below that can run Disk Cleanup.

    Now you take Ownership of the Item:

    Now you select CHANGE next to OWNER.

    Advanced>>Find Now>>Select your user account name in the list>>OK

    Apply>>Verify OK. Now you are the Owner of that file cleanmgr.exe.

    If there is a box next to change Owner to apply to all objects and ….

    Then select this box before applying the new ownership

    Now select Disable Inheritance.>>Remove all inherited permissions from this object. >> APPLY, YES.

    (This removes all the users in the list. Enabling it again will replace them back into the list)

    If it does not remove them, then manually remove each of them.

    Note: depending on the situation, you might not need to disable this. If you still have any problems, then disable it or remove selected users in the list manually.

    Now you "MUST" ADD Your Name to the User List:

    Now select ADD>>Select a Principle>>Advanced>>Find Now>>Select your user account name in the list>>OK>>OK

    Now select the full control permissions box>>OK, APPLY.

    Now you are the owner and the only user on the list with full permissions for Disk Cleanup..

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-06-16T17:50:28+00:00

    I followed your steps but once I was in safe mode and ran the command netplwiz, it showed my account with Administrator already enabled. This doesn't fix my problem of not being able to create new users and change permissions on my C drive since after this it was still grayed out.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-06-16T17:48:41+00:00

    Unfortunately I did not have system restore enabled but I do now. I have no idea why there isn't a reset button for this. So far I haven't run into any problems but I won't know what will happen in the near future. Still I would like to get this fixed by restoring the permissions back to default.

    Thank you for your assistance.

    Edit: Forgot to mention I also don't have a System Image backup.

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-06-16T17:25:54+00:00

    Hi MichaelWan,

    I am Wilfredo an Independent advisor

    For Administrator permissions you have the following 

    1. Press and hold the Shift key (the one with the up arrow) while you restart the computer. The device will restart immediately and a screen with different options will appear.
    2. Go by clicking in this order the different options that appear on the screen until you reach Start Configuration:

    Solve problems

    Advanced Options

    Start configuration

    1. On the next screen, click on Restart. When restarting, the screen with startup options will be displayed. Press the 4 key on the keyboard (Enable safe mode)

    The system will now boot in safe mode. Observe in the login screen how many users appear to be able to start in safe mode. Log in to your account.

    1. Once you have logged in to your user account, press the Windows + R keys. In the Open box type

    netplwiz

    and press Enter. The User Accounts window will be displayed.

    1. Select your user (who currently does not have privileges) and click Properties:
    2. Click on the Group Membership tab and select Administrator. Apply the changes and restart the system

    I hope this can help you

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-06-16T17:29:25+00:00

    Hi Michael. I'm Greg, an installation specialist and 8 year Windows MVP, here to help you.

    Do you have a System Restore point or System Image backup from before you made this change? http://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/computing/how-t...

    This is the most reliable and safest way to restore permissions to default.

    Let me know and we'll go from there.

    I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and let us know how it goes. I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

    ________________________________________________________

    Standard Disclaimer: There are links to non-Microsoft websites. The pages appear to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the sites that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the sites before you decide to download and install it.

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