Command prompt access denied

Question

I'm having a problem running commands in cmd.exe on Windows 7 Professional x64.

Even when I select Run as Administrator when launching cmd.exe, many commands such as chkdsk, ping, tracert, net user, etc. are just responding with Access is Denied.

I found out through the task manager that the privileges were changed. I modified those back to allow. But I'm still getting that access is denied message.

I'm stumped here.

Answer 1

Hello arcademan10,

Thank you for posting with the Microsoft Answers Forum.

Have you tried to disable User Account Control temporarily and see if you can then access the utilities?

You don’t have to completely disable UAC if you don’t want to.

Just type UAC into the start menu or Control Panel search box.

You can simply drag the slider up or down, depending on how often you want to be alerted.

If you drag it all the way down to the bottom, you’ll have disabled it entirely.

Check and see if you can access your program utilities.

Please reply back and let us know the results.

Sincerely,

---

Marilyn

Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

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Answer 2

Hi arcademan10,

 Welcome to Microsoft Answers community Forum!

  I would suggest you to run the command in Safe Mode.

1.           Remove all floppy disks, CDs, and DVDs from your computer, and then restart your     computer.

            Click the Start button, click the arrow next to the Lock button, and then click Restart.

2.      Do one of the following:

            ·         If your computer has a single operating system installed, press and hold the F8 key as your computer restarts. You 

                           need to press F8 before the Windows logo appears. If the Windows logo appears, you will need to try again by 

                           waiting until the Windows logon prompt appears, and then shutting down and restarting your computer.

·          If your computer has more than one operating system, use the arrow keys to highlight the operating system you 

                            want to start in safe mode, and then press F8.

       3.      On the Advanced Boot Options screen, use the arrow keys to highlight the safe mode option you want, and then press 

                ENTER.

       4.      Log on to your computer with a user account that has administrator rights.

When your computer is in safe mode, you'll see the words Safe Modein the corners of the 

display. To exit safe mode, restart your computer and let Windows start normally.

For further information, visit the below mentioned link:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Start-your-computer-in-safe-mode

If this does not help, you can try doing System File Checker.

 1.      Open an elevated command prompt. To do this, click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, 

       and then click Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the

       password, or click Allow.

 2.      Type the following command, and then press ENTER:

sfc /scannow

  The sfc /scannow command scans all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct Microsoft versions.

For further information, visit the below mentioned link:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833

 Hope this information helped!

Thanks and regards

Fouzan – Microsoft support

Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum 

http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en- US/answersfeedback/threads/ and let 

us know what you think.

Answer 3

I did the sfc /scannow in safe mode and it worked perfectly, but it didn't find any bad system files.

Answer 4

The command prompt still says Access is denied. I need help with this!

Answer 5

As soon as I pinned my command prompt to my Start Menu (I have Vista), I was able to get it to work.  Until then it wouldn't.  I had to go through every step listed here.  When I just used the cmd prompt it told me "Access Is Denied".  Even though I already had it in Administrator setting.  I tried to do the sfc/scannow with the cmd prompt and it wouldn't let me.  I stepped back, pinned it to the start menu, and it worked right away.  Go figure.