Lost access to running some programs and full access to C

Gomex

New Member
Messages
7
Hi all

I was annoyed by how Windows 8 keeps sharing folders on any network I connect to, so I did some digging on Google and found a post on how to disable network sharing. Someone also mentioned how changing Users Permissions / settings would things further, so I went ahead and changed those (I got a whole bunch of prompts to confirm changes and accepted all of them).

Now I can only access some areas of my computer but I can't run a lot of programs and I also can't access my C drive when I go to "My Computer" and try opening it from there.

When trying to access C: I get the following error "C:\ is not accesible. Access is denied"

Also, several programs aren't running anymore and I get a message saying something like "path not found" (see attachments)

When I check my User Account (control panel, user accounts) I see myself as "Administrator" but I cant change any settings there either (for example, when I click on the "change your account type" link, nothing happens (no new window opens and no error message).

I've tried everthing, including installing "takeownership.reg" but I can't even instal that ! (see attachment)

I've also tried restoring the system to a previous restore point but can access any (including when I reboot using the "Shift" key).

Any ideas highly appreciated! Please let me know if you would like more screenshots , additional details, etc

Many thanks
 

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Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8
Hello Gomex, and welcome to Eight Forums.

If you have not already, you might see if you may be able to do a system restore at boot instead of from within Windows 8.

Hope this helps, :)
Shawn
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hi Brink

I've tried that (restart + Shift key) and unfortunately it wont roll back (gives some sort of an error / problem with restore message)

Any other ideas?

Thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8
You could refresh Windows 8 to fix this, but you'll need to reinstall your programs afterwards. :(
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hello again Brink

I read up on refreshing Win 8 and I've a couple of questions, namely:

1) I don't have an installation disc as I have upgraded from Vista (online)
2) I read that in case of online upgrade I need to check if I have a certain folder on my C: drive, which supposedly contains some sort of upgrade information but the problem is... I can't open/access my c drive :/
3) My laptop is old and I can't read the Win serial number on the sticker on the bottom of my machine... does this mean I can't "create" a Windows disc?

Any thoughts ?

Thanks again for all your help :D
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hi Gomex, I'm facing the same issue, but am just holding off from doing a refresh, in case some solution miraculously pops up. Any update from your side so far?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win XP, 7, 8
Hi Clixty

No, I havent gotten around to doing the refresh yet due to all the programs that must be reinstalled, etc.

Will probably do so over next few days when I have some free time and let you know. Ive researched this problem quite a bit and Brink's answer seems to be the best solution I have come across so far :huh:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8
Gomex,

I just tried something, and am quite happy atm, though it's not 100% returning to original, it's good enough!

I'm not sure whether you can see your HD and right click on it... if you can,
Set HD ownership to Administrators, go as far as you can with the "replace owner on subcontainers & objects".

Enable built-in administrator via elevated cmd :
net user administrator /active:yes

log off & log in to built-in admin... and...

programs working! (at least desktop programs... metro apps don't work)

I will try creating a new user and see if things are alright there. If the new user is ok, all is good!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win XP, 7, 8
Thanks for the tip but I get the "Windows can not access ... bla bla bla" error message :/
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8
Hi Clixty

Thanks for the tip, but when I right click on my C drive and try to click on any links (for example "Advanced System Settings" I get the incredibly annoying "Windows can not access C:"error message

Im going to refresh Windows now and post results here.

Thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8
Gomex,

Bummer, guess luck's not on your side...

I am using a new user account now, nothing to reinstall (program or app) which is quite good.

All the best to you!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win XP, 7, 8
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