REEEAAAALLLLLY tired of "Access is denied"!!!!

[Dan]

I ran Vista beta when it came out, and Win7 is reminding me of why I
hated it so much. Why in the bloody hell can I not access the start
menu, documents and settings, application data, etc in WE????? Is there
a way to get this infuriating nonsense to stop, and get the OS to stop
treating me like it's my MOMMY???

ARRRRRGHHH!!! Drives me NUTS!

TIA

Dan

 

[Char Jackson]

I ran Vista beta when it came out, and Win7 is reminding me of why I
hated it so much. Why in the bloody hell can I not access the start
menu, documents and settings, application data, etc in WE????? Is there
a way to get this infuriating nonsense to stop, and get the OS to stop
treating me like it's my MOMMY???

ARRRRRGHHH!!! Drives me NUTS!

I can't duplicate that here. I've been using Windows 7 for about 6-8
months and haven't had an Access Denied message yet. What do I need to
do?

 

[Dan]

I can't duplicate that here. I've been using Windows 7 for about 6-8
months and haven't had an Access Denied message yet. What do I need to
do?

So if you go into WE & click Documents and Settings, users/default user,
etc., it lets you see the contents? I even tried accessing them by
booting into XP on another HDD, viewing the Win 7 hdd in WE in XP, &
STILL couldn't get into them.

 

[Char Jackson]

So if you go into WE & click Documents and Settings, users/default user,
etc., it lets you see the contents? I even tried accessing them by
booting into XP on another HDD, viewing the Win 7 hdd in WE in XP, &
STILL couldn't get into them.

Documents and Settings doesn't seem to exist except as a junction
point for backward compatibility, but C:\Users\Default User is
accessible.

 

[Dan]

Documents and Settings doesn't seem to exist except as a junction
point for backward compatibility, but C:\Users\Default User is
accessible.

Not sure what you mean by a junction box for backward compatibility, I
was looking for my TBird profile, which had always been in docs &
settings, but apparently in 7 is stored in "Users", but I am not able to
access "default user". I just don't appreciate being blocked from so
many areas on my own machine with no option.

 

[DGDevin]

"Char Jackson" wrote in message

I can't duplicate that here. I've been using Windows 7 for about 6-8
months and haven't had an Access Denied message yet. What do I need to
do?

Install Epson Print CD software and then try to save files to the Epson
Print CD directory where the software happily kept its data files when it
was installed under XP. At least that's where I've encountered problems so
far.

 

[Char Jackson]

Not sure what you mean by a junction box for backward compatibility, I
was looking for my TBird profile, which had always been in docs &
settings, but apparently in 7 is stored in "Users", but I am not able to
access "default user". I just don't appreciate being blocked from so
many areas on my own machine with no option.

I hear what you're saying, but I'm just saying I haven't found an area
so far that's off limits to me. Regarding T'bird, I don't have that
installed, but I do use it's cousin, Firefox, and Firefox stores it's
user profiles under my own user account, not under the default user.
Are you poking around in the right place?

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Dan.

WINDOWS 7 IS NOT WINDOWS XP!!!!

(I think 4 is the right number of !!s. <g> )

Once you get over the WinXP mindset and accept that Win7 is "NOT your
father's WinXP", the rest of your Win7 orientation will go much more
smoothly. ;^}

As Char said, Documents and Settings does not exist in Win7 except as a
"Junction Point". Many apps written for WinXP (and Win2K) were hard-coded
to look for a folder by that name. Since Win7's structure moved the former
contents of that folder to each C:\Users folder tree, those older hard-coded
apps needed a "detour" signpost to the new location. So the Win7 developers
created the "Documents and Settings" junction point, which does nothing but
point to the new location. There is no actual folder there, so it can't
have contents.

The main mistake the developers made, I suppose, is using the "Access is
denied" error message. They should have created a new message directing the
user to the new C:\Users\{username}\My Documents folder. And they
compounded that mistake by showing TWO apparent "My Documents" folders under
C:\Users\{username}! Yes, there are different icons in front of the two
foldernames in Windows Explorer, but the difference is so subtle that most
of us (including me) don't notice them until someone points them out and
explains. (See the attached Snip; I can't show the icons here in plain-text
mode.) Note that the highlighted "My Documents" entry shows the usual
yellow folder icon. The other "My Documents" is just a small arrow in a
box; this is the symbol indicating that this is a Junction Point, not an
actual folder. When you click the one with the arrow icon, you get the
Access is denied message. Click the other one to see the contents of the
"My Documents" folder for YOUR User account.

Now you can explore other junction points to see Win7's new organization
structure. But be aware that they don't all follow the same pattern; your
"Recent" folder has the "junction point" arrow icon, but it's a real folder
with contents. And "Application Data" has mutated to a separate "AppData"
folder for each user.

Win7 is MUCH less frustrating once we've broken out of the WinXP mindset.
;^}

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-2010)
Windows Live Mail 2011 (Build 15.4.3508.1109) in Win7 Ultimate x64 SP1


"Dan" wrote in message

I ran Vista beta when it came out, and Win7 is reminding me of why I
hated it so much. Why in the bloody hell can I not access the start
menu, documents and settings, application data, etc in WE????? Is there
a way to get this infuriating nonsense to stop, and get the OS to stop
treating me like it's my MOMMY???

ARRRRRGHHH!!! Drives me NUTS!

TIA

Dan

 

[BillW50]

WINDOWS 7 IS NOT WINDOWS XP!!!!

No it isn't!

Win7 is MUCH less frustrating once we've broken out of the WinXP
mindset. ;^}

I used it on three computers for a year. I promised myself I would give
it that long to get used to it. And after the year I still wasn't
impressed. I personally found it insulting to have Windows 7 to hold my
hand all of the time. As all I wanted it to do is to butt out and to
shut up! But Windows 7 can't do that, now can it? Although I fully
understand why 80% of computer users like it and 20% doesn't. As I fall
into the 20% camp.

 

[Nil]

As all I wanted it to do is to butt out and to shut up! But
Windows 7 can't do that, now can it?

Yes, it can.

 

[BillW50]

Yes, it can.

Really? I just moved Thunderbird Portable to the Program Files folder
and it marked it all as read only. Changed it and Windows 7 changed it
back to read only again. So how do you tell Windows 7 to knock it off
and stay out of the way?

 

[Char Jackson]

I used it on three computers for a year. I promised myself I would give
it that long to get used to it. And after the year I still wasn't
impressed. I personally found it insulting to have Windows 7 to hold my
hand all of the time. As all I wanted it to do is to butt out and to
shut up! But Windows 7 can't do that, now can it?

Actually, it can.

 

[Seth]

Really? I just moved Thunderbird Portable to the Program Files folder and
it marked it all as read only. Changed it and Windows 7 changed it back to
read only again. So how do you tell Windows 7 to knock it off and stay out
of the way?

By not putting a portable program in \Program Files is one way to get
Windows to knock it off. The app isn't designed to run that way. \Program
Files is correctly considered a "protected" area. The portable version of
any app is designed to run from portable media or the user space. It is
designed to update files and save settings into it's folder. That shouldn't
be happening under \Program Files.

If you insist on running that way, then turn off the Windows security by
turning off UAC. Now Windows won't care what you do as you have now told it
to leave you alone. You have also told it to ignore legitimate concerns as
well.

 

[BillW50]

In

Actually, it can.

Actually it can't. It is designed to help those that doesn't know what
they are doing. It doesn't do anything for those who does knows what
they are doing and does nothing for them but gets in their way.

 

[Char Jackson]

In

Actually it can't. It is designed to help those that doesn't know what
they are doing. It doesn't do anything for those who does knows what
they are doing and does nothing for them but gets in their way.

Not true, but rather than repeating what Seth wrote, I'll refer you to
his excellent post in this thread.

Once you learn how Windows 7 operates and how it's different from
previous Windows versions, you'll probably get along with it quite
well.

 

[BillW50]

In

By not putting a portable program in \Program Files is one way to get
Windows to knock it off. The app isn't designed to run that way.
\Program Files is correctly considered a "protected" area. The
portable version of any app is designed to run from portable media or
the user space. It is designed to update files and save settings
into it's folder. That shouldn't be happening under \Program Files.

Bull crap! It has been this way since Windows 3.1 at least. Antivirus
checkers update themselves here. Microsoft updates their applications
here. Applications doesn't always use the Windows registry and uses
their own INI files instead. And they also use configuration files that
change all of the time here.

Microsoft assumes every Windows 7 user is a moron. I find this
completely offensive. Yes, I am sure some computer users love to have
their hand held all of the time. All Windows 7 is to me is MS Bob (aka
Boob) v2.

If you insist on running that way, then turn off the Windows security
by turning off UAC. Now Windows won't care what you do as you have
now told it to leave you alone. You have also told it to ignore
legitimate concerns as well.

Microsoft missed the boat here. UAC isn't all bad. But Microsoft is too
stupid to get it. As they only allow it to be on or off. But the smart
thing would be to allow the user to select which applications are okay
and which ones isn't. But Microsoft doesn't work that way.

I have no prove or anything. But Microsoft was doing things one way
until before Vista came out. Microsoft has been around since 1975. And I
bet most of them are retired by now. And now we have a new group of
people who doesn't know the past. Now they are doomed to repeat all of
the mistakes of the past. That is how I see it anyway and see it in
their new products.

 

[Nil]

Really? I just moved Thunderbird Portable to the Program Files
folder and it marked it all as read only. Changed it and Windows 7
changed it back to read only again. So how do you tell Windows 7
to knock it off and stay out of the way?

Move it out of the Program Files folder.

Leave it in the Program Files folder but take ownership of your
application's sub-folder (not the best solution, but it will work.)

Etc.

 

[Nil]

Actually it can't. It is designed to help those that doesn't know
what they are doing. It doesn't do anything for those who does
knows what they are doing and does nothing for them but gets in
their way.

I know what I'm doing. It doesn't get in my way.

 

[Bob I]

I know what I'm doing. It doesn't get in my way.

I'll second that opinion.

 

[BillW50]

In

Not true, but rather than repeating what Seth wrote, I'll refer you to
his excellent post in this thread.

Using a computer for over 35 years it wasn't really excellent.

Once you learn how Windows 7 operates and how it's different from
previous Windows versions, you'll probably get along with it quite
well.

I used it for over a year and my impression didn't change one bit. My
instant impression was the same as my impression a year later. Windows 7
was designed for the inexperienced. And IMHO that is all it is good for.
As it keeps them from doing stupid things. Otherwise it isn't very good
as an OS. Hell Windows 7 won't even run 5% of the Windows applications
that I want to run. While XP runs 100% of them.