You need administrator permission etc.

[Tony Vella]

I have just bought my first win7 machine and so far all is OK except for one
annoying feature. When trying to make some changes - the latest is trying
to rename a folder - I get a message saying I need administrator's
permission or whatever to make the change. I am the only one using the
machine and no one else has or will touch it. How can I avoid this annoying
"administrator" warning? This never happened on my Vista or my wife's XP.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bruce Hagen]

I have just bought my first win7 machine and so far all is OK except for
one annoying feature. When trying to make some changes - the latest is
trying to rename a folder - I get a message saying I need administrator's
permission or whatever to make the change. I am the only one using the
machine and no one else has or will touch it. How can I avoid this
annoying "administrator" warning? This never happened on my Vista or my
wife's XP.

Thanks in advance.

I am the administrator and only user of my Win7 machine but had that same
issue. I did this a few times and haven't seen that warning in quite some
time now. I guess it sticks eventually.

How to Take Ownership of a Item in Vista and Windows 7
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/67717-take-ownership-file.html

 

[Char Jackson]

I have just bought my first win7 machine and so far all is OK except for one
annoying feature. When trying to make some changes - the latest is trying
to rename a folder - I get a message saying I need administrator's
permission or whatever to make the change. I am the only one using the
machine and no one else has or will touch it. How can I avoid this annoying
"administrator" warning? This never happened on my Vista or my wife's XP.

Thanks in advance.

If you still have the problem after taking Bruce's advice, tell us the
name (and full path) of the folder you're trying to rename. It could
be that it's a protected folder and can't be renamed.

 

[Art Todesco]

I am the administrator and only user of my Win7 machine but had that
same issue. I did this a few times and haven't seen that warning in
quite some time now. I guess it sticks eventually.

How to Take Ownership of a Item in Vista and Windows 7
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/67717-take-ownership-file.html

Come to think of it, I haven't seen it for a week or two. But, when it
did, it gave the "you need to be the admin" type message, with a box to
go ahead. In my case, if I just click on the go ahead (I think it was
'Try Again') message, it just does it, no questions asked.

 

[mick]

I have just bought my first win7 machine and so far all is OK except for one

annoying feature. When trying to make some changes - the latest is trying to
rename a folder - I get a message saying I need administrator's permission or
whatever to make the change. I am the only one using the machine and no one
else has or will touch it. How can I avoid this annoying "administrator"
warning? This never happened on my Vista or my wife's XP.

Thanks in advance.

Go to Control Panel, User Accounts, click on Change User Account
Settings and then set the slider to what suits you.

 

[Ed Cryer]

Go to Control Panel, User Accounts, click on Change User Account
Settings and then set the slider to what suits you.

I think most of us regulars here have slid that slider right down to
zero. But that isn't advisable for a beginner in Win7. Maybe in a few
months.

Ed

 

[Stan Brown]

I have just bought my first win7 machine and so far all is OK except for one
annoying feature. When trying to make some changes - the latest is trying
to rename a folder - I get a message saying I need administrator's
permission or whatever to make the change. I am the only one using the
machine and no one else has or will touch it. How can I avoid this annoying
"administrator" warning? This never happened on my Vista or my wife's XP.

This is User Account Control (UAC) and I am surprised you didn't see
it in Vista, where it is much more obtrusive.

Renaming an ordinary folder should not trigger UAC; are you trying to
rename a system folder? Or is this a folder that came from another
computer, perhaps a networked computer?

Here's a Wikipedia article (usual caveats) about UAC:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_Account_Control

If you really want to disable it (which I don't recommend), here's
how:

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/disable-user-account-
control-uac-the-easy-way-on-windows-vista/

 

[Stan Brown]

I think most of us regulars here have slid that slider right down to
zero. But that isn't advisable for a beginner in Win7. Maybe in a few
months.

I must be the exception: I have it on the second-from-the-top
position, so that I get the black screen and everything.(*) I don't
find the warnings overly numerous, even though (so far) all of them
warnings have come for actions I actually did initiate.


(*) Well, I *did*, and when I can restore my Windows 7 system I will
again. See my "BOOTMGR not found" message, posted a few minutes ago.

 

[Tony Vella]

This is User Account Control (UAC) and I am surprised you didn't see
it in Vista, where it is much more obtrusive.

Renaming an ordinary folder should not trigger UAC; are you trying to
rename a system folder? Or is this a folder that came from another
computer, perhaps a networked computer?

Here's a Wikipedia article (usual caveats) about UAC:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_Account_Control

If you really want to disable it (which I don't recommend), here's
how:

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/disable-user-account-
control-uac-the-easy-way-on-windows-vista/

Hi Stan.

I created a folder called Russia 1900-1920 in my Stamp Collections main
folder. Then I realized that my 1900-1920 collection is rather advanced and
would be more manageable if split into two seperate folders. I created a a
new 1911-1920 [no problem] and tried to rename my original 1900-1920 to
1900-1910. That's when I got the message. However, when I tried again, it
worked. This is why I say it's more of a nuisance than a problem.

Thanks again.

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

This is User Account Control (UAC) and I am surprised you didn't
see it in Vista, where it is much more obtrusive.

Renaming an ordinary folder should not trigger UAC; are you trying
to rename a system folder? Or is this a folder that came from
another computer, perhaps a networked computer?

Here's a Wikipedia article (usual caveats) about UAC:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_Account_Control

If you really want to disable it (which I don't recommend), here's
how:

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/disable-user-account-
control-uac-the-easy-way-on-windows-vista/


-- Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com Shikata ga nai...

Hi Stan.

I created a folder called Russia 1900-1920 in my Stamp Collections
main folder. Then I realized that my 1900-1920 collection is rather
advanced and would be more manageable if split into two seperate
folders. I created a a new 1911-1920 [no problem] and tried to
rename my original 1900-1920 to 1900-1910. That's when I got the
message. However, when I tried again, it worked. This is why I say
it's more of a nuisance than a problem.

Thanks again.

That will happen if the folder is open when you try to rename it. Make
sure it is closed, the contents not displayed, when you want to rename it.

 

[Brian Gregory [UK]]

I must be the exception: I have it on the second-from-the-top
position, so that I get the black screen and everything.(*) I don't
find the warnings overly numerous, even though (so far) all of them
warnings have come for actions I actually did initiate.

I agree.
Those warnings are there for a reason, namely so that you will know if
malware tries to mess with your system.

 

[Brian Gregory [UK]]

I am the administrator and only user of my Win7 machine but had that same
issue. I did this a few times and haven't seen that warning in quite some
time now. I guess it sticks eventually.

You're probably not messing with stuff that Windows thinks you shouldn't be
messing with anymore.

 

[Ed Cryer]

I agree.
Those warnings are there for a reason, namely so that you will know if
malware tries to mess with your system.

No. They're just stock situations that only help the naive and idiots.
If you want protection against malware get a firewall and some AV, as I do.
Once you've become something more than just a novice in Win7, provided
that you have a brain, you can do better without the UAC.

Ed

 

[Char Jackson]

I agree.
Those warnings are there for a reason, namely so that you will know if
malware tries to mess with your system.

If we're taking a poll, I'm in the group that routinely fully disables
UAC on all of the Win 7 machines in the house, of which there are
three now. IMHO, UAC is sort of like the "Are you sure?" delete
confirmation message you get when you empty the Recycle Bin. I always
disable that, as well.

 

[WaIIy]

Go to Control Panel, User Accounts, click on Change User Account
Settings and then set the slider to what suits you.

After reading some stuff in a software group and what win7 would attempt
to do with my program data, I am very glad I put that slider all the way
down before I installed any x86 programs.

That is just pure software evil.

 

[WaIIy]

I agree.
Those warnings are there for a reason, namely so that you will know if
malware tries to mess with your system.

That's kind of ironic.

If it's not down, WIN7 is the malware.

 

[Nil]

After reading some stuff in a software group and what win7 would
attempt to do with my program data, I am very glad I put that
slider all the way down before I installed any x86 programs.

That is just pure software evil.

I've been using Windows 7 for a couple of years and I don't know what
you're talking about.

What "software evil" are you referring to?

 

[Philip Herlihy]

I agree.
Those warnings are there for a reason, namely so that you will know if
malware tries to mess with your system.

UAC is an article of religious faith among some people (on both sides).
I rate it. I spent ages trying to persuade my customers NOT to run
routinely as an administrator, using this argument:

You don't visit a website. You invite it to visit you, and you don't
always know what's in those bags. If you run a hotel with a card-key
system, you'd give your visitors a key which will get them into their
room, and maybe into the restaurant. You wouldn't give them your own
key, which gives access to the boiler room, everyone else's room, your
room, the office and the safe. That's what you're doing when you run a
browser as an administrator (similar arguments apply for email and IM).

Under Vista and 7, even when your account is at Administrator level,
processes don't run with "elevation" until you've confirmed the UAC
prompt. If you started tinkering, no problem. But if you're simply
surfing or reading email, and you get a UAC prompt, something has
reached out to try a locked door somewhere...

I think UAC is brilliant, and I leave it on. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Char Jackson]

You don't visit a website. You invite it to visit you, and you don't
always know what's in those bags. If you run a hotel with a card-key
system, you'd give your visitors a key which will get them into their
room, and maybe into the restaurant. You wouldn't give them your own
key, which gives access to the boiler room, everyone else's room, your
room, the office and the safe. That's what you're doing when you run a
browser as an administrator (similar arguments apply for email and IM).

Under Vista and 7, even when your account is at Administrator level,
processes don't run with "elevation" until you've confirmed the UAC
prompt. If you started tinkering, no problem. But if you're simply
surfing or reading email, and you get a UAC prompt, something has
reached out to try a locked door somewhere...

I think UAC is brilliant, and I leave it on. Your mileage may vary.

That was a very reasoned response. While I disagree with your
conclusion and have disabled UAC on my own machines, I respect your
opinion and thank you for stating it so clearly.

 

[Ed Cryer]

UAC is an article of religious faith among some people (on both sides).
I rate it. I spent ages trying to persuade my customers NOT to run
routinely as an administrator, using this argument:

You don't visit a website. You invite it to visit you, and you don't
always know what's in those bags. If you run a hotel with a card-key
system, you'd give your visitors a key which will get them into their
room, and maybe into the restaurant. You wouldn't give them your own
key, which gives access to the boiler room, everyone else's room, your
room, the office and the safe. That's what you're doing when you run a
browser as an administrator (similar arguments apply for email and IM).

Under Vista and 7, even when your account is at Administrator level,
processes don't run with "elevation" until you've confirmed the UAC
prompt. If you started tinkering, no problem. But if you're simply
surfing or reading email, and you get a UAC prompt, something has
reached out to try a locked door somewhere...

I think UAC is brilliant, and I leave it on. Your mileage may vary.

That's excellent rhetoric and very good selling technique. I can imagine
the computer-illiterate hanging on every simile and metaphor with the
rapt attention of the semi-hypnotised.
The way UAC works also produces a feeling of confidence. It turns things
black, pops in like a jack-in-the-box and gives you the feeling that
it's there in the background with your best interests in its beating heart.
And then in it comes;
Do you really want to do this?
Yes.
Are you sure?
Sure I'm sure.
Well then Dave, I ask you to think again, bearing in mind that I'm the
biggest and fastest brain ever built.
Ok then, Dave, I respect your superiority in these matters, but I must
be my own man.
Are you sure?
Sure I'm sure.
I'll ask you one last time, are you sure?
Yes I am sure.
Well then, I'll let you do it this time, Dave.

And then a short time later you want to use the same program again;
Do you really want to do this?
Yes.
Are you sure?
Sure I'm sure.
Well then Dave, I ask you to think again, bearing in mind that I'm the
biggest and fastest brain ever built.
Ok then, Dave, I respect your superiority in these matters, but I must
be my own man.
Are you sure?
Sure I'm sure.
I'll ask you one last time, are you sure?
Yes I am sure.
Well then, I'll let you do it this time, Dave.

And then a short time later..................

This sort of stuff can only feel supportive to a mentally deficient
hominid.

Ed