can't modify file due to lack of permissions

hepme · 13 Aug 2020

I am admin on my home PC and since i upgraded to 10 i can't seem to do a lot of things. In some cases i have been able to go into the file's properties and allow myself permission but in others not. Why is this? And how can i just have full control over everything? I can't even stop windows update because i do all the steps necassary but it updates anyways. There got to be a way that a person with their own personal computer can control it !

Anyways, right now my problem is so simple i can't believe it won't even let me do this and i cannot modify permissions as the edit is gryed out. All i wanted to do it take the mail notification sound file and make it louder in my audio editor app so that I can have my PC sound at the level i want it but for that file to be louder. But if i try and edit it it won't ley me, or if i try and copy it then adit the copy and use it to replace the original it still won't. Any idea how i can do this, or even better just get myself full permissions? I don't understand why as the only user of my PC and being admin i can't do so many things. I paid or the thing and i'd like to b able to alter MY pc !

topgundcp · 13 Aug 2020

Not sure if the file you want to modify is a system file. If so, the file might be owned by TrustedInstaller user, so even Administrator can even edit it.

I would suggest that you don't change any permission/ownership on any system file, doing so may break Windows

You can try using: PowerRun v1.4 (Run with highest privileges)

Drag and drop the command you want to use in the Power Run windows then run from there so it'll make you run it as TrustedInstaller.

dalchina · 13 Aug 2020

I can't even stop windows update because i do all the steps necassary but it updates anyways.

There are tutorials on that- see the Tutorials section- and free 3rd party tools that do that too.

And if you were to search the forum you migh find some of the many times these have been mentioned.

In a normally functioning PC permissions are there to provide a degree of protection from mistakes- and even privacy where there is more than one user.

If you were to either
- boot to a command prompt
- boot your PC from a live boot disk
no permissions would apply - which is fine if you need to do something very occasionally and exceptionally.

As an immediate (temporary) fix you might try adjusting the volume of system sounds:

can't modify file due to lack of permissions-1.png

Assuming the sound you wish to modify is the mail notification sound here - then this is how:

However you might mean a different one- if so, which?

hepme · 13 Aug 2020

Thanks. Yeah, i know all the windows sound settings but the problem is i want the sys sounds to all sounds at the level they are with only the main notification wav to be louder. If i just raise the overall level to where the mail is loud enough then the rest of the system sounds will be too loud. I'll check out the app and tuts above, thanks.

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topgundcp said:

Drag and drop the command you want to use in the Power Run windows then run from there so it'll make you run it as TrustedInstaller.

Not sure what that means? I'm not a real techie type so not sure what i'm supposed to drag and drop. So far i dropped the wav file in it but i can't figure out what to do even with the tut on the app's homepage.

topgundcp · 13 Aug 2020

What wav file do you want to modify ? Assuming you want to change tada.wav, so run the program that allow you to amplify the sound, say you want to use the program "Audacity" then drag and drop "Audacity" in power run windows, run it then amplify tada.wav then save it.

if tada.wav is owned by TrustedInstaller then run a program as TrustedInstaller will allow you to modify it without changing ownership/permission.

dalchina · 13 Aug 2020

the problem is i want the sys sounds to all sounds at the level they are with only the main notification wav to be louder

Hi, I have shown you how to change the specific file you want- did you consider the second part of my post?

mngerhold · 13 Aug 2020

If you didn't quite follow what Dalchina was suggesting:
1. Go to Control Panel>Sound>Sounds tab, and identify the wav file you want to change.
2. Copy that file from C:\Windows\media to a folder you own
3. Edit the file to amplify it (I just used Audacity)
4. Tell CP>Sounds to use the new file:

can't modify file due to lack of permissions-sounds-edit.png

Here I have selected my modified file 'Alarm0mng_amp.wav' to change the default beep (I may leave it there).

Does that help? No need to change ownership of original sound! Martin

hepme · 13 Aug 2020

dalchina said:

Hi, I have shown you how to change the specific file you want- did you consider the second part of my post?

If u mean using the CMD, don't know how to use the command prompt unless i have fully detailed directions. If you mean using the system sounds window i am familiar with that but i see no way to do what i need to with that. I HAVE made a louder copy of the file which by the way is the "windows notify.wav, but i am not allowed to replace the one in the media folder with it OR modify the one in the folder.

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mngerhold said:

If you didn't quite follow what Dalchina was suggesting:
1. Go to Control Panel>Sound>Sounds tab, and identify the wav file you want to change.
2. Copy that file from C:\Windows\media to a folder you own
3. Edit the file to amplify it (I just used Audacity)
4. Tell CP>Sounds to use the new file:

Here I have selected my modified file 'Alarm0mng_amp.wav' to change the default beep (I may leave it there).

Does that help? No need to change ownership of original sound! Martin

Ahh, i see. But then i cannot have that file in the media folder right? So i have to keep it somewhere else and pint to it? Thats not ideal but it'll work, thanks.

mngerhold · 13 Aug 2020

hepme said:

Ahh, i see. But then i cannot have that file in the media folder right? So i have to keep it somewhere else and pint to it? Thats not ideal but it'll work, thanks.

Seems ideal to me! Otherwise you may/will lose your modified file if Windows does a big update or has to be restored from an image, etc. You will have to change the sound location if either latter occurs, but that's quick enough.

hepme · 13 Aug 2020

Strange, tried to do it but now when i go there it no longer shows the notify sound in use whether i pick windows default scheme or modified. There is no function i try that uses the same sound. There was when i first looked in there.

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Oh geez....i just remembered the client i use, thunderbird, allows u to select a file for mail notification ! So i just selected the modified copy from the client's options !