What’s wrong with this? Every OS has permissions that stop users from messing with system files.
this is not the system folder, different drive, old windows install and no not every os has this. luckly…
If you try to access an old Linux install you could run into the exact same problem. Both Linux and Windows nowadays use filesystems with permissions embedded into them, so if the user on the new install doesn’t match the old one you’ll have a problem.
but i just tried i can delete system folders from a different linux drive with no problems
Certainly not without using sudo right? It’s the same in the windows land, the UAC dialog is windows’ equivalent of sudo.
correct, but why wasnt i given a UAC prompt here? it just says Try again and Cancel
Probably due to some sort of idiot-proof protection to prevent people from deleting their windows folder from explorer. Try running a CMD shell as administrator and delete it from the command line instead.
chmod -R 777 ./, baby!!!
Well then change the owner and toss the old folders. Or just format it?
i just deleted what i needed with another os, i didnt want to format it i needed some space and wanted to keep some folders
Why wouldn’t you just format the drive if it had an old windows install?
wanted to keep some folders
Back up the folders and format the disk. If you’re deleting system files and folders, you’re clearly not running the OS from this other disk. Why waste the space on unneeded system files?
This seems to be an external drive, not the boot drive.
laughs in Linux…
laughs because it has the same level of protection as other OSs and thus is quite secure in that regard, right?
Laughs in Linux because if I really want to mess things up it wont stop me unless I am not root. Administrator on Winshit means nothing at all, no control over your system.
You do realize that in this very post they explain that if you mount an old linux drive with another user, you can’t delete stuff either until you remove the flags or change the owner of the old drives’ files?
You can do the same in windows, too.
They are not trying to access their own Windows folder, but that of an old drive.
Maybe you didnt see I responded to a comment that says that every OS has such dumb mechanisms as mentioned in the post which is def not true. I use Arch btw.
You mention Linux in your comments, but this same thing happens in Linux too! It’s the third time I’m writing this in this comment chain, I’m gonna assume you are a troll since you can’t be this dense. The top comment of this post explains why this also happens in Linux, I mentioned it first and then have you an example. If you can’t ocess that information it’s not my problem. Have a nice day.
Of the many grievous faults of Windows to pick on, file system permissions like this are not one.
As admin you have permission to change ownership and override permissions. And a relic copy of the OS folder is going to have some of the most restrictive permissions possible.
I would expect similar behaviour on any modern OS.
OP is probably young and doesn’t remember the pre-Vista days, when viruses ran rampant because the concept of admin rights didn’t exist yet.
Oh, it existed. It was just much more difficult to use and required an understanding of what you’re doing to set it up first.
The UAC version from Vista+ is implemented by default and far easier to run/manage for the typical end user. Most users find it hella annoying, but it’s easier than the alternative, since they’ve never used the alternative, they don’t know that.
Basically, you’d have to create an admin account, and a user account, then intentionally not use the admin account except for admin things… I did this, and it kept me out of trouble in a couple of close calls. Windows power users trend up like to endorse or brag(?) About how often they reinstall, and bluntly, I almost never reinstall my PC. I just don’t bog it down with garbage constantly. :)
Actually ACL on Windows is very bad. Recursively changing owner of directory can take minutes, same operation on any UNIX-like OS takes seconds.
I hate windows too but this is something normal that also happens on Linux. Take a drive from another system and you won’t be able to edit its protected files without root access.
but i am administrator on this computer
How is Windows in the 2nd drive supposed to know that?
the drive shouldnt have a say in the first place…
The drive doesn’t have a say. The permissions surrounding the TrustedInstaller account have a say. The account existed on your first Windows install and also on your new one hence the permissions and associated restrictions persevere. This is expected behavior.
its very annoying and wastes time
And prevents people from doing stupid things, as well as prevents malware running under administrator permissions from doing malware things (see also; people doing stupid things).
¯(ツ)/¯
Insecurity is annoying too 🤷♂️
Then why does it matter that your an admin if the drive should have no say?
because a non administrator shouldnt be able to mount drives and other admin operations. an admin should be able to do anything on that machine
You can do anything, you just need to own the files first.
ACL’s are an integral part of most filesystems.
So yes the drive absolutely has a say in this (technically the NTFS filesystem) in combination with the OS’s filesystem driver.
The Windows folder is set to be owned by the TrustedInstaller SID (S-1-5-80-956008885-3418522649-1831038044-1853292631-2271478464) which is a “well known” Security Identifier.
This identifier is the same accross Windows systems in a similar way root is UID 0 on Linux.
Therefore the access rights for TrustedInstaller persists across Windows installs, and also other rights that are defined on the filesystem object.Linux uses mainly POSIX ACL which is “fairy simple”, while NTFS ACL can be very complex.
Should also note that the the UNIX and UNIX-like world there is also NFSv4 ACL which is comparable to NTFS ACL.But the basic idea persists across almost all filesytem ACL.
The user that is running the command must have the right user ID (that is UID/GID in Linux and SID in Windows) that has the correct access rights to do the action you want.With Windows administrator rights you can indeed delete everything if you really want.
But then you have to give your administrator account the right access tokens or you need to impersonate the account in question (both of which are possible if you have an local administrator account, but does require the techincal know-how).In Windows a lot of these things are in place both to prevent users from shooting themselves in the foot, but also to provide defence-in-depth against malware.
That’s really bad logic and you’re missing the point here. trusted installer is the owner of the folder. The fact that it’s an old windows drive or that your an admin makes absolutely no difference. It’s a file system ACL, those ACLs don’t just magically disappear from the drive when it’s no longer the system drive.
Take ownership of the folder, add your account or the everyone security identifier with full access permissions and then delete it.
I’m sorry to say this but the fact that you’re complaining about this is more a reflection on your lack of understanding of how file system ACLs work, in any OS, than anything else.
The braincells were not there to begin with, you didn’t lose them. <= that’s a joke, I’m not trying to be mean.
This is perfectly normal, what you’re looking for is a more insecure OS maybe?
Windows, the first thing that comes to mind when someone talks about security. lol
How is it insecure that your os does what you want ? XD
Because what people want is often very, very stupid. And also because the difference between “you” and a malicious app acting like you is non-existent. If you can easily change vital files, so can any drive-by app you accidentally run.
What’s funny is that this is exactly what I feel like any time I have to use Linux.
but linux does exactly what you want , ive never been pulled a number like this.
Lol. That’s such a silly biased thing to say.
how? it’s to delete a file in other driver, it don’t get in your way
File system ACLs.
but its true? theres lots that you cant say against linux but you cant say it doesnt do exactly what you want.
Nearly 30 years of LINUX experience. I can definitely say on a regular basis that LINUX doesn’t do exactly what I want.
not my experience ¯_(ツ)_/¯
you cant say it doesnt do exactly what you want.
As someone (a different guy than whom you’re replying to) who has primarily used Linux-based systems in personal settings for about 15 years or so, I can and will say that.
For the most part, Linux-based systems tend to do exactly what you tell them to do. Whether or not this is exactly what you want, however, is a slightly different point.
not my experience ¯(ツ)/¯
I want it to play rocket league. Without using wine or proton.
There are some things that Linux won’t allow you to do natively. I understand it’s better because it’s open, but come on.
Linux does exactly what you tell it to, not exactly what you want. There’s a big difference.
Not really.
If you know exactly what you want and how to do it.
I spent countless hours trying to make my display driver working in Linux years ago. I knew what I wanted, but it was impossible. For me at least. I know many who has similar experiences.
where are talking about files, not drivers from others companies that depend on their support
No op just said Linux does exactly what you want. My point is that it sometimes is very hard to know how to do what you want. I am not saying Windows is any better in this regard though.
I don’t use Linux but I assume you’re the kind of person typing sudo before every command ^^
I’m in this comment and I’m conflicted on how to feel about it.
im a system administrator by trade so i actually DON’T do that XD
So you’re just using the root account 24/7?
no of course not, i use sudo when strictly needed
Oh, okay then. Your previous comment could be taken both ways: “I’m a system administrator (i.e. root)” and “I’m a system administrator (i.e. someone knowing their shit)”
Linux does exactly what you tell it to. If all your experience is with systems designed by engineers trying to guess what you really want, that can be confusing and intimidating.
Oh noes … folder permissions?
It’s still a protected folder even if it’s not the active OS and that’s a good thing…? It will permanently break the install, how is Windows supposed to know you’re never going to use it again? It doesn’t see you as the owner and prevents you from messing it up.
But if you’re sure you want it gone, you need to Take Ownership
Another “Excuse me Sir, do you have a moment to talk about Linux ?”
“Does anyone know how to fix X issue in Windows”
“Easy, INSTALL LINUX LOLAOALALOLOLOL”
cmon man its kinda funny
I dont even know anymore. These “Windows bad” posts get so stupid by now I can only assume it is satite at this point. Im just waiting for “Task Bar is 20px high instead of 21, literally unusable”
Yeah, like linux doesn’t do this shit all the time. Permission denied always. I’M YOUR FUCKING GOD, DON’T EVER DARE TO GIVE ME PERMISSION DENIED.
Uga uga i dont know anything to do with computers but linux good windows bad give me upvote now uga.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Unfortunately it seems that you cannot be trusted with installation :(
OP is getting murdered in the comments…
People are really harch with their downvotes. It really wasn’t that bad. :)
I’m alive and well,also I don’t see downvotes :)
The one folder where this is really painful is the WindowsApps for Windows store stuff. I had one situation where I reinstalled Windows and I had a couple of hundred gigs of games in a WindowsApps folder. The new install wouldn’t use the folder, so it became wasted space. The new install also wouldn’t let me delete / reclaim the directory no matter how much dicking around with permissions I did. I think I had to kill it from either Linux or a USB Windows installer command prompt.
Yeah, I don’t agree with the post, I think for an OS like Windows, which is used by a lot of non-techy people, things like OP’s post should be the norm, you shouldn’t be able to brick your sistem easily.
But I feel your pain for windows apps, they’re such fucking cancer. I had the same problem when I tried to uninstall Sea of Thieves because the installer / Microsoft Store app was broken.
Slips 2 points? now at -20.
I have decided to close this comment section due to ops toxic behaviour. Honestly, I should of intervened much sooner
