Windows 10: Denied access / permission as Administrator

WWGD · Nov 2, 2023

Hi,
So, I'm the only user of my PC, I pwn the Admin account, yet I'm being denied permission to run an executable when clicking on an .exe. Im told I need Sudo-level permission( Is that like being a Super user?). It seems like a collection of processes or data objects are considered accounts that I, the admin, have no control over. I mean, what kind of Admin account is this?

Borg · Nov 2, 2023

Right click on the file, select properties and the the Security Tab. You can take ownership or give yourself full access.

Vanadium 50 · Nov 2, 2023

Did you try to "Run As Administrator"?

WWGD · Nov 2, 2023

Borg said:

Right click on the file, select properties and the the Security Tab. You can take ownership or give yourself full access.

Thank you, I tried. I need to get the .exe to run, but it won't when I double click on the program icon *. When I look in ' Properties', I see the file is marked/checked as a read-only. I de-select/uncheck the read-only option , apply, then I'm told I need admin permission . I click 'Ignore', apply. But after that, the file, the .exe won't even open up, and thus won't run.

*Wormhole, to transfer data between PCs.

WWGD · Nov 2, 2023

WWGD said:

Thank you, I tried. I need to get the .exe to run, but it won't when I double click on the program icon *. When I look in ' Properties', I see the file is marked/checked as a read-only. I de-select/uncheck the read-only option , apply, then I'm told I need admin permission . I click 'Ignore', apply. But after that, the file, the .exe won't even open up, and thus won't run.View attachment 334731

*Wormhole, to transfer data between PCs.

Given my hard drive contains 442 gb worth of data, a large-ish USB may be a better idea for transferring files.

berkeman · Nov 2, 2023

What is the source of this exe file?

WWGD · Nov 2, 2023

berkeman said:

What is the source of this exe file?

It's part of Wormhole file transfer. Edit: But I'm surprised that I'm the only user, admin, yet I'm refused access. It seems data objects con be, are made into groups, users, in Windows 10.

Vanadium 50 · Nov 2, 2023

I ask again. Did you try to "Run As Administrator"?

WWGD · Nov 2, 2023

Vanadium 50 said:

I ask again. Did you try to "Run As Administrator"?

Yes, I did, thanks. It didn't help . The .exe doesn't run. I click on the file. Nothing happens. I then r-click, choose " Run as an administrator". I'm asked whether I want the app to make changes to my device. I select yes. Nothing happens. I then r-click again, since l-clicking accomplishes nothing. After r-clicking, the option " Run as Administrator " remains there. So no change was effected in this regard.
It's a worn out PC, on its last legs.
Believe me, I may not be an expert, but I'm aware of, and have tried the basics; I'm no grandpa trying to buy the latest model of the Interweb either.
Issue seems I can't override the fact that file has been selected by default to be a read only, and I can't change nor acquire permission to override that. System hasn't let me thus far.

WWGD · Nov 2, 2023

Upon doing some reading on permission-related issues, it seems my difficulty has to see with heightened security implementation to reduce the odds of being attacked.

Tom.G · Nov 3, 2023

The Microsoft site has an article on that:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/s...create-crossplat-sudo-sshkeys?view=sc-om-2022

(above found with:
https://www.google.com/search?&q=SUDO+PERMISSION+WINDOWS+10+site:microsoft.com)

Cheers,
Tom

Vanadium 50 · Nov 3, 2023

WWGD said:

choose " Run as an administrator". I'm asked whether I want the app to make changes to my device

Then it is running.

It is not doing what you want (perhaps it is a self-ecxtracting file extracting itself) but it is running, so you need to change your focus of attention from "why isn't it running" to "why isn't it doing what I want it to."

berkeman · Nov 3, 2023

Have you tried running it in a DOS Box? At least then you can maybe see if it's flashing some error message or something. Just start a CMD window (as Administrator) in the folder that has the exe and execute it there...

WWGD · Nov 3, 2023

berkeman said:

Have you tried running it in a DOS Box? At least then you can maybe see if it's flashing some error message or something. Just start a CMD window (as Administrator) in the folder that has the exe and execute it there...

Thanks, I'll give it a try. Thing is it's falling appart and I need an OSK ( On-Screen keyboard) just to input instructions.

Borg · Nov 3, 2023

If you're referring to a laptop keyboard failing, you can plug in a regular keyboard and it will use that.

WWGD · Nov 3, 2023

Vanadium 50 said:

Then it is running.

It is not doing what you want (perhaps it is a self-ecxtracting file extracting itself) but it is running, so you need to change your focus of attention from "why isn't it running" to "why isn't it doing what I want it to."

Well, I'm certainly not being granted administrator permission. Despite being the administrator and lone user. Or so I thought; it seems a collection of objects/resources can be made into a user account.

Thing is, the file is designated/checkmarked as a read-only file. This is not changing when I'm ( supposedly) granted the role of administrator. Not sure why that's not happening, nor how to find out.
Edit: If you have ideas of why this isn't happening or how to find put, I'd gladly hear them.

WWGD · Nov 3, 2023

There's a source too, claiming it's possible yo transfer not just data files, but actual programs. I find it doubtful. If it was possible, no one would buy software.

Vanadium 50 · Nov 3, 2023

WWGD said:

Well, I'm certainly not being granted administrator permission.

I don't agree. That's what the "do you want to make changes" mesaage means - it means you are running with elevated permissions. While I certainly believe that it's not working, the symptoms suggest it is not working for some other reason.

WWGD · Nov 3, 2023

Vanadium 50 said:

I don't agree. That's what the "do you want to make changes" mesaage means - it means you are running with elevated permissions. While I certainly believe that it's not working, the symptoms suggest it is not working for some other reason.

Well, after supposedly being granted such, when I go to 'properties ', I'm offered just that same option again. Which would not happen had I been granted it.

Borg · Nov 3, 2023

I did state that you could take 'ownership' of the file. That's different from just having permissions. Sometimes you have to take ownership in order for it to work. However, I would be very cautious about doing it for anything important like OS files.

pbuk · Nov 3, 2023

There is a huge amount of confusion here.

In order to run a file as administrator you right click on it and select "Run as administrator". You will then be asked to confirm this with a dialog asking "Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device" and giving you some information about the file. If you select "No" then the action will be cancelled and nothing will happen, so you need to select "Yes".

Whatever you choose it does not change the read/write status of the file, nor is your choice permanent - if you want to "run as administrator" again then you need to go through this process again.

You do not need, or want, to change it's status to "read/write", making exe files writeable has absolutely no impact on whether they can be executed whether as an ordinary user or with elevated permissions.

WWGD · Nov 3, 2023

Borg said:

I did state that you could take 'ownership' of the file. That's different from just having permissions. Sometimes you have to take ownership in order for it to

pbuk said:

There is a huge amount of confusion here.

In order to run a file as administrator you right click on it and select "Run as administrator". You will then be asked to confirm this with a dialog asking "Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device" and giving you some information about the file. If you select "No" then the action will be cancelled and nothing will happen, so you need to select "Yes".

Whatever you choose it does not change the read/write status of the file, nor is your choice permanent - if you want to "run as administrator" again then you need to go through this process again.

You do not need, or want, to change it's status to "read/write", making exe files writeable is a very bad idea and has absolutely no impact on whether they can be executed whether as an ordinary user or with elevated permissions.

I think you're not understanding the situation. I may have expressed myself poorly. For one " Run as adminstrator" is not implemented by the PC, which is hardly in top shape. After selecting it, it has no effect. Upon looking up' properties 'of the same file again after selecting " Run as Administrator", the file wont run; the option of " Run as Administrator" remains, i.e., it hasn't been implemented, and it still doesn't allow me to override the fact that the file is " read only", so that it can't be executed. Without being able to de select the option " Read only", the file can't be run , which is what I'm aiming for.

I hope I explained myself better this time. I'll work on the rest tonight and this weekend .

Tom.G · Nov 3, 2023

I'm getting more and more uneasy about this dodgy file.

Can you tell us its name, from where you downloaded it, and what it claims to do?

Have you thoroughly researched on-line reports about it?

Be Careful - Be Safe!
Tom

pbuk · Nov 3, 2023

WWGD said:

I think you're not understanding the situation. I may have expressed myself poorly.

There is certainly some misunderstanding.

WWGD said:

For one " Run as adminstrator" is not implemented by the PC, which is hardly in top shape. After selecting it, it has no effect.

The only effect that you would expect to see is the dialog box asking you to confirm if you want to allow the program to make changes to your PC.

WWGD said:

Upon looking up' properties 'of the same file again after selecting " Run as Administrator", the file wont run; the option of " Run as Administrator" remains, i.e., it hasn't been implemented,

Selecting "Run as administrator" does not change any properties.

WWGD said:

and it still doesn't allow me to override the fact that the file is " read only",

You wouldn't expect it to.

WWGD said:

so that it can't be executed.

Being read only doesn't stop a file from being run.

WWGD said:

Without being able to de select the option " Read only", the file can't be run , which is what I'm aiming for.

That is not correct.

pbuk · Nov 3, 2023

Are you trying to install the Wormhole App for transferring files? I'm not sure what the file you are trying to run is, but AFAIK the only way to install ~~Wormhole~~ this app is via the Microsoft Store: https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9NNQV0RM2J9R.

But if this is a dying laptop and you just want to get some files off it then you would be better off just copying them to a USB stick.

Vanadium 50 · Nov 3, 2023

There are at least two different programs named Wormhole.

sysprog1 · Nov 5, 2023

The J5create JUC400 Wormhole USB transfer switch is a device that allows drag & drop file transfer, keyboard and mouse sharing, and clipboard sharing. When you plug it in, it starts a virtual CD drive, from which it installs a temp program called wormhole.exe (and supporting files -- you can see the programs as background tasks in task manager -- the properties dialog shows the location and the program file names; navigating to the directory/location will allow you to see all the files).

When you are exiting the Wormhole Switch app, it asks if you want to uninstall -- if you decline, or just remove the cable, or if the uninstall fails for some other reason, some or all of the temp files will remain installed, and if you try to delete them manually, you will get the access denied messages for some of them due to not having active permissions for them. The wormhole.exe program is not designed to be invoked directly; the product has a launcher program for the purpose

The device can be convenient and useful, but it is not fast enough for bulk data transfer -- better would be, as others have suggested, to back up the HDD to a network or a local external device.

WWGD · Nov 6, 2023

sysprog1 said:

The J5create JUC400 Wormhole USB transfer switch is a device that allows drag & drop file transfer, keyboard and mouse sharing, and clipboard sharing. When you plug it in, it starts a virtual CD drive, from which it installs a temp program called wormhole.exe (and supporting files -- you can see the programs as background tasks in task manager -- the properties dialog shows the location and the program file names; navigating to the directory/location will allow you to see all the files).

When you are exiting the Wormhole Switch app, it asks if you want to uninstall -- if you decline, or just remove the cable, or if the uninstall fails for some other reason, some or all of the temp files will remain installed, and if you try to delete them manually, you will get the access denied messages for some of them due to not having active permissions for them. The wormhole.exe program is not designed to be invoked directly; the product has a launcher program for the purpose

The device can be convenient and useful, but it is not fast enough for bulk data transfer -- better would be, as others have suggested, to back up the HDD to a network or a local external device.

Thank you, this is precisely the program. I doubt the program from the box would contain a malicious file.

WWGD · Nov 6, 2023

pbuk said:

There is a huge amount of confusion here.

In order to run a file as administrator you right click on it and select "Run as administrator". You will then be asked to confirm this with a dialog asking "Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device" and giving you some information about the file. If you select "No" then the action will be cancelled and nothing will happen, so you need to select "Yes".

Whatever you choose it does not change the read/write status of the file, nor is your choice permanent - if you want to "run as administrator" again then you need to go through this process again.

You do not need, or want, to change it's status to "read/write", making exe files writeable has absolutely no impact on whether they can be executed whether as an ordinary user or with elevated permissions.

Selecting " Run as Administrator " is having no effect, i.e., it's not actionable. PC does not respond with a dialog box prompting me to choose. No such dialog asking me whether I want to allow the app to make changes. That just is not happening when I click on " Run as Administrator ".Like I said, this PC is on its last days, and I need to use a virtual keyboard to type in instructions. This is not your average case scenario.
I believe Sysprog figured out what was happening. I was trying to access auxiliary files in the program folder left over from the installation, over which I had no control. The executable was not in sight. As Sysprog explained, the executable is not invoked directly; there is a launcher program that brings it up. So there's no executable in the program folder. I didnt know this and I was trying to use the auxiliary files to run the program, files I have no control/ownership over. Now that they're installed there, they're just a nuisance I must get rid of.
I guess " Run as Administrator " has no effect since , given there's a launcher program that runs in the background and no executable, there's really nothing to be run.

berkeman · Nov 6, 2023

Sorry if I missed it, but have you tried running it from a DOS Box (cmd) yet? Did you see any message when running that exe in its folder?

WWGD · Nov 6, 2023

berkeman said:

Sorry if I missed it, but have you tried running it from a DOS Box (cmd) yet? Did you see any message when running that exe in its folder?

Please see Sysprog's post; #27. There's no executable to be run, but rather a launcher program.

WWGD · Nov 6, 2023

Please see @sysprog post #27. He's got the right program name and the exact description of what's going on.

sysprog1 · Nov 10, 2023

If you have a access to a JUC400 wormhole switch USB device, you can plug it in, then let it run its uninstall to remove its files when you exit. The leftover files are harmless, but aversion to leaving such remnants around is understandable. As others have suggested, you might want to clone the drive via a reliable utility that runs from a bootable USB stick, e.g. Clonezilla, or its fully inter-compatible (perhaps easier to use) 'cousin' Rescuezilla (both open source). You can use Rescuezilla to make a .iso image file of your old drive, and to then mount a copy of the image, which you can then edit, do extracts on, and so forth.

WWGD · Nov 10, 2023

sysprog1 said:

If you have a access to a JUC400 wormhole switch USB device, you can plug it in, then let it run its uninstall to remove its files when you exit. The leftover files are harmless, but aversion to leaving such remnants around is understandable. As others have suggested, you might want to clone the drive via a reliable utility that runs from a bootable USB stick, e.g. Clonezilla, or its fully inter-compatible (perhaps easier to use) 'cousin' Rescuezilla (both open source). You can use Rescuezilla to make a .iso image file of your old drive, and to then mount a copy of the image, which you can then edit, do extracts on, and so forth.

Thanks. I ended up using Remote Desktop Protocol to transfer the files. Both machines were connected to the same Web Server.

Nik_2213 · Nov 10, 2023

Uh, have you considered the possibility that your Windows is corrupted ?? I've had Windows decide that my admin-level account was invalid, game-over...

Windows 10: Denied access / permission as Administrator

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