In Windows 10 and Windows 8, as it was in Windows 7, it can happen to open a system folder and find it impossible to move, delete or rename a file. This is because the user, even if he is a computer administrator, does not have all the permissions to "touch" the system which, for security reasons, is protected from changes that may be involuntary and unwanted.
TrustedInstaller is the account of a virtual user in Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista who "owns" a variety of system files, including some in the Program Files folder, the Windows folder and the Windows.old folder.
To rename or delete these files, you will need to take possession of them instead of the TrustedInstaller account.
Taking possession of a file means becoming the owner of it and, consequently, being able to do whatever you want freely, without anyone being able to object.
In three different articles we have already seen the guides for:
- Full access and ownership (Ownership) of files and folders in Windows 7
- Change permissions on files and folders
- Limit or disable UAC User Control .
With the release of Windows 8, Microsoft has changed the way to take ownership of files and folders, to replace system files, rename a folder, etc.
If you right-click on a system file in the Windows folder and access the properties, you will notice, in the Security tab, that the only account with full control is the TrustedInstaller and that not even the Administrator has write permissions and of modification.
To change the permissions in Windows, right-click on a folder, enter the Properties and in the Security tab, press " Advanced ".
Obviously, to change the permissions and change the owner of files and folders, you need to have an Administrator account ( Control Panel -> All Control Panel items -> User Accounts -> Change account type ).
In Windows 8 there is no longer the " Owner " tab, but you can see in the second line of the window that the current owner is indicated and that you can change it by pressing the word Change .
The procedure is the same as for the other versions of Windows: in the window that opens, click on Advanced, then on Find and choose the account that must be the owner who can have complete control of the file or folder (If you are using an administrator user account, choose Administrators instead of Administrator who is a hidden user).
In the tabs of the Security section, on the other hand, you can change the permissions for the accounts, which only the owner can do.
Then select the account you use (if you are an administrator, select choose Administrators as owner), press Change Permissions, press Administrators again (or the user you use) and click Change to give complete control .
Click on the Enable inheritance button if you want to also own all the other sub-folders included in the one whose permissions are being changed.
To confirm the changes, click Apply and then OK to close the window.
This procedure allows you to easily take possession of any file, including those of TrustedInstaller .
However, I would like to say that, if you have no particular reasons, you should not touch the protected Windows system files.
About Trusted Installer, there is a small program that allows you to run and open any file reserved for Trusted Installer, without having to change permissions.
This is PowerRUN, from which you can choose whether to run an exe file or any program such as System or as Trustedinstaller, the two blocked users of Windows.
