Add "Take Ownership" to Explorer Right-Click Menu in Win 7 or Vista
Taking ownership of system files or folders in Windows 7 or Vista is not a simple task. Whether you use the GUI or the command line, it takes far too many steps.
Thankfully somebody created a registry hack that will give you a menu item for “Take Ownership” that will handle all the steps for you. (If you are the person that originally made this script, let me know and I’ll give you credit)
Here’s what the new right-click menu will look like after installing this registry hack.
Install
Download and unzip the files contained in the zipfile. Double-click the InstallTakeOwnership.reg file and click through the prompts. No reboot necessary.
Uninstall
Double-click the RemoveTakeOwnership.reg file and click through the prompts. No reboot necessary.
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All I get when I double-click the extracted InstallTakeOwnership.reg file is the window asking me what program do I want to open it with. What do I need to do?
Nice indeed. Any reason why it says how to do this in Vista only? Have there been any drastic changes from 2k/XP/2k3, can anyone verify if this works on all recent MS OS’s?
what does it do exactly? i installed it and everything seems fine but what does “taking ownership” mean.
is it just like hiding or encrypting a folder?
http://www.winmatrix.com/forum.....opic=13157 (original source as far as I can tell)
Taking ownership of a file/directory gives you direct read/write access to the file (without going through UAC) and forces other users to go through UAC to get such access. Now that Vista finally has a sane notion of file ownership (like Linux and Mac have had for years), this sort of thing comes in major handy (especially when you often change files like C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\HOSTS).
Oh my God, this Take Ownership feature is awesome. Many thanks to the creator.
Thanks for this! We were having issues after the Belkin Easy Transfer Cable messed all the permissions up and after trying several times with Vista’s ownership nothing had worked. This worked first time!
I spent way too many hours today trying to get our personal.xls with custom macros into the XLStart folder so we could do billing today (prior XP pc fried, new pc is Vista). Needless to say, Vista gives me no rights to XLStart folder and I’m just so glad I found this zip fix here tonite. Can’t wait to try tomorrow! Many thanks. And Microsoft — get a grip, I’m tired of having Mac folks tell me to buy a Mac! Don’t make our lives harder!!! Or you’ll find us all on MAC…
I can’t take the ownership of the C drive. But I can take the ownership of the folders in C drive. Any comment?
Ok Guys…..I really screwed up.(that’s what usually happens when you don’t know what your doing) I was trying to gain access to my entire drive so I could delete temp files/temp internet files etc. So, after reading this post on how to delete system files I used this in the command prompt: [takeown / C:\ f ] afterwhich it said that my-acer had owership….Cool so far….I think. Then I used the cacls command: [cacls C:\ *.* /G my-acer:F] I was asked if I was sure & answered yes,hit return & it said the process was successful. Now I can’t get many things to run at all & if I attempt to use the command line as an admin I get this:”c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe the parameter is incorrect”. I get the same sort of message when I try & run other things. I have to also say that when I login to start windows my name is “ironhorse” & the name of the pc is “my-acer”. A friend told me I need to give full rights to both of these names if I want to delete certain files as their considered administrators(both me of course). I haven’t restarted the machine cause I know it will never restart so I’m trying to get this fixed through the command prompt. I tyred to roll back through system protection but can’t get there either. Am I screwed or is this fixable. Mike
Mike to me it sounds like your screwed, I guess it just goes to show that you shouldnt mess around unless you know what your doin. I had a similar problem before and I had to do a reinstall, your best bet to keep your files would be to get a knoppix disk and a flash drive** to copy your files to. You will still have to reinstall windows but you will keep all your important data.
Note
**The flash drive is not necessary if you have more than one CD burner on your system.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
You just made my job a lot easier. Migrating files from a customer’s old XP machine to a new Vista machine just got a lot simpler.
did i ever tell you i love you, you saved me 10 years of my life
there was thsi file that i couldn’t delete, i hated to see that file . googled …..file don’t delete……and got this site. thanks man……wat else have you got for us?
Beware: “Me too” follows
The provider of these registry entries should get a medal.
Here are virtual 2 medals – you deserve one for publishing this.
!@#$%^& MacroCrap !
thank-you very much. why did Vista make file ownership change so difficult?
This didnt work on my Vista Ultimate. I installed as instructed, but there is no option to ‘take ownership’ when I right click a file or folder.
This was exactely wat I was looking for some days now
Thanks, very useful reg fix, now I can get rid of folder and files who I crated on a different PC (so you don`t have the admin rights anymore).
/Lasse
I have the same problem as reported by Bob Cudmore: This didnt work on my Vista Ultimate. I installed as instructed, but there is no option to ‘take ownership’ when I right click a file or folder.
I installed, uninstalled and reinstalled with the same result
i have installed but.. still cant seem to delete a *MOV file i have on my Vista Pc. when i right click on ‘take ownership’ it opens up *cmd screen and i cant type anything inside it
Thank you, thank you, thank you to whoever made this hack!!!! I wanted to copy data across from my old hard drive, and it required over 5 clicks for every single bloody file on the entire hard drive before this hack!
Hi Geek,
Do you know this will work on Windows Vista Home Premium? If so, any help would be much appreciated.
Yours sincerely,
Michael Higham
I’ve tried it on Vista Home Premium and can’t it to work
I already have something as the (Default) item here: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas (and in “command” beneath it), so I can’t use this mod. (In case anyone’s wondering, it’s an elevated command prompt.)
Question: How do you add a second item to that section of the Registry and have them both show up on a right-click?
I also couldn’t get it to work, any ideas please?
Thanks for the posts. I do appreciate the take ownership help. takeownership.zip is GREAT for files/folders. HOWEVER, I need to take ownership of A DRIVE, and neither vista nor this program works.
One of the computers I use is shared, and this feature is very useful; however, I do not want the other users (standard accounts) to see this option. I understand that they will not be able to run the command, since they’ll be prompted for an admin password and all, but seeing the option at all is unwanted for mostly aesthetic reasons. The following (if it does not get modified or filtered by this commenting system) is the contents of the .REG file I used:
—
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\*\shell\runas]
@=”Take Ownership”
“NoWorkingDirectory”=”"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\*\shell\runas\command]
@=”cmd.exe /c takeown /f \”%1\” && icacls \”%1\” /grant administrators:F”
“IsolatedCommand”=”cmd.exe /c takeown /f \”%1\” && icacls \”%1\” /grant administrators:F”
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Directory\shell\runas]
@=”Take Ownership”
“NoWorkingDirectory”=”"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Directory\shell\runas\command]
@=”cmd.exe /c takeown /f \”%1\” /r /d y && icacls \”%1\” /grant administrators:F /t”
“IsolatedCommand”=”cmd.exe /c takeown /f \”%1\” /r /d y && icacls \”%1\” /grant administrators:F /t”
—
and the uninstall has been similarly modified:
—
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes]
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Directory\shell\runas]
—
It would be nice to have this on the Shift+Right Click menu. Just like “Open command window here…” is.
Anybody know how to do this?
5 gold stars for who ever designed this… it works like it was supposed to be there all along, thanks for solving one of the many million anoying things about vista…
Finally found the quick fix I needed! Thank you!! I’m a novice and learning mre and more each day.
I upgraded from XP to Vista last week and had some probs loading it, had to re-install again after a glitch. Everything’s good but noticed my 120gb HD is almost filled up! I dug deep and saw that Vista created a backup for my entire C drive of my old XP stuff and had another backup with my glitched Vista install. Like 60 GB between them! I managed to delete the old XP crap, but the Vista one was hard. I got bits and pieces of it deleted, tried a shredder program and got a little more, but more times than not that Permission BS popped up. I still had 9gb left to dump. I searched all over the NET for help but was getting mixed results or too complicated. This worked great.
Thanks again.
You guys would solve all your problems if you’d just join the Linux Revolution and force the evil corporate Microsoft right on out of here
Never have these kinds of problems in Linux, ever.
You’ve just fixed my biggest Vista annoyance. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
this thing save my life and time … gazillion thanks…
thanks a lot. i dont remember having this issue with windows xp, it looks like the default in vista is to force you to take ownership before being able to do anything created on other pcs. this really sucks and this simple fix it a great cure for it.
thanks
http://www.herbystweaks.net/files/TakeOwn.zip for a shift-right click version!
Thanks man!
And for those who don’t know what this is.
Lets say you put a HDD in your computer that holds an Windows XP installation. On that XP installation the user folders where protected, and you can’t just acces this on Vista. With this registerymod you just right click the folder you dont have acces too, and in 1 whipe you just gained yourself acces without much trouble!
Thanks, for sharing this.
HI guys,
This sounds like exactly what I need. I have removed the hard drive from my old XP laptop and using it as an add-on HDD for my Vista Home Premium driven desktop. I am trying to take ownership of the folders and files therein which are all password protected and having to do it on a file by file basis. Unfortunnately this hack doesnt seem to work!
I get the right indication when I right click the relevant folder or file but nothing happens…
Suggestions please….
Thanks a million to who ever created this wonderful tool. Saved me million clicks.
Thanks for all of you blowing off everyone here saying they cant get the program to install properly. We really appreciate the disrespect and lack of support.
@Henry
If you want a question to be answered more promptly, you need to leave it on the forum. The comments on this article aren’t checked on a regular basis, and with a thousand articles on the site it’s impossible to answer every article comment.
You might notice that I have a note right above the comment box, asking people to leave computer help questions on the forum. I suppose I need to make it more obvious.
Sorry for the trouble.
http://www.howtogeek.com/forum/
that is a wonderful piece of kit. thank you so much to whoever created it.
Thanks a lot this is awesome!!!! Works great!!!
Yes, it works on Home Premium, however while the files were accessed, right clicking on the folder that held those files did not bring up the Take Possession option.
I was pulling the last of my hair out trying to find a solution (Home Premium) then I found your website – brilliant!!!!
It worked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Many thanks
Hi,
I tried this “take ownership” on a worng file,(tpcps.dll instead of “tabskd.dll”) for getting rid of this “on board screen” appearing on my desktop on every login.Can u please help me in fixing this error,as its still appearing in every startup and please advise is there any problem with for the “tpcps” file by doing the “Take ownership”?(I use HP dv6502au laptop)
Thanks in advance
Regs
Prince
@Prince: Here is how to turn off the automatic startup of the on-screen keyboard:
1. Open Control Panel.
2. Click Ease of Access.
3. Click Ease of Access Center.
4. Click Use the computer without a mouse or keyboard.
5. Uncheck Use On-Screen Keyboard.
6. Click Save.
Is it only me or did the open as administrator option disappear with this enabled?
I’m logged in as an administrator and I’ve installed the take ownership thingy but when I right click on my windows media player folder i can take ownership but it still tells me I need permission to delete the file. Am I doing something wrong can somebody help??? T_T
I need help because I want to delete my WMP folder because the program doesn’t work.
Anyway of keeping the command prompt OPEN after the command has been issued? I would like to know what is being done and if any errors exist but cmd.exe quickly closes. Thanks
Ok I download the program and I’m still getting the message “you need permission to perform this act.” when im trying to delete this program that is not working and need to reuninstall it. Already tried from control panel and cant.
@HELP!!: Just follow the steps listed under Uninstall at the end of this guide.
If your using vista you have to Start>Run>regedt32
Then File>Import the install.reg file your done.
I joined your forum just so I could say thank you. This is fantastic! I can now view system folders that were forbidden before. This saves a lot of time hunting around looking for alternate routes into these folders. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much! This is sweet!
That’s What I was looking for.
it works great and it’s too simple!
Awesome!
Thanks to the creator of these two files!
I installed it, and it is great, but i have an issue still.
whenever I launch it, it says that the publisher could not be verified, and therefore, i have to hit run every time i open it.
Any way to fix this?
thank you,
Wes
Well, thanks it works like a charm…
So I can bear the Window$ Vista now… barely!
Thanks…
You have to use shift left click on Vista ultimate 64 but works brilliantly otherwise.
Ok so I downloaded this last night, it worked great. Now it says I have to have Admin privileges for everything. I can’t even get into the control panel. it even says I have to have admin privileges to take control of take control. Any help?
I also can’t create a restore point. It says that either the file location has been lost or I don’t have proper permission. any help?
Thanks , it works.
Hey, I just wanted to thank you for the quality of information you put up here on this site. I do a lot of searching on the ‘Net when I have a problem, and I am amazed at the number of times I’ve arrived at your website with a problem, but left WITHOUT a problem.
I love the visual aids and your communication style. Just an all around great site and a huge public service. It’s people like you who make the world a better place!
Great! It worked for the first few files, but then went back to normal with the you need permission box, even after taking ownership of the whole drive!
What does seem to work, is to copy the folder you need to move, then paste it into the destination folder, go back to the original and delete the files inside, then you’ll be able to delete the folder that needs permission to move.
This is ridiculous!!
has someone tried it on Win Vista x64?
Seems like it don’t works on Vista 64.
I wanted to rename some systemfiles , but there comes a Pop-Up with “Bla bla you have no rights for this action” and i can press “Take Ownership” hundred times, it wont work.
is this version only for 32Bit ?
You are a beaut!!!! Thank you, what a pleasure!!!!
I downloaded this program a year ago. I just want you to know it continues to be the best download I have ever used. Don’t know if you ever found out who wrote this program – but I’d willingly contribute to that website!
didn’t work at all… trying to uninstall a program, getting the 1321 error. i “took ownership” of the folder in question, and still could not uninstall, or even just delete the folder that the program is in. i wish this how-to actually had some information in it, instead of just saying how to install and uninstall the program. thanks for nothing.
EN:
This Reg File only works on English Vista Installs… I have modified it for German Installs: -> Look here:
DE:
Diese Reg File funzt nur auf englischen Vista Installationen. Für deutsche installationen schaut hier:
http://www.ja-we.de/blog/2009/.....ntextmenu/
many thanks! this enabled me to gain access to my files from my old notebook that won’t reboot last week. it’s the best download I have ever used!
semmed like the perfect fix but still have a problem. ran the hack and everything wizzed by but still no access. ***i did have the folder in the xp drive some sort of protected, all folder entries are green. its about 5,000 appraisal pictures*** been working two full days, secret admin login, gave full permission to everyone, nothing!!! I WILL PAY FOR A FIX AT THIS POINT, NEED TO GET BACK TO WORK ASAP AND EVERY APPRAISAL SEEKS THIS FOLDER OUT TO LINK PICTURES. THANKS
great help! been trying to access my laptops hdd for hours now, soon as i tried this it’s working straight away.
cheers!
by the way, i installed this script on my Windows 7 machine, works great.
You are an absolute legend mate, absolute superstar,
Thanks
As Scott said ..works on Windows 7 x64 also..
Thanks for this! I’m trying to convert Microsoft word 2007 trial to the full version and I need ownership first. When I get to the registry editor and click yes it says there’s an error accessing the registry. HELP!
This is exactly what I needed. Thank you.
Here is a command script version that is a little more versatile. Make a shortcut to TakeOwnership.cmd, then you can drag and drop files and/or folders on the shortcut to take ownership of them.
The contents of TakeOwnership.cmd follows:
——————————————
@echo OFF
:Begin
if ‘%1′==’/?’ echo Usage: %0 [Names of one or more files and/or folders] && pause && exit
if ‘%1′==” echo There are no more command line arguments. && pause && exit
if not exist %1 echo %1 is not a file or folder. && pause && goto Next
echo This script will take ownership of %1.
pushd .
pushd %1 2>NUL
if ERRORLEVEL 1 goto File
popd
echo %1 is a folder.
echo This script can take ownership of a folder with recursion;
echo i.e., it can take ownership of all files and subfolders in a folder.
choice /m “Do you wish to take ownership of this folder with recursion ”
if not ERRORLEVEL 2 goto Recursion
choice /m “Do you wish to take ownership of this folder without recursion ”
if not ERRORLEVEL 2 goto NoRecursion
goto Next
:Recursion
takeown /f %1 /r /d Y
icacls %1 /grant administrators:F /t
goto Next
:File
echo %1 is a file (not a folder).
choice /m “Do you wish to take ownership of this file ”
if ERRORLEVEL 2 goto Next
:NoRecursion
takeown /f %1
icacls %1 /grant administrators:F
:Next
echo.
shift
goto Begin
——————————————
@J. Woolley: Thanx for that. It will be quite handy.
After Installation, I checked by right-clicking. It wasn’t there. I’m going to try rebooting.
i’m using this on vista ultimate 64bit and it works fine. i do believe i had to reboot first before it showed up though.
This works perfectly on Win 7 beata Ultimate
It worked after the Reboot!
This didn’t work on my Vista laptop. I installed it and it did its thing but then it said operating systems stopped working. Any ideas? I can’t get access to files I created in word via my laptop. There is only me on this laptop, no one else uses it.
thanks
ISSUE UNDER SOME VISTA VERSIONS SOLVED!!!!
If you still can not edit/delete/rename/whatever your file, although you have edited it with “Take Ownership” just go to properties of this file and set down the user rights to full access manually!
“Take Ownership” can just allow you to edit this access rights, so you have to edit them by yourself.
File -> Properties -> Safety -> Advanced -> Edit -> Then set all right to “Full Access” -> OK…
(Sorry, I have the german windows version, so I do not know how the buttons are named in the englisch version)
this is great for deleting fonts i hate, thanks
Thank you! Damn I hate VISTA!
a million thanks!!! omg
saved me so much
IM IN LOVE thankyou soooo much for this program it was amazing just instal and then go into c and find the file that ur getting the error in right click the whole file and bam ur the owner hehe super awesomeness
oh thanks so much for this – it works perfectly on Vista Home thanks!!!
Careful with this..I installed it and now my handler is screwed up in Vista, Shortcuts in the start menu no longer work?? Can’t find a good fix either. If someone has one I would appreciate a link..Thanks
Hi, my right click menu bombed after carrying out some registry fixes in Home Premium Sp1 on my notebook. Have tried rolling back but it has not helped. Suggestions to fix this please??
I was grateful to find this workaround (less so that such a workaround is necessary!)
Back story – I transferred some pictures from my smartphone via Winows Mobile Command Center.
Tried to rotate one of the pics, kept getting the “File is read-only, in use … ” error.
Saw the “green box” read-only on the directory folder (but not the picture file itself!)
Downloaded, installed and ran “TakeOwnership’ which all seemed to go fine.
For good measure, took ownership of the entire document folder in my (adminstrator authorized) user account. Watched hundreds of files successfully “owned.”
Still won’t let me rotate the image because it is “read only.”
Tried the “full user rights” solution.
Found that it had two separate rights entries for the adminstrator, one which did not list its orgin.
I deleted that one.
Tried exporting the images into new files via Windows Picture Manager.
No go.
I’m getting worried because now ALL my user subdirectories have the “read-only” green box.
Any thoughts?
Not the the easiest way to fix things but I did resolve the matter of the suddenly read-only pictures.
Apparently I violated some unwritten commandment that you cannot TRANSFER image files from a mobile device to your laptop using the Mobile Device Center.
You must use the Picture/Video import function.
Not a horrible process, but it seems to be an all-or-nothing proposition, meaning not only will recent phone/camera pictures be imported but every single icon/phone image stored on the device.
Didn’t I hear once that these devices were supposed to make our lives easier?
I downloaded this program so I could delete programs in Vista 64 that would not allow me to delete. This program did not fix that situation for me. I still cannot delete files after I right click and set Take Ownership. Im pissed that Vista will not let me delete files. What kind of operating system is this anyways.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU. You just solved the biggest Vista annoyance that was plaguing my existence. Works like a dream.
MIKE, You need to take ownership of the full drive if need be, and not just the folder, so take ownership, try giving everyone access to the root of the drive where your hundreds of appraisal pics are, this should do it, btw (BIG ALSO, You M U S T do this on the system that the drive was setup with permissions on, else it will most definitely not work when trying on other systems. My big suggestion MIKE is that You buy a nie hefty USB drive for such personals… I know the above will help if You follow what I jive, Stay cool peace love and happiness to You and Yours!!!! -=8^0-=
Oh, wow. I had an employee on the verge of resignation because I couldn’t convince her I was NOT withholding passwords from her. And her hard disk was full and she couldn’t delete anything and it was ALL MY FAULT. Install this=end of soap opera. Thank you.
I love this program, however it’s having some unwanted side effects, and I am unable to uninstall it. I tried the uninstall, but it doesn’t completely remove it. I am no longer able to take ownership of most things, but I still have the option to take ownership of icons on my desktop. Any suggestions? I didn’t want to start messing with my registry. BTW, running Windows 7 64.
Great. Just amazing. Now I am leaving a good comment as the only reason I downloaded a registry edit was because everybody who DID IT RIGHT gave good reviews
Just tried this on my Vista Home Premium 32-bit machine. Worked perfectly. Is there room on Mt. Rushmore for the guy that wrote this? I love it.
For everyone that has bee unable to install Take Ownership….What they did not tell you is you need to go to run, or search in Vista and type in regedit
This will open the Registry Editor. Select File – Import and then point your mouse to the location where you have unzipped the take ownership file
bluewave
Who would think something so small would make someone’s life so simple!! This is an excellent tool that will sure come in handy in the future. Thanks so much for sharing you’re a genius!!
Coranne
I had the same problem on Vista 64 and now on Win 7 64. I was changing each one manually until i came upon this program. What a life saver. I did notice as someone mentioned above that “run as an administrator” is no longer a right click option. I’ll assume that the Take ownership option is a level above this resulting in it’s disappearance. Also, I have no troubles (in Win 7 64) with the control panel, making restore points, etc. My hat off the person who made this small but extremely significant registry hack.
TakeOwnership woudl not install for me on Vista 64 Ultimate. The file simply kept opening up in notepad instead of making changes to the registry. To get around this I ran regedit from the start menu and then from within regedit there is an option to import. I imported the installtakeownership file and it worked great!
You are my absolute hero!! Thanks so much. I was getting so frustrated that after years of withstanding an office load of people screaming at me to “Get a Mac” I was tempted to succumb.
But now I can’t fight the good fight for longer!!
Good one you.
Cheers,
Dash
nice work and look s good
i cant use this file i need to get rid of this itune file but it keeps saying i dont have permission. i only have one account im running vistas as well any help
This is the best thing i ever used….. by a mistake i changed the ownership to many files on my HD, so i couldnt open it again…. but this is a perfect solution for that cind of mess…
Many THANKS to man who created athis registry hack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you very much for taking the time to make all of this info available to all the digitally challenged people out here!!
Peace and Blessings! an old hippie seattle
I don’t think I’ve said this to another man before (except for my Father, of course) but here goes. I love you.
I would not recommended this for win7…. I used it all the time on XP and Vista, but I installed it in win7 RC and used it a few times, and my system is all messed up. Can’t update anything, and many apps arn’t running right…. I’m just waiting till the 22nd for my full copy of win7 to reformat.
This was a big help, but I’m guessing precations should be used with this too. It will recursively go through all children of the folder and change those permissions. Could that be very bad ?
It a great feature but personally i wud like a revert ownership feature too. Since i have my doubts that if ownership were with my admin and if some malware was residing in the system, it cud use the ownership to corrupt windows files whereas earlier UAC wud not allow that. Is there some way to revert the ownership back to wat it was?
I cant replace these .dll files even though i already took ownership of the folder and got full rights to these? This wonderful vista says that i`ve no rights or its opened in another program. Please someone help me ! I`ve been fighting with this for hours.
We can see take ownership in contextualmenu, but when we execute it, nothing happen in advancy-security, normally all cases for administrator must be x ( full permission!!), i thing that it worked, but not since 2 month, since a update( or maybe since SP2!!)