When tweaking Vista, at some point you will probably run in to a situation where you need to modify, move or even delete a system file. In Vista, system files are protected by the TrustedInstaller service and Windows File Protection by default. Below, I will show you how you can take ownership of system files and grant yourself the necessary permissions so that you can get your task done.

Warning: Modifying, moving or deleting system files on Vista can have adverse effects on your operating system and in some cases render the system inoperable. Be sure that you know what you are doing prior to proceeding with these instructions. (more…)

command prompt, necessary permissions, operating system, safe mode, system files, tweaking, uac, vista, vista system, Windows, windows file protection, windows system32

First let me start by saying that one of the main features of Windows Vista is the new user accounts security enhancements, but sometimes, defaults don’t meet everyone’s taste when it comes to how we deal with our PCs. I for one, always used full administrator accounts since I first knew what a Windows user account is, and never been hit by a virus/spyware/crap, using common sense and updated AV software, so I don’t want to give permissions to myself or face strange error messages every time I do a simple task on my computer.

We know UAC feature in Windows Vista, and we all know how to disable it, this is not the purpose of this thread, because even after you disable UAC, you’ll have other prompts about folder/file permissions errors sometimes (I faced it in strange, unexpected occasions, like deleting an empty folder for a program left by the uninstaller), or you’ll need to right click and select “Run as Administrator” for most applications to work/install correctly.

That’s because Microsoft made the administrators accounts (in local administrators group) run as standard users, unless we give permissions for every and each administrative tasks, with a little difference…

• Vista Codec Package 4.4.9 Final
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• Bamboo for Vista
  A nice looking pen tablet that works with Vista.
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• AveNoBreadCrumb to Disable Your Breadcrumb
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• Account Reset Console 4.5 Tool
  Interfaces with the Vista Credential Provider to allow users to change

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When we talk about application compatibility for our large customers, it goes beyond making sure the latest game or end user application works. Our enterprise customers sometimes have hundreds of thousands of PCs to manage. That means a lot of different Read More……(read more)

When we talk about application compatibility for our large customers, it goes beyond making sure the latest game or end user application works. Our enterprise customers sometimes have hundreds of thousands of PCs to manage. That means a lot of different applications, from many different companies, some custom and some customized. To help these customers we created a suite of enterprise tools called the Application Compatibility Toolkit (see my earlier post), and also worked with partners to create a service called the Application Compatibility Factory (see here).  

One thing you may not know is that we also have a team of specially trained consultants who work with customers on some of these very large deployments. We try to make sure all our customers can take advantage of the team’s knowledge, so we send them to events like TechEd or IT Forum and they contribute significantly to the content you find on TechNet and MSDN. Unfortunately it’s not always possible for customers to have one-on-one interaction with this team. That’s why we are pretty excited that one of the consultants, Caio Chaves Garcez, recently recorded the full 2 day training the team usually presents to these large customers. The

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