I cannot copy individual files to the root c: directory

spapakons · Sep 28, 2023

hsehestedt said:
Also, as noted, this limitation is super easy to work around.

Example: Press WinKey + R, type in EXPLORER, press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER. This will run File Explorer elevated, now you can freely copy to C:\.

No need to do that, if you have an Administrator account (no simple user), then trying to copy at C: will give you a confirmation dialog. You select Yes, you enter your account password (if you have one) and it will proceed.

Gregory · Oct 16, 2023

Bree said:
Welcome to Eleven Forum.

As stated above, this is a security measure to protect the root of C: from malware copying its files there.

I cannot think of any reason for copying your own files to the root of C: that cannot equally well be served by creating your own folder there and copying them to that.

Yes but why i receive this issue only when i try to download something at the root c: and not if i try to copy a file into root c:???

When i try to copy something to root c: simply i get a question if i am sure and if i choose yes it copy the file to root c:.

So how i can make any browser download any file to root c:

spapakons · Oct 17, 2023

The browser is running with standard user rights and cannot save to C:\ Try right-click on the shortcut and Run as Administrator. This should allow you to save to C:\ either directly or with confirmation.

syw6yc7n · Feb 1, 2024

hsehestedt said:
Makes PERFECT sense. It is by design. If you run an app elevated, you can write to C:\. As an example, open an elevated command prompt and you can copy files to C:\. As another example, open notepad elevated and you can save to C:\.

Finally, you can run File Explorer elevated and then you can copy to C:\.

Nah, it makes no sense. Stupid cux. It's not a "security' measure, no security gained from such bs. It's just an inconvenience bs.

spapakons · Feb 1, 2024

That's why I configure certain apps, such as WinRAR, to run as Administrator so I can save to C:\ or C:\Program Files and wherever else I want. Right-click on the shortcut, go to Properties, then Advanced and set it to Run as Administrator. Also Properties, Compatibility tab and set it to Run as Administrator for all users.

cereberus · Feb 1, 2024

syw6yc7n said:
Nah, it makes no sense. Stupid cux. It's not a "security' measure, no security gained from such bs. It's just an inconvenience bs.

Wrong. It is by design to reduce risk of malware.
As this is your first post, unless you are a security expert, don't make such ridiculous statements.

Topgundcp · Feb 1, 2024

By default the registry value of EnableLUA for all Windows under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\
is set to 1 to prevent user(s) to copy file(s) or folder(s) to C:\ or system folder such as C:\Program Files etc...

As mentioned above, if your account has admin priviledge, you still can copy file(s) or folder(s) but you'll see a popup windows asking for confirmation.

To remove the restriction, set EnableLUA=0 then restart your PC to take affect

Program such as Macrium Reflect is creating logfile under C:\. They probably set this value to 0 programatically then reset when exit.

hsehestedt · Feb 1, 2024

Thanks for sharing that registry key. I had no idea that there was a registry key that would change that behavior.

Try3 · Feb 1, 2024

Topgundcp said:
By default the registry value of EnableLUA for all Windows under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\
is set to 1 to prevent user(s) to copy file(s) or folder(s) to C:\ or system folder such as C:\Program Files etc...
As mentioned above, if your account has admin priviledge, you still can copy file(s) or folder(s) but you'll see a popup windows asking for confirmation.
To remove the restriction, set EnableLUA=0 then restart your PC to take affect

The Registry entry you are referring to controls UAC.
You are telling people to turn off UAC so that anybody accessing the computer can run Admin tasks including copying files to the OS drive root folder.
With UAC off there will be no confirmation dialog, no Admin prompt, when running Admin tasks.

UAC never used to affect the ability to copy files into that root folder.
That ability used to be denied whether UAC was on or off.
Some update or another has changed the behaviour in both Windows 10 & Windows 11. With UAC on, Admin approval is all that is required to copy a file into that OS drive root folder.
That ability had never been documented and I don't know which update changed it. I just noticed the change one day.

Topgundcp said:
Program such as Macrium Reflect is creating logfile under C:\. They probably set this value to 0 programatically then reset when exit.

They do not need to tinker with the Registry value. You've already given them Admin approval when they started and that's all they need to copy their files there.

Denis

spapakons · Feb 1, 2024

Apart from the risk of everyone messing with your files, completely disabling UAC has some bugs and prevents certain applications from running, so it is not recommended.

hsehestedt · Feb 1, 2024

I just tried it, and I cannot create a file in C:\, but I can copy to that location with a prompt asking for admin permissions, even though I am admin, but that's good enough for me. I just create the file on my desktop, then move it to C:\ it I should need to do so.

Try3 · Feb 1, 2024

Hannes,

hsehestedt said:
I cannot create a file in C:\, but I can copy to that location with a prompt asking for admin permissions

Yes, that is normal behaviour.

hsehestedt said:
even though I am admin

No, you are not. Well, not quite.
When we log in to an Admin account, we are logged in with Std users permissions. It always takes that Admin prompt to exercise our latent Admin permissions.
We are only Admin when we give permission to proceed in that Admin prompt ["ElevationUI", "ConsentUI"] and then only for the task approved in that Admin prompt.
A real Std user would not see the same type of Admin prompt, a real Std user would see a demand for an Admin's username & password to be entered in an Admin prompt ["ElevationUI", "CredentialUI"].

All the best,
Denis

spapakons · Feb 2, 2024

I just read rumors that Windows Server will get the "sudo" command. This will be used to gain Administrator access, much like Linux. It might also come in Windows 11 as well.

cereberus · Feb 2, 2024

spapakons said:
I just read rumors that Windows Server will get the "sudo" command. This will be used to gain Administrator access, much like Linux. It might also come in Windows 11 as well.

re. coming to W11, was that part of the rumours you read, or are you speculating (adding to rumour lol).

spapakons · Feb 2, 2024

The Greek website I read was talking about Windows Server, but the title did mention Windows 11. However, this should be for Command Prompt or PowerShell only. In normal use we will still be seeing the familiar popup to grant Administrator access. We can reduce this annoying popup if we turn the UAC to the lowest setting. We will still see it for copying files to the C:\ or Program Files or Windows folder though.

Try3 · Feb 2, 2024

spapakons said:
We can reduce this annoying popup if we turn the UAC to the lowest setting

How often are you seeing the Admin prompt?
I only see it once or twice a day and that's when I've launched Event viewer or Disk mgmt in order to check out something for a forum thread.
I don't see it at all during routine working.

All the best,
Denis

spapakons · Feb 2, 2024

I only see it when I modify or delete files in the Program Files folder. I use an video application that creates some temporary files in a subfolder of the application folder which is in the Program Files (x86) folder. I must delete these temporary files before creating a new project or it might crash during rendering. I have to confirm deleting the files every time. No big deal.

I cannot copy individual files to the root c: directory

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