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Recently I have taken it upon myself to learn how to use my computer - not just in a point and click interface way but in a take control of my files way.

I made a noble effort picking up GIMP, Thunderbird (which I managed to link not only to my Hotmail account and Gmail account but also to link the missuses AOL account!), Google Chrome and various other offerings which to be fair blast windows out of the water.

However...
I've run into a problem.

I am the sole user of my computer therefore am an administrator of my computer - so why when I try and edit a file to manage a localhost does it tell me that I can't save it because I don't have administrator privileges?!
It's not the first time I've been told that either and it's starting to grate me. A lot.

Any advices from the more tech-savvy of you out there?
And before anyone suggests it, yes I've checked I'm an administrator

Is it a system file or anything like that? Is it marked as read only?

C:\\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\

The file is called "hosts" and apparently I need to open it with notepad so I can add a line so that Thunderbird can access the localhost.
It lets me open it with notepad but then not to save it - citing the reason as "You don't have administrator privileges"

Honestly I've tried shouting at it and everything


EDIT: It's not Read Only. Just checked

It's because it's a system file and Vista like to be nice and helpful and doesn't like you messing with system files.

You need to edit the file running as the Administrator account and not just an account that's got administrator privileges (there is a difference).

You'll need to enable the administrator account to use it though, helpful thing Vista, isnt' it? Right click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator. Then type and run the command line

net user administrator /active:yes

(that might not be 100% right as I've not got a Vista machine here to test on and am doing that from memory)

Log out and you should now see Administrator on your welcome screen.

get a copy of windows 7... it's how vista should have been.

but in the mean time i think right click and choise run as administrator

You know, I think I'd probably have given up, installed Linux as a dual boot, started it up and edited the damned file from there!

Jordan C wrote:get a copy of windows 7... it's how vista should have been.

I could be wrong, but doesn't Windows 7 stop working after a few months? I agree that Windows 7 fix a lot of Vista's fault, however...

Windows 7 is supposed to stop working in August - but I'm willing to bet some enterprising computer geeks will figure out a way to keep it working.

Regardless, Ubuntu 9.10 comes out in October, and it'll be customizable as all get out, so you might as well jump on the linux bandwagon now if you're getting sick of windows.

- Rob

Dirty Davey wrote:It's because it's a system file and Vista like to be nice and helpful and doesn't like you messing with system files.

You need to edit the file running as the Administrator account and not just an account that's got administrator privileges (there is a difference).

You'll need to enable the administrator account to use it though, helpful thing Vista, isnt' it? Right click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator. Then type and run the command line

net user administrator /active:yes

(that might not be 100% right as I've not got a Vista machine here to test on and am doing that from memory)

Log out and you should now see Administrator on your welcome screen.

You = Legend!


All sorted now thanks!

kolm wrote:

Jordan C wrote:get a copy of windows 7... it's how vista should have been.

I could be wrong, but doesn't Windows 7 stop working after a few months? I agree that Windows 7 fix a lot of Vista's fault, however...

It's a six months beta test. And yes someone will work out a way to upgrade. It'll be a microsoft bod and they'll leak the staff upgrader or something as I know a lot of MS's staff have taken the plunge and upgraded home systems and work from home systems to win7

There's also already new builds out on the web. The public beta is build 7000 whilst a friend of mine is running build 7022

EckoZero wrote:You = Legend!


All sorted now thanks!

Gald I could help

A similar thing had me bashing my head against a brick wall at work for ages until I found that little fix.

1) Using "Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore Image" And Programs Installation Problem in Windows Vista

After restoring Vista by using "Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore Image", some programs might fail to install. As a result of this problem you would receive the following error message:

"The Directory Name is Invalid"

Solution: The above problem is due to "Temp" folder not being successfully restored after the backup is restored. Usually this folder is found in "C:WindowsTemp" location. To solve this problem re-create the "Temp" folder in the above location. After doing that, correct permissions must be assigned to this "Temp" folder. To do this, follow these steps:

a) Click Start -> All Programs -> Accessories.

b) Type your admin password and press "Continue".

c) At the command prompt type the following command:

md %windir%temp

d) Click Start -> type %windir% in "Start Search" box -> click "Windows" in Programs list.

e) Select Temp folder -> Right Click -> Click "Properties".

f) Click "Security" tab -> Click "Advanced" -> Click "Edit".

g) Clear the check box saying "Include inheritable permissions from this object's parent"

h) Click "Remove" -> Click "OK".

i) Two warning messages will be prompted. Click "Yes" in each message.

j) Press "Ok" two times to close "Advanced Security Settings" and "Folder Properties" dialog box.

h) Type the following command in the command prompt and press "ENTER". This command must be typed in a single line:

icacls %windir%temp /grant "BUILTINUsers:(CI)(S,WD,AD,X)" "BUILTINAdministrators:(F)" "BUILTINAdministrators:(OI)(CI)(IO)(F)" "NT AUTHORITYSYSTEM:(F)" "NT AUTHORITYSYSTEM:(OI)(CI)(IO)(F)" "CREATOR OWNER:(OI)(CI)(IO)(F)"

2) Installation of Earlier Version of Windows in Dual Boot Configuration and Windows Vista Starting Problem

When an earlier version of Windows is installed with Vista (in a dual boot configuration), Windows Vista no longer starts. Only the other Windows operating system that was installed earlier is able to start. This problem occurs due to incompatibility of earlier versions of Windows with Windows Vista.

Solution: To solve this issue, follow these steps:

a) Type this command at a command prompt:

Drive:bootBootsect.exe /NT60 All

Here "Drive" represents the drive containing the installation media of Window Vista.

b) To manually create the entry in BCD Boot.ini for the earlier versions of Windows, type the following commands at command prompt:

Drive:Windowssystem32Bcdedit /create {ntldr} /d "Description for earlier Windows version"

Drive:Windowssystem32Bcdedit /set {ntldr} device partition=x:

(Here x: is the drive letter for the active partition)

Drive:Windowssystem32Bcdedit /set {ntldr} path ntldr

Drive:Windowssystem32Bcdedit /displayorder {ntldr} /addlast

c) Restart your computer now.

3) Problems with Symantec Antivirus 10.2

Suppose you enabled EFS (Encrypted File System) in your document folder on your computer that runs Antivirus (Symantec 10.2) for Vista. When you restart your computer and log on with the same user account, the encrypted files will not be decrypted any more. This problem occurs only when folders are encrypted on Desktop or in Documents folder.

Solution: This problem is solved by uninstalling antivirus. As an alternative, disabling the "Autoprotect" feature will resolve this issue. Alternatively, exclude protected files (EFS-Protected files) from being scanned.

This problem is fixed in a Patch for Symantec Antivirus 10.2 for Windows Vista.

4) Adobe Reader 8 Installation Problem with Windows Vista

Another known problem of Windows Vista is with Adobe Reader 8. If you are a power-user who assigns User Account Control or if you log on as default administrator, you may see that Adobe Reader is not installed after download.

Solution: There are two ways to solve this issue.

a) Turn on UAC if it is off. Then go to Control Panel -> Click User Accounts -> Click "Turn User Account Control On or off". Now restart the computer and install the Adobe reader. After installation you can turn off UAC again, if required.

b) If the UAC is on but Adobe Reader cannot install then follow these steps:

Go to folder where Adobe Installer is saved. Right Click on it -> Click "Compatibility" tab -> Under Compatibility mode, check the box saying "Run This Program in Compatibility Mode" -> Below that, select "Windows XP" from the list.

Now Adobe reader will be installed successfully.

Did anybody else read that and hear "Don't use Vista"?

I got as far as "1) Using" then my solitary braincell overloaded and went offline .

That has got to be one of the most random first posts ever!
I don't really know what I'm doing with computers but I hear Vista is now a 4 letter word.
I got laughed at yesterday for asking what this Linux OS thing is!