Firstly, I'd like to say that I haven't been taking ownership of system folders or tampering with permissions.

Recently, I've had many problems with permissions in Windows; WiFi profiles don't save so I have to input my password everytime I connect, programs have failed to install because they don't have permission to access the start menu , and Chrome has changed its downloads folder from Downloads to My Documents.

So could someone tell me WTF is going on here and how can I fix it?

I have not encountered the Start Menu problem. Is the Start Menu folder that is blocked the one in your profile or the one for Public?

I have not encountered the Start Menu problem. Is the Start Menu folder that is blocked the one in your profile or the one for Public?

It's the one in C:\Program Data\Microsoft\Windows\

I also checked the personal one (Appdata\Roaming) and the one difference is that in the public menu all the icons have a padlock on their bottom left while the Properties window seems to show some differences in permissions (see attachment). I am listed as the owner for both.

The one thing I see as mysterious is the permissions for S-* any idea what they are?

SC.zip

Edited February 27, 201412 yr by Torchizard

They are user account SIDs. You can find them in HKEY_USERS.

http://www.sekchek.com/downloads/white-papers/windows-about-sids.pdf

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/243330

Regarding the programs looking for the Start Menu, I am wondering if these programs were written for this OS or for x64. Also for Chrome download location issue, I've known others who have had this problem but I haven't had it happen to me.

This happens with many programs that have succesfully installed before such as Winamp, ZoneAlarm etc. and my OS is x64.

EDIT: Fixed the WiFi problem by deleting the Wlansvc \ Wwansvc folders in C:\Program Data\Microsoft\ so that Windows would regenerate the folders with 'clean' permissions.

Edited March 8, 201412 yr by Torchizard