Power User loses rights after updates.

[bph]

I have just applied 82 updates to a "new" Windows XP Pro system; nearly everything since SP3.

I now find that, wearing my 'Power User' hat, I can no longer move, delete, or modify files. I appear to have been demoted to a humble 'user', though I still appear in the Power Users group.

Can anyone suggest which update may have caused this problem, to save me having to remove them all and run each one again, re-booting between each one and checking whether I have full rights?

I have tried removing the user from Power Users and adding again, and anything else I can think of.

 

[-RockMan-]

I have just applied 82 updates to a "new" Windows XP Pro system; nearly everything since SP3.

I now find that, wearing my 'Power User' hat, I can no longer move, delete, or modify files. I appear to have been demoted to a humble 'user', though I still appear in the Power Users group.

Can anyone suggest which update may have caused this problem, to save me having to remove them all and run each one again, re-booting between each one and checking whether I have full rights?

I have tried removing the user from Power Users and adding again, and anything else I can think of.

Seems like your user profile account may have gotten corrupted.
To see if this is the case go here first:
Fix a corrupted user profile - Windows Help

 

[bph]

Thanks for the suggestion. I have just tried creating a new user account and adding it to the Power Users group, but it has the same limited abilities as before.

I am going to try using System Restore to work my way backwards through the updates and see if I can find the culprit. If I live long enough to succeed I will post the result.

Why do we bother with Windows updates? I have NEVER had a problem due to not applying updates, but plenty due to applying them!

 

[bph]

I'm in trouble now!

I have restored back to the point before I started any updates, and as I'd feared, the Power User account still can't move, delete, or modify files.

Any ideas where I go from here?

 

[Joe C]

Try creating a new power user account and see if you can move your items from the old account to the new account

 

[bph]

Did that (see post above).

Actually I've been thinking that since a new Power User has the same limitations it probably means that it is not my profile that has been corrupted, but the Power User group permissions that are up the creek.

Is this possible? Are they configurable?

 

[carnageX]

Log in as the hidden Administrator account and check out Group Policy (gpedit.msc from the Run menu).

You can start here: https://www.microsoft.com/resources...proddocs/en-us/gpedit_setgpacls.mspx?mfr=true

Check in the other categories as well that would possibly relate to users/groups and such.

 

[bph]

Thanks. Looks "interesting" i.e. WAY over my head!

I'm afraid I can't make head or tail of it at present. I will have another look tomorrow.

 

[bph]

Well I think I might be in the right place.

I have run gpedit.msc. In the console tree I have gone to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > User Rights Assignment.

The right-hand pane has various rights which are assigned to Administrators, Users, Power Users etc. As far as I can see, everything else in the entire console tree is "not configured".

I have uploaded a screenshot of what I am seeing to user_rights.jpg.

Am I looking in the right place?

Are all the User Rights there (39 items)?

Which rights should apply to Power Users?

Thanks for your help.

 

[bph]

I found a Microsoft page that lists the User Rights Assignment.

I can't see any discrepancies in here regarding Power User entries on my system. There are a number of places in the Microsoft document where "local system" appears under Security Setting. This does not appear anywhere in my system. I don't even really know what "local system" means. Is its absence of any significance?