How to delete or rename files protected by TrustedInstaller?

While deleting any files or folders have you ever encountered the error message “You require permission from TrustedInstaller to make changes to the files“? Actually, this is not an error. You might not be knowing that there are a lot of files in Windows that are not owned by you, even if you are the Administrator? However, they are rather owned and controlled by an entity called the “Trusted Installer”. If you need to delete such files or folders then you have to take ownership of those files or folders first. Moreover, if you try to delete these files or folders then you will encounter the message displayed on your computer screen. In this guide, I will walk you through the steps to take ownership of the files and the steps to delete these files. Keep reading!

What is TrustedInstaller?

TrustedInstaller is the built-in user account that plays a major role in Windows resource protection (WRP) technology implemented by Microsoft to protect the core of the computer. You require permission from TrustedInstaller to open or delete a variety of system files like .dll, .exe, .ocx, and .sys as they are protected by the owner which is TrustedInstaller.  In order to do the necessary changes, one has to take ownership of the files.

It is always recommended not to practice this method to delete basic Windows features or files like Windows Defender. Actually, it is not going to work in that case and will hamper the functioning of your computer. You can use this method to delete malware or virus files that may have embedded into such protected Windows directories.

If you also are getting this message then need not worry as it is not an issue unless you need to delete certain system files and folders. To delete a file or folder that is controlled by TrustedInstaller, you have to take ownership of the files or folders and then you can rename or delete these files and folders. The users reported these messages while renaming or deleting the files protected by TrustedInstaller

You do not have permission to perform this action.

or something like this

You need authorization from TrustedInstaller in order 
to perform this action.

How to Take Ownership of Files protected by TrustedInstaller in Windows 10?

Before proceeding towards the method to delete or rename the files just create a restore point if something goes wrong.

Take the ownership of the files using CMD

• In order to fix the error you require permission from trustedinstaller you have to take ownership of the files Open a Command Prompt as an Administrator by searching Command Prompt in the Start Menu and right-click on it to run it as Administrator.

• In the Command Prompt window type ‘takeown /f “C:\Windows” /R /D Y’ and hit Enter to take the ownership of the Windows folder.

• To take the ownership of regedit executable type ‘takeown /f “C:\Windows\ regedit.exe’ and hit Enter.

• Performing these steps will help in acquiring the ownership of the files.

Take the ownership of the files manually 

• Navigate to the folder or file you would like to take the ownership of and right-click on it to select properties from the menu.

• Click on the Security tab shown in the Properties window.

• To get permission to do the necessary changes click on the Advanced button.

• In the Advanced Setting window, the current owner of the file is displayed in the second line to take the ownership click on the Change button. 

• Type the new owner name in the “Enter the object name to select” and click on the Check Names button to validate the owner’s name. Click OK to save the changes.

• Now in the Advanced Security Settings window, here checkmark Replace owner on sub containers and object if you want to delete more than one file in a folder.

• Click Apply and Ok to confirm.
• Navigate to the folder or file properties window and again click on the Advanced button under the Security tab.

• Click on the Add button.

• And then click on Select a principal link.

• Again click Advanced button then click on Find Now. Now select the same user account that you selected earlier and click OK.

• Again you will see the Permissions Entry window and here you have to checkmark all the boxes under Basic permissions.

• Checkmark Only apply these permissions to objects and/or containers within this container and click OK.

• Here you may get a security warning and click Yes to continue. Make sure to click Apply and OK to save the changes.
• Again click OK on the file/folder properties window.

• Now you have changed the ownership of the file or folder successfully and you can modify, edit, rename or delete that file or folder easily.

Edit file permission

• Navigate to the file and right-click on it to select the properties.

• Under properties, window select the Security tab. And In the Security tab click on the Edit button to have access to edit file permission. 

• Edit the changes by selecting Full control and click on the OK button to perform any action on the file.

• I hope this might helped in getting permission from trustedinstaller to make changes to files.

Take ownership of the Files using Windows Registry Editor

If none of the above methods worked for you in fixing the error you require permission from trustedinstaller then you can take ownership of the files or folders by adding the following code to the Windows registry. You can easily add Take Ownership option in the right-click options of a file or folder in Windows 10. To do so follow these steps:

• Just copy this code to a notepad file and save the file as takeownership.reg.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas]
@="Take Ownership"
"HasLUAShield"=""
"NoWorkingDirectory"=""
"Position"="middle"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas\command]
@="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /c /l & pause"
"IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /c /l & pause"


[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas]
@="Take Ownership"
"HasLUAShield"=""
"NoWorkingDirectory"=""
"Position"="middle"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas\command]
@="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t /c /l /q & pause"
"IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t /c /l /q & pause"


[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\dllfile\shell\runas]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\dllfile\shell\runas]
@="Take Ownership"
"HasLUAShield"=""
"NoWorkingDirectory"=""
"Position"="middle"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\dllfile\shell\runas\command]
@="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /c /l & pause"
"IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /c /l & pause"


[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\runas]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\runas]
@="Take Ownership"
"HasLUAShield"=""
"NoWorkingDirectory"=""
"Position"="middle"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\runas\command]
@="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t /c /l /q & pause"
"IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t /c /l /q & pause"


[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas]
"HasLUAShield"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas\command]
@="\"%1\" %*"
"IsolatedCommand"="\"%1\" %*"

• Double-click the file to install the script.
• You need to sign in the administrator account to install the script to Windows registry files.
• After installation of the script, right-click on a file, folder, or Windows drive and you will see the Take Ownership option there in the context menu.
• If you want to revert the changes then you can uninstall the script by adding this script.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas]

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas]

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\dllfile\shell\runas]

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\runas]

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas]
"HasLUAShield"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas\command]
@="\"%1\" %*"
"IsolatedCommand"="\"%1\" %*"

Install Ownership App

As we have mentioned above, you can also fix the error you require permission from trustedinstaller by clicking the Take ownership button in your right-click context menu by using a third-party application called Ownership. It is available for free, and userfriendly. Just download the tool and run it on your computer.

Conclusion

Following these steps will help you in acquiring permission from TrustedInstaller. To stay tuned with us and get some easy troubleshooting solutions to fix your system errors keep visiting our website. If you feel this article helpful please like, share, and follow our Facebook page.