Windows 10, Notepad access denied

[jeffowen]

I have recently changed from W7 to W10 and have generally been pleased with the results.
However, one annoying feature that I can't fathom out is that every time I power up and log in to my PC I get a window showing Notepad (blank page and untitled) together with a sub window saying ACCESS DENIED.
I can clear both windows OK but how do I stop it from appearing every time I start up?

When I first changed over to W10 there were a few days when it did not appear so I am assuming it it something I have done but don't know what.

 

[Okedokey]

Right click on C: and change permissions to ensure you have access. I assume you have a different pc name now? If that doesn't work open command prompt as admin and type (with space) sfc /scannow

If that doesn't work, reinstall fresh.

 

[jeffowen]

OK, I went to the C: drive , went to properties, security, and clicked on permissions to give all access. There were dire warnings that made me hesitate but still went ahead. There were further warnings and err msgs that I did not understand. I decided to do your second action in the command prompt.
I rebooted the PC and still got the ACCESS DENIED msg on Notepad.
I thought I had better return the access in C: but now can't get in because access is denied!
When you say 'reinstall fresh' what exactly is that?
PS. I hadn't changed my pc name.

Now I can't get into my C: drive at all! When I try to change permissions it denies access and leaves a couple of boxes including 'advance security settings for C: drive' on the desk top that I cannot clear. Something now is truly screwed up. HELP!
How do I get my access back?

 

[johnb35]

Do a system restore to back before you screwed up the permission settings. This sounds like some program is trying to run at bootup. Once you run the system restore, download and run this.

Download OTL to your Desktop


•Double click on the icon to run it. Make sure all other windows are closed and to let it run uninterrupted.
•Click on Minimal Output at the top
•Click the Quick Scan button. Do not change any settings unless otherwise told to do so. The scan wont take long.
◦When the scan completes, it will open two notepad windows. OTL.Txt and Extras.Txt. These are saved in the same location as OTL. Just post the OTL.txt file in your reply.

 

[jeffowen]

How to I do a system restore? I still have the desktop icon for W7 but this obviously does not work in W10. When I do a search for a 'system restore' all it comes up with is a reinstall (back to W7) or restore from a back up. Not that helpful. Does W10 automatically create restore points and if so how do I access them? I am getting desperate as I need to get this sorted.

I found an input to 'Open system Restore' but when I click on it it says 'System Restore could not start'. not very helpful!

Things are now getting worse! It seems that I have to set up the restore points myself. As I did not know this and have not done so I cannot restore it to an earlier point.

Following other 'Help' routes got me to a W10 point in a SAFE MODE where I can 'clear everything', 'keep my folders & files but clear all apps that were not on the original PC' or 'do nothing'.

I want to do the second option as I have many thousands of files etc. that I want to keep, but also have many programs (apps) that were transferred successfully from W7 but were not on the original PC that I definitely do not want to loose. It is not at all clear that if I choose the second option that I might loose these programs. This is not an option to me unless I can be absolutely sure I will not loose any of these programs.

I am finding already that some of my programs are not working correctly and am not at all happy about this. HELP me please.

Note that I am still getting this Notepad ACCESS DENIED each time i start up my PC. Also note that I am the sole user of my PC and also the administrator.

 

[johnb35]

Sometimes there are a lot of issues when upgrading to windows 10. At this point in time, I recommend doing the recovery back to windows 7. Follow this guide here.

http://www.howtogeek.com/220723/how-to-uninstall-windows-10-and-downgrade-to-windows-7-or-8.1/

Doing this should get your system usable again. Then you should back up your data and do a clean install of windows 10 using your existing key to activate. You will need to reinstall any programs you had installed though. Unfortunately, doing a fresh install is always the best course of action when upgrading to a new OS so no bugs gets transferred over to the new OS.

 

[jeffowen]

Help, Help now my most important programs are not working.

Just seen your recommendation to go back to W7 and start again. This is really what I did not want to do!
Can you explain which programs will have to be reinstalled? Do you mean the programs I had in stalled in W7 or just the new ones in W10. If I go back to W7 will it be identical to to what it was when I left it two weeks ago?
You also refer to an existing key, what is this?

 

[johnb35]

an you explain which programs will have to be reinstalled?

If you want to do a fresh install of windows 10 then all programs will have to be reinstalled afterward.

f I go back to W7 will it be identical to to what it was when I left it two weeks ago?

Yes it will.

You also refer to an existing key, what is this?

When you sign into windows do you sign on using a microsoft account or just a regular user name? If you install windows 10 fresh and you only use a regular login account then you'll need the product key that came with windows 7 in order to activate windows 10. If you use a microsoft account, then the activation is tied to that and you won't need a key when reinstalling 10 and log into your microsoft account.

 

[jeffowen]

Now I am even more confused!
Two weeks ago I was using W7 64bit pro and had several programs that I had when I bought the PC. These included Photoshop and Office among several others I use regularly. Most of these worked fine when I upgraded to W10. indeed, until this morning, were still working fine. I have added a few more since the upgrade but none of these were obtained via the MS shop (I do not have an account there yet). I presume that these new W10 programs I have installed are the ones I will have to reinstall if I re-upgrade to W10, and not my working W7 programs. Is this correct?

I did not have a 'key' to do the upgrade to W10 I just followed the upgrade instructions that kept popping up on my W7 desktop. If I go back to W7 can I not reinstall W10 as I did two weeks ago?

 

[johnb35]

I did not have a 'key' to do the upgrade to W10 I just followed the upgrade instructions that kept popping up on my W7 desktop. If I go back to W7 can I not reinstall W10 as I did two weeks ago?

You use your existing windows 7 key. It's a 25 digit code that you will need. Do you have a store bought pc or a custom built pc? If its a store bought pc there should be a windows 7 sticker on the side of the case with the key on it. Or you can download a program that will give you the key.

I presume that these new W10 programs I have installed are the ones I will have to reinstall if I re-upgrade to W10, and not my working W7 programs. Is this correct?

You can try doing the upgrade to 10 again but I highly advise doing a fresh install of 10 instead. You can do the fresh install by using the media creation tool and download the ISO file and burn the image to dvd and then boot to it.

Most of these worked fine when I upgraded to W10. indeed, until this morning, were still working fine.

So everything was working fine until this morning? What have you done differently that may have caused programs to not work correctly? Is it possible that you are infected with malware? Have you scanned for malware using malwarebytes?

 

[jeffowen]

The only thing different from this morning was to try to follow the instructions of Okedokey (see at the top of this page, he was the first person to answer in this thread). I have just tried Malware bytes and all I get is 'can't access this program'! it seems that many programs that need access to my C: drive can't get in since I followed Okedokeys instructions.

 

[johnb35]

First thing I would do is go back to windows 7 to see if programs will open correctly. If so, then do the upgrade to 10 again and let us know if things still work correctly.

 

[jeffowen]

I have found the key, at what stage will I need it?

I only had a problem after I tried to follow Okedokey's suggestion at the start of this thread.

I tried to use Malwarebytes but access to my C: drive is denied.

OK, I am going to try going back to W7 now. I will try to keep in touch using another PC.

How do you get back to W7? I have tried going to Settings, Update & Security, Recovery and then GET Started under Go back to Window 7 and nothing happens!

Is there another way to get back to W7 other than from the way noted above? i.e. in safe mode

My PC in W10 seems to have given up. I can't even get ctrl, alt delete to work to bring up the Task Manager. Trying to get back to W7 is proving extreemly difficult.

 

[johnb35]

You can try doing it in safe mode. Not sure if that will help the process start. Are you able to reinstall programs if you install windows 10 fresh? Can you backup your data? The quickest way to get back in operation is to do a fresh install of windows 10. Do you have a blank DVD that you can put it on?

 

[jeffowen]

I don't have a recent back up for W7 and have not done one for W10.

It seems that the main issue is the fact I have lost my admin rights. I tried putting into the command prompt 'net user administrator /active:yes' and got the reply that I don't have access. I want to get out of this mess and not loose my programs. Surely there is a way to undo the admin thing.

If I do a full back up of my W10 now will it save my programs ? I do have some of the original discs but they were originally for Windows XP and I have been told that they may not be install-able in W10

 

[jeffowen]

I am sorry for all this work I am giving you, it looks as though I am going to have to wait until tomorrow to continue this saga.
I do hope you or someone can get my admin rights back and get this PC back working again.

 

[johnb35]

Can you try doing a refresh in the recovery section. A refresh will reinstall 10 saving your programs and files.

Try downloading and running this file. Hopefully it will restore file/folder permisssions.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/index.php?ct=files&action=download&

 

[Okedokey]

You just need to fix the permissions. http://winaero.com/blog/how-to-take...ll-access-to-files-and-folders-in-windows-10/

 

[jeffowen]

Thanks for the link Okedokey, but the problem is that I cannot even get to my C: drive security control. If I right click on C: in Explorer, Properties and then Security, it displays message that says it is 'unable to display the current owner' and if I then try and 'change' it the sub window locks up. If I try anything else it just says access denied. There is no such problem with my D: drive (partitioned).

The problem is that all my programs and most of my files are on the C: drive and a many of the programs are not now working. I do have a backup for my personal folders and files, and I can access these as I am the owner.

Essentially I need to get back administrator control. No one else uses this PC so I was the owner and administrator.

 

[jeffowen]

Thanks Johnb35 for the link but am not sure which download or action I need to get. All I have is the list.

If I can't find a way to undo my erroneous actions of yesterday and get back my permissions then I will try the 'refresh' in the recovery section later today.