Forum Discussion
Program Data folder admin permissions corrupted - Help please!
Hi, I'd appreciate some help form an expert!
My folder permissions in 'C:\Program Data\Dell' folder have somehow been restricted to Authenticated Users (by a Dell Command Update failure or an unfortunate Dell Core Services uninstall), which now limits that Folder to 'Authenticated Users' - read and execute, read, and list folder contents, so software installs can't create new folders and write files.
Within the Dell folder there are a number of folders that have full control (SYSTEM, Administrators permissions etc), but some that are ONLY 'Authenticated Users': D3, DTP.DataManager.SubAgent, DTP.Diagnostics. SubAgent, DTP.Instrumentation.SubAgent, ePSA, MyDell Notification Manger, orca, OS Recovery Tool. DTP (Dell Data Protection) main folder and Dell Vault are OK
Dell are suggesting I reinstall the OS, but I have a huge number of apps installed and am trying to avoid that - everything else but Dell apps seems to be working.
The machine is an XPS15 9520 laptop on Win11 Pro 24H2. I can create new folder 'Dell2' and copy all the folders across and they then have full permissions, but of course I can't copy those folders back into the original folder with corrected permissions... What would happen if I rename the C:\ProgramData \Dell folder to something else and then rename the Dell2 folder to 'Dell', and try again and see if SupportAssist or DCU installs correctly, or could that do more damage? I think some Dell security stuff is in the BIOS but some will be in registry so would that 'notice' the folder its looking for is not the original folder but a different one with the same name?
Or is it better to install another user and give them admin privileges and have to login with a different ID for Dell software updates from now on?
NB this machine is set up for LOCAL ACCOUNT with a password, WITHOUT a Microsoft account on the machine, though it does have O365 subscription...
thanks so much!
8 Replies
I did the folder name change above and so far so good! I checked when I changed Dell to to DellOld in regedit and couldnt find DellOld so it didnt seem to track.
Dell's security settings in BIOS or registry might detect folder changes, but usually, they rely on specific paths and signatures. Simply changing the folder name might not cause issues unless Dell's software is tightly integrated.
Okay, press restart button while holding shift, then chose troubleshoot-->more options-->command prompt, type notepad-->open, go to your disk letter\Windows\System32\ and then replace sethc with cmd. Now reboot and on the login screen press shift 5 times. Now type again notepad-->open-->this pc-->your disk. Press right mouse button-->features-->security-->change. Now find users and set for them full permissions. If buttons are gray, then press advanced instead of change, and set the owner to SYSTEM instead of TrustedInstaller. Should work.
Hi Alex,
many thanks for this but can you expand your instructions please? I still have my User ID password which is an Administrator level user account and on most folders the permissions are fine, its just SOME of the ones in ProgramData\Dell that seem to be authenticated users only... the sethc change to cmd seems to be for forgotten admin passwords with Local accounts? How do I just look at the current permissions please and see if more than the ProgramData\Dell folder has changed? Thanks!
Hello. Sorry for not seeing your reply earlier. To see your permissions, log into your account-->explorer-->right click on that folder-->features-->security and there just click on the "administrators" group to watch where are checkmarks settled. That should be it. If this will not going to work, then you're screwed by the Dell, windows or bios.
Some Dell security features or services might not function correctly if the folder path changes unexpectedly, especially if they rely on registry entries or BIOS configurations.
If permissions are too tangled, creating a new admin user could be a quick workaround. But it's preferable to fix permissions directly, as this keeps your current setup intact.
How do I 'fix permsissions directly' please? I cant seemto find how to add System and Administrators to these folders... and Authenticated Users dont have write permissions.
