Taking ownership of system files in Windows Vista is a cumbersome process. There are two methods of taking ownership of system files in Windows Vista:

Method 1
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|_Log on as Administrator or a member of the Adminstrators group
|_|_Start Windows Explorer
|_|_|_Right click on the file/directory and select properties
|_|_|_|_Goto the Security tab and select Ownership
|_|_|_|_|_Click “Take Ownership” and then select Yes to the prompt

Method 2
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|_Right Click on the Command Prompt window
|_|_Select Run As Administrator and click Continue
|_|_|_Type takeown /f filepath at the prompt
|_|_|_|_To grant permission to a user account, type icacls filepath /grant username:f

Here are two ways to make this process easier for you:

1) GUI based application, Take Control: Free application that allows you to add multiple files from different locations to a list and take their ownership with automatic elevated privileges. The utility also allows you to Save or Import the list of files for future use.

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2) Context Menu: With this registry hack, you can right click on files and select the option to Take Ownership with the required elevated privileges Note: You account must be a member of the Admins group.

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