Detailed description how PC came to such state would be too lengthy.In short, after HDD with boot partitio was used into another PC OS refused too boot. Retrospectively this happened because of parallel BIOS change from AHCI to another option or vice versa. But in process of restoration few additional moves were done like OS repair from DVD, manual files re-write and so on.
Currently:
It boots.
It shows all installed before apps, desktop image same as before, activation remained.
But filesystem appears to be write protected at least partially. Chrome can't download anything. BOINC can't detect GPU (so no GPU crunching at all). FAR compians about issues with configuration folder and files each start.
In folder options (viewedby Explorer) "read-only" always set (for almost any folder on drive C) as partially enabled.
Re-taking ownership, resetting permissions seem have no effect, on next explorer launch it again showed as write protected. FAR can write into such folder only being elevated to administrator.

In short, PC almost unusable though after boot all looks like working.

Any advises how to get rid from this state?
Already attempted to dump and import FS sequirity content via windows utility from another similar Win7 PC - no success.

This is related to the NTFS file structure.

Right click on the folder, properties, security and advanced.
Change the access to your needs and hit proceed.

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

This is related to the NTFS file structure.

Right click on the folder, properties, security and advanced.
Change the access to your needs and hit proceed.

yep, this seems doesn't help.
But some radical idea came to my mind regarding this - to convert to FAT32 :)
Will see if it helps...

No success. "Impossible to change filesystem in OS Vista and up". So, seems Win7 doesn't support booting from FAT32? Or it's just limitation of app I used? (Paragon disk manager 15)

IIRC its only possible to convert Fat32 to NTFS but not vice versa.

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

IIRC its only possible to convert Fat32 to NTFS but not vice versa.

There are 3rd part tools to convert NTFS partitions to FAT. Normally that is done for data rather than boot partitions. Like the one they listed.

Windows 7 may not like booting to a FAT32 partition that is larger than 32GB. If possible shrinking the partition could be a work around.

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SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours
Join the [url=http://tinyurl.com/8y46zvu]BP6/VP6 User Group[

I don`t see any other solutions than a clean install of Win 7.
You will only run into another issue.

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

A few years back I tried running FAT32 on a disk >32Gb, the only way to get it to boot with any degree of reliability was to split the disk into two partitions, a small boot partition and a large running partition (I say "large", but these days it would be considered "small" at about 50Gb...)

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

IIRC its only possible to convert Fat32 to NTFS but not vice versa.

There are 3rd part tools to convert NTFS partitions to FAT. Normally that is done for data rather than boot partitions. Like the one they listed.

Windows 7 may not like booting to a FAT32 partition that is larger than 32GB. If possible shrinking the partition could be a work around.

Partition is 20GB, but still can't be converted

I don`t see any other solutions than a clean install of Win 7.
You will only run into another issue.

I'm afraid clean install will not activate again.
So it's real last resort option.

Hi,

I don`t see any other solutions than a clean install of Win 7.
You will only run into another issue.

I'm afraid clean install will not activate again.
So it's real last resort option.

Are you certain it wont activate again? not even via the phone process?

I've had a 'lot' of activation problems in the past due to hardware changes etc and the 'last resort' was using the phone activation system and it always worked for me.

That apart, does your computer have an UEFI bios? if so clearing it might help, I've found in the past that that type of bios prevented me from either booting or accessing a hard drive.
There is of course the possible option of using a bootloader that obviates the need to activate... as a real 'last resort':-)



Regards,

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Cliff,
Been there, Done that, Still no damm T shirt!

Hi,

I don`t see any other solutions than a clean install of Win 7.
You will only run into another issue.

I'm afraid clean install will not activate again.
So it's real last resort option.

Are you certain it wont activate again? not even via the phone process?

I've had a 'lot' of activation problems in the past due to hardware changes etc and the 'last resort' was using the phone activation system and it always worked for me.

That apart, does your computer have an UEFI bios? if so clearing it might help, I've found in the past that that type of bios prevented me from either booting or accessing a hard drive.
There is of course the possible option of using a bootloader that obviates the need to activate... as a real 'last resort':-)



Regards,

It boots currently. The problem not in booting but in strange filesystem permissions it set after booting.

There is a commandline tool for setting file & folder permissions you could try called icacls.
I use it on one of our servers to set permissions for newly created folders with specific names that needs special rights that are not inheritable.

I did once try to use it to set Everyone to have Full Access, like in XP, & Windows 7 was not very happy with my attempts to do so.

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SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours
Join the [url=http://tinyurl.com/8y46zvu]BP6/VP6 User Group[

There is a commandline tool for setting file & folder permissions you could try called icacls.
I use it on one of our servers to set permissions for newly created folders with specific names that needs special rights that are not inheritable.

I did once try to use it to set Everyone to have Full Access, like in XP, & Windows 7 was not very happy with my attempts to do so.

Yes, I used that tool for exporting sequirity settings from another host and importing into wounded one - but it did not help.

I have not tried this in a LONG time, but is this a case where fdisk /mbr or one of its many variants might help?

I have never, ever needed to do this, but might bootrec/ fixmbr be useful?

I know it boots, but something sounds amiss in the master boot record to me.

There is a commandline tool for setting file & folder permissions you could try called icacls.
I use it on one of our servers to set permissions for newly created folders with specific names that needs special rights that are not inheritable.

I did once try to use it to set Everyone to have Full Access, like in XP, & Windows 7 was not very happy with my attempts to do so.

Yes, I used that tool for exporting sequirity settings from another host and importing into wounded one - but it did not help.

I think at this point I would save this OS to a disk image & try a new install. If the new install will not activate then restore OS & continue to bang head on desk.

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SETI@home classic workunits: 93,865 CPU time: 863,447 hours
Join the [url=http://tinyurl.com/8y46zvu]BP6/VP6 User Group[

I have not tried this in a LONG time, but is this a case where fdisk /mbr or one of its many variants might help?

I have never, ever needed to do this, but might bootrec/ fixmbr be useful?

I know it boots, but something sounds amiss in the master boot record to me.

Again OS boots OK. Issues start after booting. MBR hardly defines anything past boot.

I think at this point I would save this OS to a disk image & try a new install. If the new install will not activate then restore OS & continue to bang head on desk.

Perhaps so. Not many apps installed and image already created...

You can try "NTFS Access" by Zeus Software (Freeware, 26 KB)
http://www.zeus-software.com/downloads/ntfsaccess

Do you by chance have installed any "security package" (Antivirus) that may do this lock-of-permissions?

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- ALF - "Find out what you don't do well ..... then don't do it!" :)
 

You can try "NTFS Access" by Zeus Software (Freeware, 26 KB)
http://www.zeus-software.com/downloads/ntfsaccess

Do you by chance have installed any "security package" (Antivirus) that may do this lock-of-permissions?

Thanks, but didn't help. I used this app on root of drive C:. It said all done, but then again, for example, BOINCdata dir was with read-only box marked.
It added sequirity record with my user name and "Full access" option, but on properties tab still "read only".... It's very strange but so.
And as I said before, I can clear this box (so user have rights to do so), also it asks to clear read-only on inner folders too, and it starts to clear... but when I open properties tab again - same checked box as before.
So, need to understand what area in Windows configuration hierarchy could override this.

And no, no any 3rd party AV soft there.