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Messages - recognizer

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After backing up everything and doing a system restore on the machine, chkdsk reports no errors and I'm able to install software, etc as normal (plus the firewall settings I was trying to fix in the first place seem to be cleared up).

I believe what happened was that there was an error in Windows somewhere while Windows Repair was doing one of the first three steps - Reset Registry Permissions, Reset File Permissions, or Reset Service Permissions - and that Windows didn't notify me of this error, meaning that some part of my system was left with crucial permissions not set at all.

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Get this - I turned off UAC and it let me look at the permissions for all the problematic folders in question. Somehow all the permissions for every account had been removed. Bizarre! It's like Windows just lost all the permissions data for every file except the basic system files.

I added my own account back in with full control and now I can see the contents of the folders... at this point it seems like I shouldn't have too much trouble backing up my files and then fixing my Windows installation without worrying about my data. Thanks for your suggestions and sorry to bother you with such a strange issue.

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Chkdsk doesn't worry about permissions, and when you tried to do the chkdsk it didnt give the option to run it at next boot?

It did. It was when chkdsk ran at next boot that it gave me the error. It's a standard, if rare, chkdsk error that reads
"Cannot open volume for direct access.
Autochk cannot run due to an error caused by a recently installed software package.
Use the system restore feature from the control panel to restore the system to a point prior to the recent software package installation."

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When the hard drive is in another system can you see any files what so ever?

Yes. I can see all the normal system files, the Windows folder, Program Files folder, Users folder, etc. The only files which have issues are ones inside any folder that was created by my user account.

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Reason why I ask is if the hard drive is encrypted then that would explain why you can see anything from other OS and only windows can.

As far as I know, Windows' EFS is not enabled. I definitely don't have any third-party encryption installed.

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I have a little time right now and I can teamviewer in and see if I can get the chkdsk working and see if I find anything else.

I would really appreciate that if it were possible, but since this issue happened I haven't been able to connect to the internet!

If it is a file system issue, do you have any recommendations for recovery programs? I have used FinalData in the past, but I don't know if that's currently being updated, their website doesn't even seem to list their current pricing.

I am currently attempting to turn off UAC and see if I can restore my permissions to any of these folders. I'll get back to you if that makes any progress.

Thanks again.

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Thanks for the reply; I'll run down some additional information.

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And even if you dont have access to a file it doesnt make them hidden, so the fact that you cant see the files tells me something else is going on.

The files are only hidden when the hard drive is connected to another computer. When I boot from the hard drive with these issues, I can see all the folders in question, but my user account does not have permissions to access them. There is an exact correspondence between the folders I cannot open while logged into the problematic computer, and the folders which are not visible when the hard drive is connected to another machine.

I've tried running chkdsk, but after rebooting it gives me the "cannot open volume for direct access" error.

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you need to get your files off as soon as you can

Yeah, that's exactly what I need to do. But Windows informs me that my user account does not have permissions to view any of the contents of the folders created by my that account. I really think this is a Windows security issue, not a hard drive issue.

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I ran Windows Repair last night on a Windows 7 machine, because I've been having some major issues with home networking (can't activate network discovery or any sharing options) on that PC, and I'd read that this program could help with firewall policy problems. I left most of the default file permissions and services-related options checked, and let the program run. After it ran and my system rebooted, I'm getting messages that my installation of Windows is not genuine (it is a genuine OEM installation that came on the machine in question, a Lenovo laptop).

On top of that, I can't open any files created by my user account - Windows alerts me that I do not have permission to access them. I activated the hidden administrator account and it can't access the files either. Any files created by my user account (which has admin permissions) are invisible when the hard drive is attached to another computer (even when show hidden files/show system files are enabled). I was suspicious at first that there was some kind of malware issue going on, but I had ran malwarebytes before running Windows Repair, and Windows Repair itself seems to be well-regarded.

I found this article from Microsoft: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2008385 which addresses the problem about the incorrect genuine Windows validation error. The fact that it describes a security issue would presumably explain why my administrator accounts cannot access my files. It suggests adding certain registry keys in order to repair the issue. I have already tried that - Windows informed me that the .reg file was used to update the registry - but that hasn't solved anything. I am unable to run rsop.msc in order to attempt the other solutions suggested.

I did set a restore point and back up my registry via Windows Repair before running the repair process. However, I am not currently able to run Windows Repair, even from a portable version on a USB drive.

Does anyone know how Windows Repair could have screwed up my system like this, and what I can do to fix it?
At the least, I really just want access to my files so that I can back them up. If I can get all the files created by my primary user account off the machine, I'm comfortable doing a factory restore in Windows, or formatting and installing, or whatever's necessary to fix the OS.

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