Taking ownership of system files or folders in Windows is not a simple task. Whether you use the GUI or the command line, it takes far too many steps. This method works in Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, and 10, and it maybe works in XP, though you won’t need it there.
Thankfully somebody created a registry hack that will give you a menu item for “Take Ownership” that will handle all the steps for you. We found this many years ago, and since then it’s been hosted here for everybody to use.
Update: after all these years we finally figured out who originally made the first version of the registry hack — it was a system tweaking guru by the name of Herby.
Here’s what the new right-click menu will look like after installing this registry hack. If you are in Windows 8, 8.1, or 10, the little shield won’t show up, but it’ll work just fine.
Note: you might need to hold down the Shift key to make the menu show up.
Installing the Take Ownership Menu
Download and unzip the files contained in the zipfile. Double-click the InstallTakeOwnership.reg file and click through the prompts. No reboot necessary.
Uninstall
Double-click the RemoveTakeOwnership.reg file and click through the prompts. No reboot necessary.
Download TakeOwnership.zip
Whether you’re looking for a way to simply extend your Wi-Fi network, bridge your existing Wi-Fi network to a LAN, or create a completely new access point, the Netgear EX6100 can do it all. Read on as we put the multi-faceted little range extender through the paces.
There are countless ways to copy files between computers, including great sync options like Dropbox, but if you just want to share one of your folders from your Mac to your Windows computer, you can do that easily.
Think you know the answer? Click through to see if you're right!
If you tell us email has fallen out of fashion, we’d ask you to have a look at our inboxes. Being able to sort through and organize the mess of messages that arrive daily is fairly key to maintaining workplace sanity.
Think you know the answer? Click through to see if you're right!
Think you know the answer? Click through to see if you're right!
We’re going to assume that most How-To Geek writers know how to delete the history, cookies, and cache in Mobile Safari, but just in case you don’t know, here is how to do it.
Think you know the answer? Click through to see if you're right!
Fingerprint scanners have been an option on some laptop models for about as long as the concept has existed, but they’ve always usually been kind of quirky and forgettable. Then along comes Apple, who not only perfects it, but makes it a must-have feature.
Wikis are a great way to communicate and work on a project with other people, but hosting your own wiki can be complicated to work with. Today we’ll show you how to setup your own Wiki page with Google Sites.
