Is it possible to take ownership/ copy windows system files pls anyone

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TimEJ

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Aug 27, 2014
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does anyone know if its possible to actually copy/ remove/ exchange Windows system files

It seems to me that some folders are impossible to take ownership over/ rights over

Is this true?

And if not how do I do it please

I followed the directions in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdIVcZU7s4U) and it doesn't work with "all" folders only some

Or am I wrong about that, and should be able to copy remove exchange every file...

Obviously wired to a USB of another computer as an external drive.. Im not talking about messing with system files while the OS is running from the same drive

Any advice on this would be very appreciated

T

 
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Ok I try to explain this simply

I had a HD.. I cloned the Hd to an SSD... then I cloned that SSD to make more space (120GB to 240)

Now the clone does some weird things sometimes crashes etc


So I want to (with both drives in external USB 2.0 Hard Drive Enclosures) copy the "windows" folder from the original HD, and delete the the folder/ paste in the 240 SSD

I know this will help if I can do it - I can always back up its not actually that dangerous

But the question is how do I do it

Cause it just keeps telling me I cant delete/ copy / modify that folder
 
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That will not work. Ever.
At all.

So...let's actually fix this.
HDD, cloned to an SSD
Did it boot properly?

SSD cloned to....what? "To make more space"
Please explain.
Did this ever boot properly?
 
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Yes it works

Just it freezes as it boots sometimes

So far when it does this it can be fixed by just cutting the power and restarting.. but I want to fix it

I can only suspect - but I strongly suspect that 😀 if i copy the windows system files form the original HD and replace them in the SSD it will work
 
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I'm not sure I follow what your goal is. It seems like you have a trusted OS on your hard drive and want to image that to the larger SSD, which is acting unreliable. Hmmmm... Maybe your should run diagnostics from the manufacturer on the SSD first, just to be sure of it, Be sure of your foundation before you build your house on it.

In general Windows does not let users delete, move, or rename any Program files, that is, all the contents of the two directories Program Files and Program Files (x86). You can copy them, but that won't fix the Registry, so it's pointless, That means you can't paste over them, of course. Only Trusted Installer programs can do that. [I won't debate the wisdom of that, Microsoft made that design decision for better or worse.]

What you can do is use a reliable tool such as Macrium Reflect to copy an image of your hard drive boot partition to your larger SSD, if it fits. Would that do what you want? You've done it twice, although it sounds like the second time was not successful. It's a lot safer than trying to pretend to be a software guru and manually editing your system software. It is much more complex and fragile than you can imagine.
 
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I can back any files up I dont think its that bad, in fact they are already backed up on the original HD, I think some of those files have just got damaged in the process of the two clones Im pretty sure

"Only Trusted Installer programs can do that. [I won't debate the wisdom of that, Microsoft made that design decision for better or worse.]"


lol So basically I can't do what I want


Is there no software that tricks Windows you are a "Trusted Installer" program

It seems a no brainer to me ----- HD Windows boots fine --- SSD Windows does not, copy system files from the good over the bad ----- problem fixed!


Thank you for replying.


T



 
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""I strongly suspect"....that you just need to do an actual reinstall. Too much weirdness going on in there. "

I can't do a reinstall as dont have the original disc.. Also up to now the comp only does this every so often; and the hassle of a reinstall is hardly worth it - to now it is a problem that can be lived with

Simply copying a few folders and pasting them, is (italics) something i can do as will be quick and either work or not


but it seems to me that's impossible



Im sad 🙁

 
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You really should have Win7 disks to support your system, for restoring it in just this sort of situation. You can buy a Windows 7 SP1 ISO disk on ebay for about $5. You can also buy a genuine Microsoft Win7 disk and COA on ebay for about $35 if you prefer.

With either, and a valid COA, you can do an install to the SSD from the Win7 disk and have a known clean system. As you are finding out, it is easy to waste a lot of time on a flaky system. Start clean.

 
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"With either, and a valid COA, you can do an install to the SSD from the Win7 disk and have a known clean system."

Can I do basically what I wanted and just copy the system folders (the folders involved with booting)... the reason I want to do this is so I dont have to spend hours renewing all my software etc etc my comp is working very well now and it took me a very long time to get it like this


This really was just an "idea" to quickly see if it will fix the crashing (which up till now only happens once in a while, (and till now) boots again when I pull the plug and reboot)



Regards
 
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Nope, you can't simply copy the programs to SSD and hope they run. Special installation software must also set them up in the Registry in order for them to be functional. This setup happens when you reinstall, or when you clone an exact image of your old disk to new, including the old Registry. Software makers don't want you to pirate their software so they don't make it easy to copy like you wish. They want you to buy new software so they can pay their people, which is only fair.

There are some transfer programs that will do what you want, namely transfer all your application software and data to a new drive and fix the Registry. First, you have to install the new OS fresh, then transfer the applications and data. These transfer programs do what you want; they move installed programs and fix the Registry so the programs work, but there are limitations. They were developed when people transferred from HD to HD, including data. When we transfer from HD to SSD, we usually want to transfer application software to SSD but leave the data on HD. So I back up my data to DVD, usb drive or other hard drive and delete it before transfer. I put it back later on HD and remap my \users data directories to the HD.

PCMover from Laplink is one transfer program I trust. There are others but I have not used them. Despite their claims, not everything will be easily moved. Adobe software is tricky for instance. As a minimum you will have to re-activate it, and you could have to go round and round with Adobe to deactivate/reactivate. If you are moving from a 32 bit OS to 64 bit OS, you really need new versions of drivers, and in many cases the other 64 bit application software too. So if you do this, you'll end up with a long list of cleanup chores, and 300+ updates to download/install on Windows 7 as well.

So, that's probably not what you wanted to hear. The software makers don't want you to copy programs easily from one computer to another, because they need to sell new software to stay in business. So they make it difficult. You can do what you want by making an image copy, or using a transfer program, but it is still a bit of work and takes some time.
 
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Hi thx,

I'll look in to PCMover from Laplink I can't imagine anything can be worse than an fresh install of Windows, at least with the OS from the original HD It will have some drivers installed, if not my software

I understand I personally hate stolen software and will only ever use brought and legit software no matter what it is

and lots of freeware


Maybe I'll just live with it crashing

Tim
 
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