Permissions and VirtualStore

[OnePostWonder]

Using Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy as an example...

I installed JKJA to the default folder, save for shortening the folder name during the install process. I started a new game and navigated to where I believed the saves would be (C:\Program Files (x86)\LucasArts\Star Wars JKJA\GameData\base\saves). Finding nothing there, I looked online and discovered Windows 7 (Vista may also have this, I forget at the moment) keeps a folder called "VirtualStore" for those programs which can't write to their own folder due to permission issues; I'd like to avoid files of my choosing being placed in VirtualStore for the sake of organization and convenience.

My question is this: what is the most efficient and secure way to give permission to these programs so that they can write to their own folders? As I understand it, giving the default Admin (myself) full control of the Program Files folder would present somewhat of a security issue.

This is all I'm going to write for now, but I have other, more specific questions that will hopefully be answered along the way.

Thanks in advance!

[Frick]

Run installation as admin maybe?

[OnePostWonder]

Originally Posted by Frick

Run installation as admin maybe?

This actually reminds me of a question I have; when I'm prompted by UAC to allow a program to install, is this comparable to selecting the setup file and running as administrator?

[scoutingwraith]

Have you tried compatibility option. I had to enable that one as "Vista" to run Jedi Outcast for example.

[OnePostWonder]

Originally Posted by scoutingwraith

Have you tried compatibility option. I had to enable that one as "Vista" to run Jedi Outcast for example.

Hmm...I could give that a try. I don't know if that will allow for the saves to land in their proper folder, but it's worth a shot!

[newtekie1]

This is a tricky one.

Simply adding administrator to the security options would do nothing since the Administrators group should already have permission to write to pretty much every folder already, so any administrator should have write access.

However, this is an UAC issue almost certainly, since UAC prevents programs actually running with Administrator privileges, even if you run them under an Administrator account.

So the solution would be to go into the properties of the programs EXE, and going to the compatibility tab, and checking the box to always run the program as administrator. This will make sure the program has administrative privileges and can write to its own folder. You will get a UAC prompt every time you run the program though. Obviously this is safe if you know the program and trust it, obviously you don't want to do this with every program.

[OnePostWonder]

Originally Posted by newtekie1

This is a tricky one.

Simply adding administrator to the security options would do nothing since the Administrators group should already have permission to write to pretty much every folder already, so any administrator should have write access.

However, this is an UAC issue almost certainly, since UAC prevents programs actually running with Administrator privileges, even if you run them under an Administrator account.

So the solution would be to go into the properties of the programs EXE, and going to the compatibility tab, and checking the box to always run the program as administrator. This will make sure the program has administrative privileges and can write to its own folder. You will get a UAC prompt every time you run the program though. Obviously this is safe if you know the program and trust it, obviously you don't want to do this with every program.

This was a really informative post and actually addressed some other questions I had. It also provides me with the simplest and most efficient solution (as far as I know now, I haven't tested it yet).

[OnePostWonder]

newtekie1's solution worked.

Thanks!