Access Denied when change regedit value

Question

Hello,

i want to disable defender tamper using regdit, but i can't change the value because access is denied. Current owner of regedit key set to 'System' and when i try to take ownership to administrator i also get access denied.

On below picture we can see there only 3 group who have full access (WinDefend, System and TrustedInstaller'). How i can take this ownership to the administrator or can we add administrator as member for WinDefend?

On computer management i cannot see all three groups so i can add administrator to that groups.

Answer 1

Hello there,

If you are receiving an "Access Denied" error when trying to change a value in the Windows Registry (regedit), it means that your user account does not have sufficient permissions to make the change. The Windows Registry is a critical system database, and modifying its values can potentially cause system instability or security issues. Therefore, changes to the registry are often restricted to administrative users only.

To resolve this issue, you can try the following steps:

Run as Administrator: Make sure you are logged in with an administrator account or an account that has administrative privileges. Right-click on the "regedit" program and choose "Run as administrator" from the context menu.

User Account Control (UAC): If you are already running as an administrator, but still getting the "Access Denied" error, it might be due to User Account Control (UAC) settings. Temporarily disable UAC and try again. To disable UAC, follow these steps:

Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog.

Type "msconfig" and press Enter.

In the System Configuration window, go to the "Tools" tab.

Scroll down, find "Change UAC Settings," and click on the "Launch" button.

Move the slider to the lowest setting (Never notify) and click OK.

Restart your computer.

Take Ownership: If the above steps don't work, you can try taking ownership of the specific registry key you want to modify. Here's how:

Right-click on the registry key you want to modify and select "Permissions."

Click on the "Advanced" button.

In the Advanced Security Settings window, click on the "Change" link next to the Owner label.

Enter your user account name in the "Enter the object name to select" field and click "Check Names."

Click "OK" to close the Select User or Group window.

Check the box for "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects" and click "Apply" and then "OK."

Close the Permissions window and try changing the value again.

Group Policy: If you are on a corporate network or using a managed system, there might be Group Policy settings restricting registry access. In such cases, contact your system administrator for assistance.

I used AI provided by ChatGPT to formulate part of this response. I have verified that the information is accurate before sharing it with you.

Hope this resolves your Query !!

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Answer 2

'Right-click on the "regedit" program and choose "Run as administrator" from the context menu.' What does this mean? Are you saying locate regedit.exe via a CMD window?