Why won't Vista let apps create new folders?

I have had two similar problems on my system.

1. An application running in one of my user folders has several folders
below the folder it runs in. One of these folders is named 'data'. It needed
to create a file in data\global. This failed until I created the global
folder manually.

2. I have Apache+MySQL+PHP running on my system. PHP was unable to create
the folder 'session' in my AppData\Local\Temp\php folder. Again, if I created
the session folder manually, PHP was then able to create session files in
that folder.

What is happening here? Please help.

JeffG wrote:
> I have had two similar problems on my system.
>
> 1. An application running in one of my user folders has several folders
> below the folder it runs in. One of these folders is named 'data'. It needed
> to create a file in data\global. This failed until I created the global
> folder manually.

I would assume when you did it manually as user/administrator it saw you
as the owner of the folder.

As opposed to you being a user assessing the folder and the folder was
created by other means, like the folder was created without you doing it
manually, it viewed you as not being owner of the folder, and you would
have had to have taken ownership of the folder as user to fix the
problem of permissions.

>
> 2. I have Apache+MySQL+PHP running on my system. PHP was unable to create
> the folder 'session' in my AppData\Local\Temp\php folder. Again, if I created
> the session folder manually, PHP was then able to create session files in
> that folder.

See above.

>
> What is happening here? Please help.

I also think you should do the test that's being explained in the thread
"cannot change Program Files to full control" to see other permission
conflict for the user/admin on Vista.

"Paul Montgumdrop" wrote:

>
> I would assume when you did it manually as user/administrator it saw you
> as the owner of the folder.
>
> As opposed to you being a user assessing the folder and the folder was
> created by other means, like the folder was created without you doing it
> manually, it viewed you as not being owner of the folder, and you would
> have had to have taken ownership of the folder as user to fix the
> problem of permissions.
>

Did you mean accessing? In any case, I would have thought I would be the
owner of the folder however it was created.

This doesn't answer my question: why can't a program run by me in my own
area create another folder beneath the one it's running in? It just doesn't
make sense.

JeffG wrote:
>
> "Paul Montgumdrop" wrote:
>
>> I would assume when you did it manually as user/administrator it saw you
>> as the owner of the folder.
>>
>> As opposed to you being a user assessing the folder and the folder was
>> created by other means, like the folder was created without you doing it
>> manually, it viewed you as not being owner of the folder, and you would
>> have had to have taken ownership of the folder as user to fix the
>> problem of permissions.
>>
>
> Did you mean accessing? In any case, I would have thought I would be the
> owner of the folder however it was created.

No, you are not owner of the folder however it was created.
TrustedInstaller could be the owner on some folders in some cases. It's
not Administrators group or even your individual user account that is
owner of the folder. Or it could be some other User group that is owner
that your individual user account is not a part of the group.

>
> This doesn't answer my question: why can't a program run by me in my own
> area create another folder beneath the one it's running in? It just doesn't
> make sense.

I suggest that you goto the Security tab for the folders in question, to
the Advanced button, and to the Owner tab and see who is the owner of
the folder, because apparently, it's not you as a user as a user logging
into system with that user-id as user/admin or even Administrators Group.

If the Advanced button is not active when you go to the Security tab,
then use the built-in Administrator account that is an account that has
full admin rights that will enable the Advance button.

<http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/enable-the-hidden-administrator-account-on-windows-vista/>

You should set the ownership to a user group that has full rights access.

Well, here's the permissions tab for the folder in question:
http:/www.enborne.f2s.com/_misc/permissions.jpg

And here is the owner tab for the same folder:
http:/www.enborne.f2s.com/_misc/owner.jpg

Looks like I am the owner and have full permission

In the Effective permissions tab, user Jeff has all boxes checked.

Still confused...

Is your program using RunAsInvoker?

"JeffG" <JeffG@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:2DC4E52E-A877-4FFB-9C1F-E127C1CDA711@microsoft.com...
> Well, here's the permissions tab for the folder in question:
> http:/www.enborne.f2s.com/_misc/permissions.jpg
>
> And here is the owner tab for the same folder:
> http:/www.enborne.f2s.com/_misc/owner.jpg
>
> Looks like I am the owner and have full permission
>
> In the Effective permissions tab, user Jeff has all boxes checked.
>
> Still confused...

JeffG wrote:
> Well, here's the permissions tab for the folder in question:
> http:/www.enborne.f2s.com/_misc/permissions.jpg
>
> And here is the owner tab for the same folder:
> http:/www.enborne.f2s.com/_misc/owner.jpg
>
> Looks like I am the owner and have full permission
>
> In the Effective permissions tab, user Jeff has all boxes checked.
>
> Still confused...

No, it should be Jeff(machine-name\jeff) who is the user of the
computer, just like Users(machine-name\users) or
Administrators(machine-name\administrators) are users of the machine.

If you add your user account the one you use to login to the computer as
a new user account to the folder (do the checkname) on the ADD or goto
<C> and added it there giving that account full rights, then that is the
account you should be using and NOT this Jeff/desktop thing. What is
this jeff/desktop thing about, because I sure don't know what that is
about? :-P How in the heck did that get there? :-P

Or you change the ownership to the Administrators Group account, because
your login user account if that is user/admin account is part of the
Administrators group.

One can lead a horse to the water, but one cannot make the horse drink.

Here is a *test* I want you to do. You'll find it at "cannot change
Program Files to full control" thread in this NG, do the *test*. Maybe
you won't be so confused. <smile>

FromTheRafters wrote:
> Is your program using RunAsInvoker?
>
> "JeffG" <JeffG@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:2DC4E52E-A877-4FFB-9C1F-E127C1CDA711@microsoft.com...
>> Well, here's the permissions tab for the folder in question:
>> http:/www.enborne.f2s.com/_misc/permissions.jpg
>>
>> And here is the owner tab for the same folder:
>> http:/www.enborne.f2s.com/_misc/owner.jpg
>>
>> Looks like I am the owner and have full permission
>>
>> In the Effective permissions tab, user Jeff has all boxes checked.
>>
>> Still confused...
>
>

I believe when a program is running on a machine under the context of a
logged in user account, it using the machine-name\user or one of the
machine-name\user group accounts.

He is trying to use Jeff\desktop or something has set the owner to be
Jeff/desktop, when it should be Jeff(machine-name\Jeff) as the owner
with Jeff(machine-name\Jeff) having it's permissions set to full rights.
Or if his Jeff account is user/admin on the machine, the Administrators
group should be the owner of the folder.

"Paul Montgumdrop" wrote:

>
> No, it should be Jeff(machine-name\jeff) who is the user of the
> computer, just like Users(machine-name\users) or
> Administrators(machine-name\administrators) are users of the machine.
>
> If you add your user account the one you use to login to the computer as
> a new user account to the folder (do the checkname) on the ADD or goto
> <C> and added it there giving that account full rights, then that is the
> account you should be using and NOT this Jeff/desktop thing. What is
> this jeff/desktop thing about, because I sure don't know what that is
> about? :-P How in the heck did that get there? :-P

Hah! I know where the confusion comes from! I have two systems - my Desktop
and my Laptop. So I gave them the machine names... Desktop and Laptop

So Desktop *is* the machine name.

> One can lead a horse to the water, but one cannot make the horse drink.
>
> Here is a *test* I want you to do. You'll find it at "cannot change
> Program Files to full control" thread in this NG, do the *test*. Maybe
> you won't be so confused. <smile>

Well I did it, finally. And like the other guy, it went exactly as you
predicted.

A little more about the problem I had (have) where the app wouldn't create
the folder 'global' under 'data'. In fact it is a LUA function which calls
io.open() which in turn calls fopen. The call is effectively
fopen("data/global/filename.dsl", "wb"),
where the sub-folder global does not yet exist. So if fopen itself cannot
create non-existent folders on the fly in a file specification, that is the
real problem. As I said, if I create the global folder manually, the file can
be created in that folder ok.

(Sorry if this is a duplicate, but it seemed like my last posting attempt
failed)

"Paul Montgumdrop" wrote:

>
> No, it should be Jeff(machine-name\jeff) who is the user of the
> computer, just like Users(machine-name\users) or
> Administrators(machine-name\administrators) are users of the machine.
>
> If you add your user account the one you use to login to the computer as
> a new user account to the folder (do the checkname) on the ADD or goto
> <C> and added it there giving that account full rights, then that is the
> account you should be using and NOT this Jeff/desktop thing. What is
> this jeff/desktop thing about, because I sure don't know what that is
> about? :-P How in the heck did that get there? :-P

Hah! I know where the confusion comes from! I have two systems - my Desktop
and my Laptop. So I gave them the machine names... Desktop and Laptop

So Desktop *is* the machine name.

> One can lead a horse to the water, but one cannot make the horse drink.
>
> Here is a *test* I want you to do. You'll find it at "cannot change
> Program Files to full control" thread in this NG, do the *test*. Maybe
> you won't be so confused. <smile>

Well I did it, finally. And like the other guy, it went exactly as you
predicted.

A little more about the problem I had (have) where the app wouldn't create
the folder 'global' under 'data'. In fact it is a LUA function which calls
io.open() which in turn calls fopen. The call is effectively
fopen("data/global/filename.dsl", "wb"),
where the sub-folder global does not yet exist. So if fopen itself cannot
create non-existent folders on the fly in a file specification, that is the
real problem. As I said, if I create the global folder manually, the file can
be created in that folder ok.