Fixing up messed up permissions on C:

>
> Well, so here's my explanation on how I got all my permissions on C:
> messed
> up.
>
> I had both Windows XP SP3 and OpenSuse installed on this 250 GB hard
> drive.
> About a week ago I decided to uninstall OpenSuse. For that I simply booted
> a
> Gparted (partition software) live CD, deleted all the Linux partitions and
> extended the Windows NTFS partition to 100% of the hard drive.
>
> My next step would be to boot up the Windows installation CD, call the
> recovery console and run FIXMBR. Then I would reboot normally (without the
> CD) and let CHKDSK do all the rest. I know it works because I've done that
> to
> uninstall Linux distros on other PCs successfully.
>
> But I couldn't use the recovery console because I couldn't get the
> Administrator password right! Very frustrating. I am not sure, but I think
> that would be because I had the Administrator account DISABLED (although
> the
> message I got was something about wrong password). I got desperate.

> Then I used an Ubuntu live CD to boot up the machine so I could look for
> some solution on the web. I found a program that allegedly could fix the
> MBR
> without a Windows Administrator password.

> So I used it, rebooted. That didn't
> work. I tried the recovery console again, and this time it didn't ask me
> for
> a password - probably due to that program. I ran FIXMBR, rebooted. No way.
> Recovery console again, FIXBOOT, reboot. No way.

> I don't remember exactly how those reboot sequences occurred, but in the
> end
> I got a partition set as FAT16. If I am not wrong, FIXMBR has done that
> because it couldn't identify the file system used or something. I also got
> a
> partition table error.

> I got VERY desperate. Booted up Ubuntu live CD again. Fdisk identified the
> partition as NTFS, while Gparted told me it was FAT16. I was completely
> lost.
> I knew my data was there, no file system conversion had been made, so it
> was
> truly NTFS, just set/flagged/whatever as FAT16. So I started looking for
> some
> way to change the partition table and set the partition to NTFS.

> Browsing the web, I found this wonderful program called TestDisk. It let
> me
> recover deleted partitions, writing a new partition table in the end. Also
> I
> could write my very own partition table. Well, I just recovered a deleted
> partition (probably from the back up before I tried to fix the MBR, or
> even
> from before the installation of OpenSuse) - so my new partition table had
> the
> entire drive as NTFS (the Linux partitions had been already formatted
> using
> Gparted, in case you forgot it).
>
> I rebooted again, and surprisingly Windows XP started (I thought I would
> have to try the recovery console again or something). But, before loading
> the
> desktop, it automatically ran CHKDSK.
>
> And I think my Windows security descriptors or something got really messed
> up at that point.
>
> It was probably the longest CHKDSK I've ever seen. Soon I realized I was
> in
> trouble, because CHKDSK is usually fast when I uninstall Linux on other
> PCs
> and use FIXMBR.

> So I got something like this (I will try to translate, since my Windows is
> in Brazilian Portuguese - I am Brazilian):
>
> Cleaning up minor inconsistencies on the drive.
> The hash value 0x433ffdfe from the security descriptor entry with Id 0x105
> at offset 0x2f0 is invalid. The correct value is 0xe4e4759.
> Repairing an index entry with Id 261 from index $SII of file 9.
> Inserting an index entry with Id 261 from index $SDH of file9.
> The security data stream entry at offset 0x420 with length 0x3a2b005d
> crosses the page boundary.
> Repairing the security file record segment.
> Deleting an index entry with Id 263 from index $SII of file 9.
> Deleting an index entry with Id 264 from index $SII of file 9.
> Deleting an index entry with Id 265 from index $SII of file 9.
> Deleting an index entry with Id 266 from index $SII of file 9.
> ...
> Deleting an index entry with Id 488 from index $SII of file 9.
> Deleting an index entry with Id 489 from index $SII of file 9.
> Deleting an index entry with Id 490 from inde
>
> It went like that until the end. The event log stops there, probably
> because
> it couldn't handle all that data.
>
> When CHKDSK finished, Windows took forever to show the desktop. I realized
> everything was so weird, I couldn't copy and paste, the Windows key didn't
> work, the Taskbar didn't show the open applications etc. Then I realized
> the
> Remote Procedure Call (RPC) wasn't running! The PC was almost unusable.
>
> To make it usable (I work at my home so I needed to do this), I ran the
> Registry Editor and, on
> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\RpcSs I've changed
> the
> ObjectName value from NT AUTHORITY\\NetworkService to LocalSystem. That
> allowed me to run the RPC.
>
> When I try to run a service set to log on as Network Service or Local
> Service, I got a message box with "Error 5: Access is denied". On the
> Events
> Viewer, I got errors such as these:
>
> 1. Application, source Userenv, ID 1500, user NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE
> Windows cannot log you on because your profile cannot be loaded. Check
> that
> you are connected to the network, or that your network is functioning
> correctly. If this problem persists, contact your network administrator.
> Details: Access is denied
>
> 2. System, source Service Control Manager, ID 7000, user N/A
> The RPC service failed to start due to the following error: Access is
> denied.
>
> 3. System, source Service Control Manager, ID 7005, user N/A
> The LoadUserProfile call failed with the following error: Access is
> denied.
>
> On each boot, I got lots of errors s on the events log. Most (if not all)
> of
> them have Service Control Manager, DCOM or Userenv as sources and "Access
> is
> denied" in its description.
>
> So basically it seems that I can't run anything as Network Service or
> Local
> Service. The answer will always be "Access is denied". I am not sure, but
> it
> looks logical to me that it has something to do with the messed up
> permissions on C:. If I solve that, I expect everything to run smoothly
> again, but I can be wrong.
>
> And that's pretty much where I am right now. Almost every folder on root
> (C:\), including WINDOWS, DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS and SYSTEM VOLUME
> INFORMATION, had its permissions erased. When I right-click on one of them
> and check Properties, Security tab, only Administrators and SYSTEM are
> listed, and they both have ALL the permission check boxes UNCHECKED. They
> are
> all blank! That probably happened after that long CHKDSK. My registry
> permissions probably got messed up as well, but I don't know how to check
> it.
> (If I remember correctly, I had to change the permissions before editing
> that
> key to run RPC under LocalSystem.)
>
> Well, thank you all who read my long story. I appreciate your help.
>
> Again, thanks in advance.
>

> Hello,
>
> I have Windows XP Professional SP3, and I just found out almost all my
> permissions on C: got messed up.
>
> I would like to know if there is some way to easily change them all. (I
> suppose it's impossible to recover their original state.)
>
> I am considering using the method "Reset the registry and the file
> permissions" under "Advanced troubleshooting" described at
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949377/en-us. Basically, using
> Subinacl.exe
> to change them all. Would it be the easier and most correct way to solve
> my
> problem? Would there be any other/better way to do that?
>
> I am not trying to install Service Pack 3, I already got it installed, I
> just want to use that method to fix my permissions up in some way.
>
> So basically that's my problem. On my next post I'll try to explain how
> and
> why I got the permissions messed up, just in case the information may be
> useful.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>

> Hello,
>
> I have Windows XP Professional SP3, and I just found out almost all my
> permissions on C: got messed up.
>
> I would like to know if there is some way to easily change them all. (I
> suppose it’s impossible to recover their original state.)
>
> I am considering using the method “Reset the registry and the file
> permissions� under “Advanced troubleshooting� described at
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949377/en-us. Basically, using Subinacl.exe
> to change them all. Would it be the easier and most correct way to solve my
> problem? Would there be any other/better way to do that?
>
> I am not trying to install Service Pack 3, I already got it installed, I
> just want to use that method to fix my permissions up in some way.
>
> So basically that’s my problem. On my next post I’ll try to explain how and
> why I got the permissions messed up, just in case the information may be
> useful.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>