Take Ownership

For those who often reformat Windows, it is often when one forgets to format the system partition prior the new installation (drive C in most cases) and in some cases the computer now has two different operating systems. Good for those who notice this early and reinstall again with the Windows disc noting to format the partition this time. But for the unlucky ones who have installed number of softwares and data into the system partition, they will feel reluctant to redo the whole thing again.

In most cases when I do reformatting from Windows Vista to Windows Seven, sometimes when I blunder or when the installation process fail (very often the case), a folder named Windows.old appear. Depending on how many times it fails, more and more these folders appear, something like: windows(2).old, windows(3).old or windows.old(2), windows.old(3). And they usually occupy 30GB+ of space. So if you happen to have this folder too after custom installation of new Windows and you are sure that your files have been properly backup, you can claim back this space.

Windows.old in Local Disk (C:)

From the previous post: Remove Windows.old Folder in C:\, you can follow the easy steps and remove the folder without problem.

However for today, I want to introduce you easier way to do this. This trick is widely known as: Take Ownership. As simple as Right Click the Windows.old folder > Take Ownership > Follow the procedures > Delete Windows.old folder. It may require a few minutes during this process of changing ownership of the folder.

To get this function for your computer, copy the codes below and paste it to a notepad. Save it as Add Take Ownership.reg for your perusal.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas]
@="Take Ownership"
"Icon"="C:\\Windows\\System32\\imageres.dll,-78"
"NoWorkingDirectory"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas\command]
@="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F"
"IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F"

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas]
@="Take Ownership"
"Icon"="C:\\Windows\\System32\\imageres.dll,-78"
"NoWorkingDirectory"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas\command]
@="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t"
"IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" /r /d y && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F /t"

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\dllfile\shell]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\dllfile\shell\runas]
@="Take Ownership"
"HasLUAShield"=""
"NoWorkingDirectory"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\dllfile\shell\runas\command]
@="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F"
"IsolatedCommand"="cmd.exe /c takeown /f \"%1\" && icacls \"%1\" /grant administrators:F"

You can also save the codes below for removing the Take Ownership. Same procedure, copy the codes, paste to a new notepad and save as Remove Take Ownership.reg.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas]

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas]

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\dllfile\shell]

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas]
"HasLUAShield"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas\command]
@="\"%1\" %*"
"IsolatedCommand"="\"%1\" %*"

Once you have saved the Add Take Ownership.reg, double left-click to Merge it. Once you do this, you may notice that whenever you right click any file or folder, you can Take Ownership it. It is automatically added to your Shell Context Menu.

Take Ownership in Shell Context Menu

My previous post may have also thought you how to use Unlocker or Lockhunter to gain full access of a specific file or folder so on later, you can remove, modify or replace it. You can also use Take Ownership function to achieve the same thing, except that it is easier and more convenient.

Take Ownership particularly works for removing such big files and folders to reclaim the spaces they occupy. You may also need it when you encounter other computer issues such as VPN 651 error or anything when it involves replacing system files to a patched files which may require permissions from TrustedInstaller.

It does not pose significant harm to your computer if you add this function so you may want to add Take Ownership function, as this may be handy in the future when you urgently need to gain access of your files and folders.