Programs

[Steve]

I just got Windows XP. I set up the administrator account
and a limited user accout for my wife. When I load a
program on the administrator site she is not able to use
it. Is there a special way to load a program so all user
can access it

 

[Malke]

I just got Windows XP. I set up the administrator account
and a limited user accout for my wife. When I load a
program on the administrator site she is not able to use
it. Is there a special way to load a program so all user
can access it

Is she not able to use it because 1) there is no shortcut to the program
on her Programs menu; or 2) the programs won't run and exit with some
sort of error? If 1), then just add the shortcuts to her Programs menu
(from your administrative account right-click the Start button and
choose Explore All Users and right-click and drag the icons from your
Programs menu to hers). If 2), check with the makers of the programs.
Many older programs were not designed to work with multi-user operating
systems and must have access to restricted areas of the os. You can set
them up to do a Runas. Post back with more details of what programs,
the exact problem, etc. if you want more help.

Malke

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

This is quite common if the software was designed for Win9x/Me, or
if it was intended for WinNT/2K/XP, but was improperly designed. Quite
simply, the installation routine for this application doesn't "know"
how to handle individual user profiles, or the application tries to
make changes to "off-limits" sections of the registry. Quite often,
you can make this software available to other users by _copying_ the
Start Menu folder and Desktop folder shortcuts from the user profile
from which the software was installed in the corresponding folders in
the user profile(s) in which you'd like the software to be accessible.
If the application is something that can/should be made available to
all current and future users, copying the shortcuts into the
corresponding locations of the All Users profile will do the trick.

NOTE: This may not work if the software requires access to parts
of the hard drive and/or registry that are not normally accessible to
regular users. (This won't occur if the application was properly
written.) If this does prove to be the case, however, you're left
with two options: Either grant the necessary users appropriate higher
access privileges (either as Power Users or local administrators), or
replace the application with one that was properly designed
specifically for WinNT/2K/XP.

Some Programs Do Not Work If You Log On from Limited Account
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q307091

Additionally, here are a couple of tips suggested, in a reply to a
different post, by MS-MVP Kent W. England:

"If your game or application works with admin accounts, but not with
limited accounts, you can fix it to allow limited users to access the
program files folder with "change" capability rather than "read" which
is the default.

C:\>cacls "Program Files\appfolder" /e /t /p users:c

where "appfolder" is the folder where the application is installed.

If you wish to undo these changes, then run

C:\>cacls "Program Files\appfolder" /e /t /p users:r

If you still have a problem with running the program or saving
settings on limited accounts, you may need to change permissions on
the registry keys. Run regedit.exe and go to HKLM\Software\vendor\app,
where "vendor\app" is the key that the software vendor used for your
specific program. Change the permissions on this key to allow Users
full control."


Bruce Chambers

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