Why do games installed as admin not work in restricted user accounts

[Martin C]

I am in the process of reinstalling all my apps and games onto a new WinXP
Home SP2 machine (previously used Win98SE).

First a bit of history that may be of importance:

I have 4 partitions on my disc
C: OS and OS related apps (eg spyware checkers and tools etc)
D: Data - this includes the My Documents folders for all users on the PC
(links to them via the normal C:\Documents and Settings)
E: Applications
F: Games

The problem I am having is the following:
I install the game onto the F drive (using my computer admin account).
I am able to run the games correctly with no problems at all from my
account. These are from games that provide an initial start-up screen with
the Install (and where applicable, the Run Game options).

If another user (with a limited account) tries to run the game, they are not
given the Run Game options from the launch game screen, but are given the
Install option instead. Obviously, the game is already installed on the PC.
If I override it and say continue using my account password, it does exactly
that - tries to install the game again. Usually I get the "game is already
installed" problems.

Why can only a computer administrator account run the game. If I change the
account from restricted to admin, there is no problem.

Thanks for any help you can provide. So far XP is proving a right pain. At
this rate I will have to give each user admin rights, which I would rather
not do.

Cheers,
Martin

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Martin,

Much has to do with how the program installer is written. In this case, the
apt descriptive is "poorly written". Please see:
http://rickrogers.org/xpsware.htm for more details on this issue.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Martin C]

Thanks for the rapid response Rick.

I had just been about to add to my initial post as I had found a way round
my problem, but your response has helped in other issues.

The way I had got round it was to give the users full control permissions
via a registry edit (yes, I know I have to be careful, but I always practice
safe hex when doing this and take appropriate steps to enable the changed
keys to be recovered).

In more detail, what I did was go to HKLM\Software\<software vendor used for
the game in question>\ and changed the permissions on this key to allow the
Users full control.

This allowed the launcher in the limited users account to provide the Run
Game option rather than constantly providing only the Install option.

Again, thanks for the rapid response and valuable information on your link.
If you think that my work around could cause problems I have not foreseen,
please let me know.

Cheers,
Martin

 

[Guest]

I agree with Rick, if the installer states to install for the current user
that is how it will install, some installers let you choose how to install,
either for ALL USERS or Current USER. You will need to learn windows
security, when my daughter would log herself in to my system, I had to give
her rights to certain directories in order for her to use her game pgms.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I am in the process of reinstalling all my apps and games onto a new WinXP
Home SP2 machine (previously used Win98SE).

First a bit of history that may be of importance:

I have 4 partitions on my disc
C: OS and OS related apps (eg spyware checkers and tools etc)
D: Data - this includes the My Documents folders for all users on the PC
(links to them via the normal C:\Documents and Settings)
E: Applications
F: Games

The problem I am having is the following:
I install the game onto the F drive (using my computer admin account).
I am able to run the games correctly with no problems at all from my
account. These are from games that provide an initial start-up screen with
the Install (and where applicable, the Run Game options).

If another user (with a limited account) tries to run the game, they are not
given the Run Game options from the launch game screen, but are given the
Install option instead. Obviously, the game is already installed on the PC.
If I override it and say continue using my account password, it does exactly
that - tries to install the game again. Usually I get the "game is already
installed" problems.

Why can only a computer administrator account run the game. If I change the
account from restricted to admin, there is no problem.

Thanks for any help you can provide. So far XP is proving a right pain. At
this rate I will have to give each user admin rights, which I would rather
not do.

Cheers,
Martin

You may experience some problems if the software was designed for
Win9x/Me, or if it was intended for WinNT/2K/XP, but was improperly
designed. Quite simply, the application doesn't "know" how to handle
individual user profiles with differing security permissions levels, or
the application is designed to make to make changes to "off-limits"
sections of the Windows registry or protected Windows system folders.

For example, saved data are often stored in a sub-folder under the
application's folder within C:\Program Files - a place where no
inexperienced or limited user should ever have write permissions. (Games
are particularly likely to follow this horrible practice.)

It may even be that the software requires "write" access to parts
of the registry or protected systems folders/files that are not normally
accessible to regular users. (This *won't* occur if the application is
properly written.) If this does prove to be the case, however, you're
often left with three options: Either grant the necessary users
appropriate higher access privileges (either as Power Users or local
administrators), explicitly grant normal users elevated privileges to
the affected folders and/or part(s) or the registry, 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

Help us help you:



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safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

 

[Plato]

I am in the process of reinstalling all my apps and games onto a new WinXP
Home SP2 machine (previously used Win98SE).

Use an OS that supports your old games.

 

[... et al.]

Use an OS that supports your old games.

But that OS is probably no longer /supported/ . ;-)
And people will keep bugging you that you really should upgrade your OS
to one that is!