Windows Take Ownership ❲Tested – 2026❳

Even if you log in as an Administrator, you do not automatically have full control over every file. System files (like C:\Windows\System32 ) are owned by NT SERVICE\TrustedInstaller . If you aren't TrustedInstaller, Windows blocks you. This prevents malware or clumsy users from deleting critical OS files and crashing the computer.

This utility is built into Windows and is ideal for scripting or use in Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). windows take ownership

# Define the new owner (Requires SID or Account object) $account = New-Object System.Security.Principal.NTAccount($user) Even if you log in as an Administrator,

Never take ownership of C:\Windows , C:\Program Files , or C:\Windows\System32 . If you change permissions here, Windows may become unstable, refuse to boot, or fail to update. TrustedInstaller has control for a reason. This prevents malware or clumsy users from deleting

takeown /f "C:\RestrictedFolder" /r /d y