Take Full Ownership of Windows Registry Keys

The Windows Registry is where all the Windows system and software configurations are stored. In fact, most Windows tutorials you find online require you to add, modify or delete Windows Registry keys. But sometimes, when you intend to modify or delete a Windows Registry key, Windows may not allow you to do so.

This is because your user account or even the administrator account doesn’t have full ownership or permissions of that particular registry key. In order to edit any protected or system-critical registry keys, you need to take full ownership of that key.

So, if you ever need to, here is how you can take full ownership of a Windows Registry key.

Taking full ownership of Windows Registry keys is easy, but before doing anything, always make sure that you have a good backup before messing with Windows Registry.

To start, press Win + R keys, type regedit and press the Enter button to open the Windows Registry.

Once the Windows Registry is opened, navigate to the key you want to take ownership of:

After getting to the intended registry key, right click on it and select the option “Permissions”. While taking the ownership, you cannot directly take ownership of the Values on the right pane; instead, you need to take ownership or permissions for the entire key.

The above action will open the permissions window. Here, click on the “Advanced” button to change the special permissions.

Here in this Advanced Permissions window, select the username “Administrators” and click on the “Apply” and “Ok” buttons. This action will add the Administrator account as Current Owner.

Now, back to the Permissions window. Select the user name, Administrator and give that user full control by selecting the checkbox “Full Control” under Permissions for Administrator section.

That’s all there is to do. From this point forward, you can modify or delete the target Windows Registry key. Alternatively, if you want your user account to have full ownership, then select your user account name rather than the administrator account and give it full control.

Note: if you are using Windows 8.1, then you need to change the Owner from Trusted Installer to your user account. If not, you won’t be able to take full ownership of the Windows Registry key.

Download

RegOwnit is a freeware utility by TheWindowsClub that will ease the process to take ownership of any registry key in Windows Registry. Download freeware. Only a free registration needed to Heelpbook.net. The file will show only to registered and logged users.

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