To change system registry keys, you need ownership of these. This is how you can take ownership associated with a registry key or folder in Windows 10.
For advanced Windows settings, there’s a high probability which you may have to alter the registry settings. This is especially true in the case of some obscure settings that Windows doesn’t have options for. For instance, to change Windows system font, you need to edit the registry. There is no way around it unless you use some third-party application.
Though most registry keys and values are editable through the regular admin users, some registry keys aren’t. It is because they belong to the System. As a result, even the administrators don’t possess the necessary permissions to edit, change, delete, or add those keys. If you want to edit the system registry keys or folders, you need to first take ownership from the target registry key and then make the necessary changes. Taking ownership will give you full treatments for the registry key. The good thing is, as long as you are webmaster, it is simple to take ownership of any registry key.
Within this quick and straightforward guide, allow me to demonstrate the steps (with pictures) to consider ownership of a registry key or folder in Windows 10. These steps will even operate in Windows 7 and Windows 8 too.
Take ownership of registry key or folder
To consider full charge of a registry key, take ownership of it by stick to the steps below.
Step 1: Open the Windows Registry Editor. On Windows 10, you are able to launch the beginning menu, type “Registry Editor” and press the Enter button to open it.
Step 2: Go to the registry key you want to capture ownership of. You are able to expand the folder structure around the sidebar to go to the registry key or folder. For example, I wish to take ownership of a File Explorer related registry key.
Step 3: Around the sidebar, right-click around the registry folder and choose the “Permissions” option. As you can tell from the option name itself, this is actually the option that lets you take ownership from the registry key.
Step 4: Click on the “Advanced” button in the permissions window. This opens the advanced permissions window where you can change the ownership from system to administrator.
Step five: Near the “Owner” option, click on the “Change” option. If the registry key is one of the System, you will notice “System” since it’s default owner.
Step six: Click the “Advanced” button in the Select User or Group window. This allows you to choose the Administrators user.
Step 7: Click the “Find now” button. This course of action will list all the users and groups in your body that will help you choose the administrators’ user account.
Step 8: Choose the “Administrators” user in the list under the Search engine results section and click on the “Ok” button. This course of action will pick the Administrators user.
Step 9: Click on the “Ok” button in the main Select User or Group window to confirm the user choice.
Step 10: Choose the “Replace owner on subcontainers and objects” checkbox and click on the “Apply” and “Ok” buttons in the Advanced Security Settings window. This action helps you to save changes.
Step 11: In the Permissions window, select the “Administrators” user under the Group or Usernames section, choose the “Full Control” checkbox under the “Allow” column, and then click the “Apply” and “Ok” buttons. This will ensure the Administrators account has full control along with full ownership over the registry key. Should you don’t do this, you might be able to edit the registry key despite ownership.
Wrapping up: Take ownership of registry key
That’s all. In the future, you may make any changes you like to the target registry key. Remember that these changes are is limited to that particular registry key only. If you wish to modify another system registry key, you have to manually take ownership from it too.
Though not as simple as you think, it’s still pretty simple to take ownership of a registry key in Windows so long as you follow the above steps as is.