Windows 7 Ultimate and admin rights

[PB]

Hi, I'm thinking of (finally) switching from XP Pro to 7 Ultimate for a
purely programming point of view. That is, I prefer XP but I need to
ensure my apps work and look right on 7, so 7 really has to be my
prime OS for coding (unfortunately).

Now, if I do this, I know I should run 7 as a limited user for safety.
Everyone always says "don't run Windows as an admin" all the time.
My concern is this: if I do that, how do I run all my apps that need
me to be logged in as an admin, such as Sandboxie and VirtualBox?
Is there a way to ALWAYS and AUTOMATICALLY launch such apps
as admin, rather than me right-clicking their exe and selecting the
"Run As" menu item?

Because I want convenience if logged in as limited, and having to
manually run something as admin every time is going to defeat the
purpose.

[Joakim Christiansen]

I have not tried that myself, but I think it may prompt you for the admin password.

I know I should run 7 as a limited user for safety

I don't think that is necessary at all!
For any program to have the rights to do "scary changes" to your computer you need to select to run them in "administrator mode", yes even if you're logged in as an administrator. And some programs even prompts for this themselves.

Personally I hate all this new limited rights shit in Windows 7... Even if I am logged in as an administrator I have a hell at owning the system (having the rights to do stuff).

Want some example of Window 7's stupidity?
I had some external disk with my XP stuff (my previous XP install) and when trying to access my personal files on that disk (logged in as the administrator) Windows 7 wouldn't let me... It doesn't make any sense!! Because I could access the same files in Linux or any XP computer! What I had to do was to download some fancy stuff called "Take ownership":
http://www.blogsdna.com/2173/add-take-o ... dows-7.htm

[Blue Steel]

you could always not install into any system directory. eg: instead of installing the software in program files directory. make your own c:\ or in their user directory or even in the public user directory.

Most of these problems can be averted by NOT using the preograms install directory to store its data. Data for any program should be stored on the user thats running that programs, user directory or else where on the hard drive. it is BAD programming practice to store files that the program or user alters in the same directory where it is installed. its not just windows vista or 7 that does this .. windows NT, any version of linux , and many other OS's do it trhe same way. its only brain dead windows XP and earlier that allowed this attrocity to occure.. WHY... BECAUSE USERS DIDN'T WANT IT , AND IT WAS EASIER, LESS CHECKS ENVOLVED AND HENCE LEADING INTO A LESS SECURE OS. which is also why people have a hard time migrating away from windows XP or earlier versions.

the other directories are there in XP just not utalised correctly by most programs.. eg: the APP data directory and alike..

If you allow users to alter files in the programs installed directory it then meansd that they might not be running the version of files you installed for your program to use. files like default config files. or default anything for that matter should be in the programs mainm installed directory.. and copyied accross to the program users data directory if there isn't one that exists in there.. or something happens and that file in there gets corrupted.. in other words the default settings etc are stored in a SAFE directory.

[Thorium]

Now, if I do this, I know I should run 7 as a limited user for safety.

Everyone always says "don't run Windows as an admin" all the time.
My concern is this: if I do that, how do I run all my apps that need
me to be logged in as an admin, such as Sandboxie and VirtualBox?
Is there a way to ALWAYS and AUTOMATICALLY launch such apps
as admin, rather than me right-clicking their exe and selecting the
"Run As" menu item?

Actualy it's more needed to run XP as a limited user than is it needed in Vista or 7 because of UAC.
In Vista or 7 you are never truely logged in as admin, even if you are logged in as admin. You have to run software that need admin rights with "run as administrator" or the software can request admin rights. So if you start it there pops up a window and asks you if you want to run the software with admin rights. If you are logged in as admin you dont have to enter a password, just click yes or no.

That is, I prefer XP but I need to
ensure my apps work and look right on 7, so 7 really has to be my
prime OS for coding (unfortunately).

I cant understand that. There is not much of a difference between the systems. I can understand if someone says he dont needs the features of 7 so he keeps his XP.
But prefering XP over 7? Why?
They are nearly the same. If you realy dont like UAC you can deactivate it. If you dont like the look, you can use one of the classic looks. Whats the problem?

[cas]

Want some example of Window 7's stupidity?
I had some external disk with my XP stuff (my previous XP install) and when trying to access my personal files on that disk (logged in as the administrator) Windows 7 wouldn't let me... It doesn't make any sense!! Because I could access the same files in Linux or any XP computer! What I had to do was to download some fancy stuff called "Take ownership":
http://www.blogsdna.com/2173/add-take-o ... dows-7.htm

It's perfectly logical that you can access it under XP because your XP account is owner of that files and Linux ignores NTFS file permissions. You don't need to download that app, you could do it manually through Security tab in file/folder properties (it's less than one minute job).
You can always format drive to FAT32 and then you don't need to worry about file permissions. :roll:

Why do people tend to hate what they don't understand?

[PB]

> You can always format drive to FAT32 and then you don't need to worry about file permissions

Yes, I first mentioned how FAT32 is better for portable devices well over a year ago:

http://www.purebasic.fr/english/viewtop ... 17&t=33758

It's worth a read if you're taking data from one PC to another!

[Joakim Christiansen]

Why do people tend to hate what they don't understand?

It's not that I don't understand it, I just think it's stupid.

As an admin I should be able to browse whichever disk I want without being told "I don't have permission"! If they want the files to be "protected" then they should instead use real protection like encryption! NTFS file permissions can be bypassed easily as you said.

I get that it could be useful for user-1 not to mess with user-2's files... But hey! The administrator user should be able to mess with ANY files without going through hell to get the ownership of them, at least that's my opinion.

(it's less than one minute job)

Yeah and I needed a GUIDE on the internet to figure out how.

[maw]

For those who want an unrestricted administrator account like on Windows XP, just enable the built in Administrator account and use this. Unlike the other administrator accounts that you create yourself this one actually is the real deal. This is the first thing I do after installing Windows 7 (and Vista back then).