There are times when you may need to edit one of the registry keys in Windows 10. However, Windows protects some registry keys by not granting full permission to the users and administrators. To make any modification to these keys, you need to take ownership of that particular key.  here is how to take ownership of a registry key in Windows 10.

Why you need full permission to edit a registry key? suppose you want to remove the Quick Access icon from the navigation pane in File Explorer. To make that happen you need to edit a registry key in the registry editor requires that you take ownership of the key before you can edit it. Whenever you want to edit, modify, delete, create a new registry key, or its value that is protected by Window, you can do so by taking ownership of the key. If not, Windows will show the following errors:

Error Deleting Values

Unable to delete all specified values

Error Editing Value

Cannot edit value. Error writing the value’s new contents

Error Renaming Value

The Registry Editor cannot rename value. Error while renaming value

Error Creating Key

Cannot create key: You do not have the requisite permissions to create a new key under key

Error Creating Value

Cannot create value: Error writing to the registry

If you encounter any of the following error, it means you don’t have full permission to make changes to the registry key or its values.

There are two ways to take ownership of registry keys. You can assign full permission to a registry key from the registry editor or use the Command Prompt with SetACL to do the same.

Method 1: Take Ownership Using Command Line (SetACL)

SetACL makes it easy to grant full permission to any registry key in Windows 10. It is a third-party utility, and you need to download it onto your computer before you can use it.

1. Download SetACL from here. Make sure you download the executable (.exe) version for the administrator.

2. Extract the downloaded file, and it will have both 32-bit and 64-bit version exe files. You need to use the version that is compatible with your PC.

3. Move the SetACL.exe file to C:\Windows\System32 folder. Simply copy and paste the file.

[alert-note]Note: It is not mandatory to move the SetACL.exe file to the Windows root folder as suggested above, but doing so will allow you to run the SetACL tool from anywhere without having to enter the path again and again while using the command prompt.[/alert-note]

4. Open Command prompt as Administrator. To do this, press Windows key + X and select Command Prompt (Admin) from the options.

5. Type the following command in the command prompt:

SetACL -on name -ot type -actn action

6. Hit Enter ↵ to execute.

7. Now you need to enter two commands followed by the registry key of which you want to take ownership. You need to change the registry key in the following command and keep everything else as it is. See the example below and later proceed with the command.

Example of the Registry Key to want to take Ownership: 

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}

Command 1: It will make the administrator as the owner of the registry key.

SetACL.exe -on "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}" -ot reg -actn setowner -ownr "n:Administrators"

Command 2: It will grant full permission to the administrator for the registry key.

SetACL.exe -on "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}" -ot reg -actn ace -ace "n:Administrators;p:full"

That’s it. Now that you have taken ownership of the registry key, you can proceed to edit the key.

You can read more about the use of SetACL here.

Method 2: Take Ownership Using the Registry Editor

This is the old school way to take the permission of any registry key in Windows 10 and other versions.

1. Open Registry Editor by pressing Windows key + R, type regedit and hit enter.

2. Navigate to the registry key that you want to take ownership of and Right-click on it.

3. Select the Permissions option.

4. In the permissions for the display window, click Advanced.

5. In the owner section, the key has Trusted Installer as the Owner. Click Change to change the owner.

6. In the new window, type your username and click the Check Names button.

7. Select your username in the box and click OK to save the changes.

8. Again in the “Permissions for Display window“, select your username and check the “Full Control” option in the “Allow” section.

9. Click Apply and OK to save the changes.

This should give you the full permission on the registry key.

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