Allow a Windows screensaver to write to a file in Program Files

Question

I ran into a problem after creating a screensaver that requires writing to a file located in Program Files. When the screensaver becomes active it can successfully read a file from there but fails to write to a file.

I noticed that when I use and elevated command prompt to run the screensaver, with /s, the screensaver successfully writes the file. So I assumed this was a permission problem.

To see if it was a permission problem I went in and changed Program Files and the subfolders permissions so that anyone and system could read and write, but it still didn't help.

Any idea what I should do? Is there a way to force a screensaver to run as admin? Or did I miss some important permissions?

Answer 1

You can't get the system to start screensavers with elevated rights. If that were possible then it would be a truly bone-headed security and design flaw. Screensavers should simply not be writing to Program Files or other restricted areas. You will have to find a different location to write this file.