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Why can't Thunderbird recognise that I am an administrator?

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  • 1 has this problem
  • 2 views
  • Last reply by Matt

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I have followed instructions to clear a suspected corrupted trash folder. Tbird will let me delete 'Trashmsf' but not 'Trash' because it says I need administrators permission - even though I am working in the account for which I have administrator status. It could be that my Win8.1 user name is Forename/surname but my Tbird Profile is just my forename. Windows won't let me change my name. How do I get administrators permission to delete this trash file?

I have followed instructions to clear a suspected corrupted trash folder. Tbird will let me delete 'Trashmsf' but not 'Trash' because it says I need administrators permission - even though I am working in the account for which I have administrator status. It could be that my Win8.1 user name is Forename/surname but my Tbird Profile is just my forename. Windows won't let me change my name. How do I get administrators permission to delete this trash file?

All Replies (4)

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Do you have Thunderbird closed when your do this? Sounds to me like the file is locked by some program, thus requiring an administrator privilege to over ride.

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Hi Matt. Yes I have Tbird closed. I can only think it is a clash between profile names. My single name profile was transorted into Win8.1 from XP which allowed single names, so that was the name brought into AppData. Now, Windows insists on surnames.

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But it sounds as if your OS, and not Thunderbird, is what is objecting to your attempts to delete this file.

Can you open the offending file named Trash in a text editor, and clean it out there?

Modified by Zenos

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GusMacbeth said

Hi Matt. Yes I have Tbird closed. I can only think it is a clash between profile names. My single name profile was transorted into Win8.1 from XP which allowed single names, so that was the name brought into AppData. Now, Windows insists on surnames.

As far a Windows is concerned your Thunderbird profile is just a collection of files. It has no idea what they are or what they mean in any way other than they are data. So your chasing the wrong line blaming profile names. I is almost certainly to be something about Windows 8. Right click the file and in properties look at the security information. Compare it to a file you can delete. But I really have no idea as I have treated it like the Virus it is. It resides on a DVD on my desk, not on my computer. My next big issue will be Windows 10 or Linux. Linux is looking pretty good.