Windows Update as Administrator Causes Error

No problems here after the last Windows-Update (2 days ago) (and no idea about the relationship with SuRun). Most probably you got the latest Patch via Auto-Update and that has nothing to do with SuRun.
But ...

Noobody wrote:And Windows Update appears to run fine in the SuRun account using limited rights. But of course, I can't download updates.

This appears as a contradiction and I don't think, that your first sentence is valid. Probably you should rephrase that for expressing, what you want to say.

If I understand you correctly, the DCOM-error appears regardless of starting the mail-client (why don't you say, which one) with (not a good idea to run a mail-client elevated) or without SuRun; so this problem is somewhere else.

Hi. Thanks for your response. What I meant is when I go to Windows Update in the Start Menu without Starting as an Administrator, IE loads fine but I can't scan for updates without Admin privileges. But when I right click Windows Update and start as an Administrator, IE crashes with an Application Error. But Auto Updates work fine anyway, so it's not a major issue.

The email client is IncrediMail, and I've been running it without elevated rights. I haven't gotten the DCOM error since I've posted, whether running with SuRun or without. So I don't know what's going on. A bunch of little problems have just appeared in the last few days. Was trying to pinpoint the cause. Thanks again,

Brandon

Ok. I've disabled the LastPass add-on for IE8, and it seems to have solved the problem. The e-mail client problem, if still present, must be a separate issue from SuRun. But while I'm here, I use Thunderbird on our other computer. My profile for it is stored on a separate partition. When I run Thunderbird with limited rights, I can't receive mail, because I apparently don't have access to write to that partition. Same as when I'm using Firefox with limited rights and try to save a picture to overwrite one already stored on the separate partition. I get an Access Denied message. When running Thunderbird as an Admin, everything works fine. Is this related to SuRun? Thanks,

Brandon

No, not related to SuRun, but probably a user privileges problem - out of what reason has to be analyzed.

First question: Do you share the TB / FF profiles between several Windows-accounts or are they only used by the active limited user? Are the profiles created by this user or by another account?

What exact Windows-version are you using?

BTW: For Windows update you have actually go there from the admin account. Does it crash there also?

No, the profile isn't shared; only used in the active Limited account in which it was created. Here's the warning I get - Unable to write the email to the mailbox. Make sure the file system allows you write privileges, and you have enough disk space to copy the mailbox. And when I google this particular warning, solutions refer to issues I know are not present; and they also ask if you're using Administrative rights. So I'm not sure if they are implying Admin rights are required. I've also found this suggestion: Its possible the "inbox." file used to store the messages for your inbox folder is read only. However, typically this problem occurs due to an attempt to download a malformed message. See Unable to write the email to the mailbox for more information. But wouldn't read-only still cause the problem using Admin rights? And I don't know how I'd find which email is malformed.

Using limited rights worked fine until I updated Thunderbird several months ago. Yesterday I tried using Thunderbird with limited rights and got the warning. So when I went back to using Admin rights, I had some problems downloading mail - wasn't sure if something became corrupted or if my antivirus's mail scanner became confused. But I'm careful, so I may just continue using Admin rights, rather than expend time and energy isolating the cause; especially since I never found a helpful response elsewhere on the net.

Using SuRun I can scan for Windows Updates but can't install them, which I understand is a limitation. It never crashed in the Admin account, and hasn't crashed in the Limited user account since disabling the LastPass toolbar.

You did not answer all questions:

Cosmo:1275212321 wrote:Are the profiles created by this user or by another account?

What exact Windows-version are you using?

Additional: If the profile has been created by the current user, has the status (admin / non-admin) been changed since that time?

The profile was created by this account, which has always been a SuRunner account, never changed. Using XP SP3.

Thanks. Seems like I got it to work. The only problem is the folder structure for my RSS feeds in Thunderbird became a little corrupted. But that's simply a minor inconvenience. Everything else works perfectly. Thanks for taking time to help me!

Brandon

In this case I don't see a reason, why you don't have the needed privileges for writing. (Both TB & FF).

Nevertheless, do one of the following (TB & FF closed completely:
Method 1: Copy(!) (not: move) the complete profiles-folders to an temporary place with admin privileges, this place must be readable by the limited account; than delete the profiles folders completely on the current place. Than copy(!) the profiles-folders with the said user account without(!) admin privileges back to the previous place. Both Mozilla-programs should work fine now.

Method 2: For this you must either have XP Pro and in the folder options (Windows' control panel) you must have disabled on the second tab (view) the fourth option (something like "use simple file control", but I have a non-English Windows, so I don't know the exact English wording); or (with XP pro and Home working) start Windows in safe mode. Now open the properties of the profiles folders and go to the security tab. Mark in the upper list the entry "User" and activate in the lower list "Full Access"). Click on Apply. Go the the advanced section of the security tab and activate both options in the lower part of the dialog. Close all dialogs with OK. This should lead to the same result as method 1.