In Windows 7, one of the reasons that older programs may have problems is that Windows 7 protects the C:\Program Files directory from being modified by running programs.
When you run a program in Windows 7, even if you’re logged in using a userID that has an Administrator profile, the program does not run as Administrator. That’s a big security improvement.
However, in versions of Windows before Windows 7, programs often stored their configuration files in their C:\Program Files directory.
If you edit a configuration file using a program like Notepad (I use EditPad Pro), Windows 7 blocks the program from directly into the C:\Program Files hierarchy.
Similarly, the c:\Windows directory and subdirectories are protected. That’s where the Windows hosts file is located (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts).
The hosts file is cheatsheet for your Windows version that pre-defines computer names and their IP address, which we sometimes want to do. I do this mainly for web site development, but I also use it to define fixed IP addresses for my wireless router and my home theater PC.
Anyway, C:\Windows hierarchy is protected and programs can not save directly into it. When you try to save directly there, the program simply gets an error message that you can’t do that. But, there is a way around the problem.
We can solve the problem with a two-step shuffle.
Step 1: save the file to the directory of your choice.
Step 2: Then copy the file from that directory to the intended destination.
Windows will display a warning message that the Copy function requires Administrator privileges, and provides a button in the warning box that allows us to continue with Administrator privileges.
and
Great tip, but it still does not solve my issue which hopefully you can help me solve. The software I run for my business automatically wants to save in the C:\Program Files directory. There is no way I can ask it to save in a temp folder so that I can then cut and paste.
Is there another way to bypass this protection measure?