Taking ownership of system files or folders in Windows is not a simple task. Whether you use the GUI or the command line, it takes far too many steps. This method works in Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, and 10, and it maybe works in XP, though you won’t need it there.
Thankfully somebody created a registry hack that will give you a menu item for “Take Ownership” that will handle all the steps for you. We found this many years ago, and since then it’s been hosted here for everybody to use.
Here’s what the new right-click menu will look like after installing this registry hack. If you are in Windows 8, 8.1, or 10, the little shield won’t show up, but it’ll work just fine.
Installing the Take Ownership Menu
Download and unzip the files contained in the zipfile. Double-click the InstallTakeOwnership.reg file and click through the prompts. No reboot necessary.
Download and unzip the files contained in the zipfile. Double-click the InstallTakeOwnership.reg file and click through the prompts. No reboot necessary.
Uninstall
Double-click the RemoveTakeOwnership.reg file and click through the prompts. No reboot necessary.
Download TakeOwnership.zip
Double-click the RemoveTakeOwnership.reg file and click through the prompts. No reboot necessary.
Download TakeOwnership.zip