Dealing with access rights

Access privileges differ among the various Windows versions. The following table assumes an out-of-the-box configuration; hardened systems might be more restrictive. Restricted or access denied items are shown in italics.

Notes

Windows 95/98/Me do have All Users shortcuts for the Start and Programs menus, but the All Users Desktop folder is not functional. Desktop shortcuts must always be installed as Current User. In practice, this doesn't make much difference because most 9x systems are configured for a single user anyway.
Windows Me, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, and 2008 may apply Windows File Protection restrictions to files in these folders.
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Help does not exist by default on NT4, but will be created on demand and then inherit its parent key's access settings.
File access is read-only, but new folders can be created.

Item	Account type	95	98	Me	NT4	2000	XP	2003	Vista	2008
Version9X	n/a	400	410	490	0	0	0	0	0	0
VersionNT	n/a	0	0	0	400	500	501	502	600	600
WindowsBuild	n/a	950, 1111	1998, 2222	3000	1381	2195	2600	3790	6000	6000
C:\	Administrator	Full	Full	Full	Full	Full	Full
	Power User				Full	Full	Read-only⁴
	User				Full	Full	Read-only⁴
ProgramFilesFolder	Administrator	Full	Full	Full	Full	Full	Full
	Power User				Full	Full	Full
	User				Full	Read-only	Read-only
CommonFilesFolder	Administrator	Full	Full	Full	Full	Full	Full
	Power User				Full	Full	Full
	User				Full	Read-only	Read-only
WindowsFolder	Administrator	Full	Full	Full²	Full	Full²	Full²
	Power User				Full	Full²	Full²
	User				Full	Read-only	Read-only
SystemFolder	Administrator	Full	Full	Full²	Full	Full²	Full²
	Power User				Full	Full²	Full²
	User				Full	Read-only	Read-only
ProfileFolder and subfolders	Administrator	Full	Full	Full	Full	Full	Full
	Power User				Full	Full	Full
	User				Full	Full	Full
CommonProfileFolder and subfolders	Administrator	Full	Full	Full	Full	Full	Full
	Power User				Read-only	Full	Full
	User				Read-only	Read-only	Read-only
Shortcut installation	Administrator	Mixed¹	Mixed¹	Mixed¹	All Users	All Users	All Users
	Power User				Current User	All Users	All Users
	User				Current User	Current User	Current User
DLL self-registration (HKLM or HKCU)	Administrator	HKLM	HKLM	HKLM	HKLM	HKLM	HKLM
	Power User				HKLM	HKLM	HKLM
	User				HKLM	HKCU	HKCU
Font registration (always HKLM)	Administrator	HKLM	HKLM	HKLM	HKLM	HKLM	HKLM
	Power User				Fails	HKLM	HKLM
	User				Fails	Fails	Fails
WinHelp registration (always HKLM)	Administrator	HKLM	HKLM	HKLM	HKLM	HKLM	HKLM
	Power User				HKLM	HKLM	HKLM
	User				Fails³	Fails	Fails
Environment variables	Administrator	All Users	All Users	All Users	All Users	All Users	All Users
	Power User				Current User	Current User	Current User
	User				Current User	Current User	Current User
Uninstaller registration	Administrator	All Users	All Users	All Users	All Users	All Users	All Users
	Power User				All Users	All Users	All Users
	User				Current User	Current User	Current User
RunOnce registration	Administrator	All Users	All Users	All Users	All Users	All Users	All Users
	Power User				Current User	Current User	Current User
	User				Current User	Current User	Current User
SharedDLLs reference counting	Administrator	OK	OK	OK	OK	OK	OK
	Power User				OK	OK	OK
	User				Fails	Fails	Fails
App Paths registration	Administrator	OK	OK	OK	OK	OK	OK
	Power User				Fails	OK	OK
	User				Fails	Fails	Fails
Service Control Manager	Administrator	n/a	n/a	n/a	OK	OK	OK
	Power User				Fails	Fails	Fails
	User				Fails	Fails	Fails
Running processes check	Administrator	OK	OK	OK	n/a	OK	OK
	Power User				n/a	OK	OK
	User				n/a	OK	OK
Delayed file copying and removal	Administrator	OK	OK	OK	OK	OK	OK
	Power User				Fails	Fails	Fails
	User				Fails	Fails	Fails
Reboot Windows	Administrator	OK	OK	OK	OK	OK	OK
	Power User				OK	OK	OK
	User				OK	OK	OK