Windows 10: Who owns this - an easy way to see who owns a file or folder.

Information dir /q in a Command Prompt window will show you who the owner of a file or folder is. The following is my way of automating this so I can use it easily as often as I want.
Add Who owns this to the Windows Explorer/File Explore/This PC right click Context Menu. When used it will show you who the current owner of a file or folder (and subfolders) is.

Step 1:
Create whoOwns.bat.
Click Start, type notepad and press Enter.
Copy and paste the following RED line into the Notepad window:

dir /q %* > %temp%\whoOwnsRes.txt & notepad %temp%\whoOwnsRes.txt & del %temp%\whoOwnsRes.txt & exit

Save the files as whoOwns.bat in a folder you will be keeping. Enclose the name in double quotes or set the Save as type to All files (*) to prevent Notepad from adding .txt to the end.

Step 2:
Create AddwhoOwns.reg as follows:

Click Start, type notepad and press Enter.
Copy and paste the following RED lines into the Notepad window:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\whoOwns]
@="Who owns this"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\whoOwns\command]
@=""C:\\xxxxxxxx\\whoOwns.bat" "%1""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\whoOwns]
@="Who owns this"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\whoOwns\Command]
@=""C:\\xxxxxxxx\\whoOwns.bat" "%1""

Note: Change xxxxxxxx to the folder you put whoOwns.bat in.

Save the file as AddwhoOwns.reg in a folder you will be keeping. Enclose the name in double quotes or set the Save as type to All files (*) to prevent Notepad from adding .txt to the end.

Step 3:
Merge AddwhoOwns.reg into you registry by double clicking on it or right clicking and select Merge.

To use, open Windows Explorer/File Explore/This PC and navigate to the file or folder you are interested in.
Right click on it and select Who owns this.

A Command Prompt and a Notepad window will open with the results in file %temp%\whoOwnsRes.txt.
When you close the Notepad window the %temp%\whoOwnsRes.txt file will be deleted and the Command Prompt window will close.

For instance, if I do this for a folder like C:\Program Files, I get the following:
Code: Volume in drive C is Lenovo_C Volume Serial Number is FC29-1F8F Directory of C:\Program Files 03/19/2016 11:18 AM <DIR> NT SERVICE\TrustedInsta. 03/19/2016 11:18 AM <DIR> NT SERVICE\TrustedInsta.. 03/03/2016 10:00 PM <DIR> BUILTIN\Administrators 7-Zip 02/15/2016 03:12 PM <DIR> BUILTIN\Administrators CCleaner 10/30/2015 03:24 AM <DIR> NT SERVICE\TrustedInstaCommon Files 02/15/2016 02:33 PM <DIR> BUILTIN\Administrators Everything 02/15/2016 07:18 PM <DIR> BUILTIN\Administrators Greenshot 03/10/2016 12:19 PM <DIR> NT SERVICE\TrustedInstaInternet Explorer 02/15/2016 05:35 PM <DIR> NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM Macrium 02/15/2016 03:51 PM <DIR> BUILTIN\Administrators Malwarebytes 02/20/2016 12:39 AM <DIR> BUILTIN\Administrators Microsoft Games 02/15/2016 11:11 AM <DIR> NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM Microsoft LifeCam 02/15/2016 12:57 PM <DIR> NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM Microsoft Office 02/16/2016 11:04 PM <DIR> BUILTIN\Administrators MirrorFolder 02/15/2016 08:01 PM <DIR> BUILTIN\Administrators Mozilla Firefox 02/15/2016 07:50 PM <DIR> NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM MSBuild 02/15/2016 11:11 AM <DIR> NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM NVIDIA Corporation 02/15/2016 03:07 PM <DIR> BUILTIN\Administrators ooRexx 02/17/2016 09:31 PM <DIR> NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM Oracle 02/27/2016 09:11 PM <DIR> BUILTIN\Administrators Pale Moon 02/15/2016 11:07 AM <DIR> NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM Realtek 02/15/2016 07:50 PM <DIR> NT SERVICE\TrustedInstaReference Assemblies 02/15/2016 03:57 PM <DIR> BUILTIN\Administrators Unlocker 03/19/2016 11:16 AM <DIR> BUILTIN\Administrators VS Revo Group 10/30/2015 05:02 AM <DIR> NT SERVICE\TrustedInstaWindows Defender 03/02/2016 12:11 PM <DIR> NT SERVICE\TrustedInstaWindows Journal 10/30/2015 05:02 AM <DIR> NT SERVICE\TrustedInstaWindows Mail 03/10/2016 12:19 PM <DIR> NT SERVICE\TrustedInstaWindows Media Player 03/10/2016 12:19 PM <DIR> NT SERVICE\TrustedInstaWindows Multimedia Platform 10/30/2015 03:24 AM <DIR> NT SERVICE\TrustedInstaWindows NT 10/30/2015 05:02 AM <DIR> NT SERVICE\TrustedInstaWindows Photo Viewer 03/10/2016 12:19 PM <DIR> NT SERVICE\TrustedInstaWindows Portable Devices 0 File(s) 0 bytes 32 Dir(s) 140,497,846,272 bytes free[/quote] When I do this for a file like C:\Users\rrkurtz\Documents\Ascenion Fall Festival.zdl, I get:
Code: Volume in drive C is Lenovo_C Volume Serial Number is FC29-1F8F Directory of C:\Users\rrkurtz\Documents 11/10/2006 08:17 PM 30,353,408 DESKTOP\rrkurtz Ascenion Fall Festival.zdl 1 File(s) 30,353,408 bytes 0 Dir(s) 140,502,347,776 bytes free[/quote]

:)

 

Who Owns this PC - My Work Owns It vs I Own It - Small home networrk with Server 2012 R2 Active Directory Domain Services

Thanks, I've posted the question there:

Who Owns this PC - My Work Owns It vs I Own It - Small home networrk with Server 2012 R2 Active Directory Domain Services

 

Who Owns this PC - My Work Owns It vs I Own It - Small home networrk with Server 2012 R2 Active Directory Domain Services

I run a small home network with a Windows Server 2012 R2 Active Directory Domain. I currently use the following Windows 2012 R2 services on my domain:

• AD CS
• AD DS - group policy, etc.
  
• DHCP
• DNS
• Hyper-V
• IIS
• NAP (I use this for Enterprise-WPA2)
• WSUS

During the initial set up of Windows 10 Pro is asks "Who Owns this PC?". As my PCs belong to my AD domain what are the implications of choosing my work owns it vs I own it?

 

How about adding the "Owner" column to file explorer:

 

That's good too *Biggrin (actually it's excellent) but not as much fun.

Thanks for the tip though.

 

the "Owner" column doesnt appear in the immediate context menu for the columns in any folder except ones that i went to "more" with and already enabled, do you have a good explanation for either getting all folders viewed through file explorer window to have the column or to get that option to be sticky within the context menu's suggested columns? As its a little meticulous to go to every folder and navigate to the owner option for them the way i seem to be doing it.

Just thinking that is a great feature when combined with the registry edit that adds the "take ownership" option to files/folders context menus.

 

In File Explorer, with the Owner column showing, click on View then Options at far right, then Change folder and search options.
Click on the View tab then Apply to all folders. That makes it universal for me.