Take Ownership in Windows 8

In previous versions of Windows it was easy to take ownership of a file, folder or drive. Taking the ownership is especially useful when you accidentally remove the permissions belonging to you or the Administrators group.

However, this functionality is very difficult to find on Windows 8. To achieve this you can follow the steps below, which will allow you to be able to instantly take ownership of a file, folder (and all contents), or drive (and all contents) by changing the owner to the current user and grant the Administrators group full access permission.

1. Create an empty .reg file  and save it on the disk
2. Add the following content to file and save it

--- file content ---
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas]
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\runas]
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\dllfile\shell\runas]
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\runas]
[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas]
"HasLUAShield"=""
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas\command]
@="\"%1\" %*"
"IsolatedCommand"="\"%1\" %*"
--- file content ---

3. Double click on the .reg file to merge it.
4. Click on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

Hope this helps you.