Stupid is as stupid does | Bangkok Post: opinion

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Microsoft, or at least someone there, is stupid. Let me explain why I think so. Windows 8 is their latest and greatest operating system. It is provided on just about every new PC sold, including on the ultrabook my parents recently purchased. They were going away on an archaeological training dig in Cambodia and about an hour before they left tried out a new 2TB Western Digital Passport external drive to be used as one of two for backing up data they were going to collect.

When the ultrabook was fired up it went through the normal process, asking a few location questions and the name of the main account to be used and the such like. This account was, of course, a member of the Administrators Group, all standard stuff. When the drive was plugged in the "Access Denied" panel came up. Of course, in the limited time available I tried the usual searches and blogs, tried some suggestions including a registry change, but still the same message cropped up.

Finally I activated the Administrator account, something that requires the use of the command line Net User command, and found that when I plugged the drive in under this account there were no problems at all accessing it. So, some brilliant mind working on Windows 8 decided that in this case, external USB 3 hard drives would be by default not accessible to the thousands of home PC buyers lumbered with Windows 8, even from the standard account everyone would create as part of the Administrators Group. In a couple of months, when my parents get back and I have more time I'll find out how to do it, but come on Microsoft, really?