Windows7 will not let me edit the hosts file and save it

Anonymous
2010-04-16T18:31:57+00:00

Windows7 will not let me edit the hosts file and save it. What must I do in order to save the edited host file?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Files, folders, and storage

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Anonymous
2010-04-16T18:47:57+00:00

It's a built-in safety feature.  There is an easy workaround.  ClickStart ->All Programs -> Accessories.  Right-clickNotepad, and then click Run as administrator.  If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or clickAllow or Yes.

Open the Hosts file (from the notepad you just opened) , make your changes, and then click File ->Save. 

Barbara

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Anonymous
2010-04-16T20:43:01+00:00

You need to either take ownership of the file (Right click the hosts file, Security tab, and give yourself full rights), or open Notepad as Administrator and open, edit and save your hosts file from there. It's designed that way so some rogue malware can't come in and change that.

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  1. Anonymous
    2012-06-23T19:31:44+00:00

    Thank you,

    of course, you can do that with the link to notepad++ or any other editor.

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  2. Anonymous
    2012-06-15T15:05:20+00:00

    I use avast I turned it off and the exact same thing happens.  

    It appears Windows 7 will not save a file, without a file extension.

    Sure it will.

    Notepad on the other hand will always try to append a .txt to new files.

    But you could rename the file to remove the extension.

    You can save a file without a extention in a update to an exsiting filr, but you need to change the save as from .txt to all files, then select the file you want to overwrite in the file selector ( Host in this case).

    This will not get you around security restrictions though - regardless how you try to edit or replace the files, you need to have the correct access levels.

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