Access Denied Error on software after XP system recovery

I ran system recovery after virus. Afterward I was able to load Firefox and XP SP2, but am still unable to download Flash Player update, Adobe Reader, Advanced System Care (and I'm sure other software) on numerous tries. I also can't load MS Office XP from a disc. In each case I get an error message, Access Denied, and installation rollback. However, I do seem to have administrator rights, because when I right-click Start, I can access Open All Users / Explore All Users. I don't know if it's an administrator problem, or what. Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

Since it is a new installation, I would go ahead and create a new user and see if you have the same errors in that profile.

So Control Panel> Users and then create a new account with administrative privileges. Then sign into that account and see if you get the same errors.

 

Thanks for your reply, Sach2. I created a new account, Parent, and logged in. I tried going through IE since it's simpatico with Windows; I kept getting: "Desktop encountered a problem and needs to close." So I went through Firefox, but still have the error, which is: While I'm able to save a download (or upload), during setup (run) I get a Setup pop-up that says: "Access is denied." When I click OK, there's an Error pop-up that says: "Setup was not completed. Please correct the problem and run setup again." I'm mystified.

 

The access is denied error could have something to do with not having permission to write to Program Files folder but I think that was only initiated in Vista and later OS.

You might try right-clicking the installer exe and choose Run as Administrator and see if it makes a difference.

This was a factory reset so back to out-of-box state? Did you do it from the recovery partition or from recovery discs? It sounds like the recovery didn't complete correctly. I think I would do another recovery and see if you still have errors like the desktop closing. If you used the recovery partition, you might want to burn the recovery discs and see if that makes a difference. There should be an option of burning recovery discs somewhere in All Programs having to do with your computer manufacturer.