You'll probably come across permissions errors like that in other games, too, just FYI.
Vista tackles security by running you in the least necessary privilieges, and raising and lowering your privileges on-the-fly as needed. Sounds like a great idea, except that it doesn't work right, works worst with older programs (say, pre 200
, and doesn't do it consistently (for an example of this, just browse your C: drive and try to access "My Documents" from all three panes in the Window).
If you run across more permissions problems further down the line, you may also need to track down "matrix.exe" in the install folder and right-click and do the same ("Run as Administrator"
. I ended up having to do that on Ultimate x64.
*sigh*
I'm beginning to miss Windows Me. At least then I knew I'd reached a dead-end, and I'd stop being stubborn about it. 