Can no longer edit hosts file!

silversmith · Aug 22, 2024

Is this from a recent Windows update? I easily edited my hosts file in the past. (Notepad as administrator) Now it will not allow me to save even as administrator. Help appreciated. Thanks. Peter

OldNavy · Aug 22, 2024

The last time is tried to edit the hosts file i had to take a copy of it, move it to somewhere else, then edit it and then copy over the original.
Try that.

glasskuter · Aug 22, 2024

Unlike some, I do not edit my hosts directly from it's parent folder. You might see if this way works for you.

Step 1: Open Windows File Explorer
Step 2: Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc.
Step 3: Copy the hosts file to the desktop.
Step 4: Open the copied file with notepad.
Step 5: Make your changes and save using dropdown to make sure all files is selected. Otherwise it will save as a text file.
Step 6: Copy the file and paste into C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc choosing to replace the original.
Step 7: Restart the computer to make sure all changes are implemented.

antspants · Aug 22, 2024

Not sure why, I can edit mine.
You sure it isn’t “Read Only”?

antspants · Aug 22, 2024

You could also most likely bypass any restriction by running Notepad via Power Run (It’s portable & free)

PowerRun v1.8 (Run with highest privileges)

PowerRun is a tool to launch any program/script files with the same privileges as the TrustedInstaller /SYSTEM. it is a Portable and free

www.sordum.org

antspants · Aug 22, 2024

Just to confirm that no recent updates disabled the editing of the Host File via Notepad as admin.

I turned off read only for hosts file, it opened fine, I added a line and saved without issue.

As for Power Run:

Download
Extract to folder
Run PowerRun_x64.exe (It's portable, no install needed)

Open Notepad

Disable Read Only. Edit Hosts.
See if that works.

Rollback_Jockey · Aug 23, 2024

silversmith said:
Is this from a recent Windows update? I easily edited my hosts file in the past. (Notepad as administrator) Now it will not allow me to save even as administrator. Help appreciated. Thanks. Peter

Try Hosts File Editor+ from

Code:

https://hostsfileseditorplus.weebly.com/

AsadAlrafidain · Aug 23, 2024

it is my understanding that this is a defender protection mechanism, where it resets the hosts file every time it detects changes....to bypass this mechanism, you either edit the hosts file using powertoys hosts editor, or you add an exception to defender.

OAT · Aug 23, 2024

Rollback_Jockey said:
Try Hosts File Editor+ from

Code:

https://hostsfileseditorplus.weebly.com/

And of course, PowerToys has a dedicated tool for it as well.
But the easiest way is to disable UAC and use notepad.

silversmith · Aug 23, 2024

Thanks for all the suggestions. If I manually change the Read attribute, I can edit - but then I must either reset it back, or be vulnerable to malicious changes. "Hosts File Editor +" seeks to do the job elegantly. Many thanks. Peter

Quandary · Aug 23, 2024

I have no problems opening it with Notepad (rmb Edit in Notepad), make changes and save it to an authorized location like Downloads with .txt extension. Then cut and paste to the \etc folder, confirming all the authorization popups. The delete or rename HOST, and rename the modified file, again confirming all the popups.

Can no longer edit hosts file!

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