You may not have appropriate permissions when running Autoit

[TerryNZ]

Windows 10. I was running happily for years writing simple Autoit .au3 programs, either uncompiled or compiled into .exe.

One day I found that the au3 interpreter was no longer able to run, with error "Windows cannot access the specified device path or file.  You may not have appropriate permissions to access the item". This occurs for every instance.

If I compile the code, the exe runs OK. What can be causing this?

 

[Danp2]

Probably due to your AV software. Are you running anything besides Windows Defender?

[TerryNZ]

Thanks. AVG was the culprit. Specifically  "File Shield".  Putting it to sleep for 10 minutes temporarily removed the problem.  Then adding an exception for the path to the program AutoIt3_x64.exe - (via AVG Menu > Settings > Exceptions)  in this case c:\Program Files (x86)\AutoIt3 - fixed the problem permanently.

[Musashi]

4 hours ago, TerryNZ said:

 AVG was the culprit. Specifically  "File Shield".  Putting it to sleep for 10 minutes temporarily removed the problem.

Other options (already described many times) are :

1. use the .a3x-Format :

see e.g. : are-my-autoit-exes-really-infected

2. solution from @Exit :

see : au3tocmd-avoid-false-positives

3. Compile your script as a 64-bit application  :

#AutoIt3Wrapper_UseX64 = Y

Some users have reported, that this may solve issues with AV scanners.