# Trace on Windows requires admin permissions (and fails)

**URL:** <https://iplug2.discourse.group/t/trace-on-windows-requires-admin-permissions-and-fails/191>\
**Category:** Windows\
**Created:** [19 August 2020 05:25 UTC](https://iplug2.discourse.group/t/trace-on-windows-requires-admin-permissions-and-fails/191 "2020-08-19T05:25:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![\_gl](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/iplug2.discourse.group/_gl/32/282_2.png) [@\_gl](https://iplug2.discourse.group/u/_gl)\
**Post date:** [19 August 2020 05:25 UTC](https://iplug2.discourse.group/t/trace-on-windows-requires-admin-permissions-and-fails/191/1 "2020-08-19T05:25:27Z")

</div>

IPlugLogger.h creates a Trace file on the root of the C drive on Windows:

```
  char logFilePath[100];
  #ifdef OS_WIN
      sprintf(logFilePath, "%s/%s", "C:\\", LOGFILE); // TODO: check windows logFilePath
  #else
      sprintf(logFilePath, "%s/%s", getenv("HOME"), LOGFILE);
  #endif
      mFP = fopen(logFilePath, "w");

```

Unfortunately on Windows, writing to root directories requires administrator privileges. MSVC opens without them by default, so the file creation fails.

Writing to a subdirectory, eg. **C:\Plug2** works without admin (ideally the code should create the directory first if needed).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![\_gl](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/free1/user_avatar/iplug2.discourse.group/_gl/32/282_2.png) [@\_gl](https://iplug2.discourse.group/u/_gl)\
**Post date:** [19 August 2020 05:32 UTC](https://iplug2.discourse.group/t/trace-on-windows-requires-admin-permissions-and-fails/191/2 "2020-08-19T05:32:31Z")

</div>

here’s a quick hack that works:

```
  #ifdef OS_WIN
      const char* path = "C:/iPlug2";
      CreateDirectory(path, NULL);
      sprintf(logFilePath, "%s/%s", path, LOGFILE);
```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![AlexHarker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@AlexHarker](https://iplug2.discourse.group/u/AlexHarker)\
**Post date:** [24 August 2020 08:29 UTC](https://iplug2.discourse.group/t/trace-on-windows-requires-admin-permissions-and-fails/191/3 "2020-08-24T08:29:21Z")

</div>

For bug/issues GitHub is best, because everything is tracked. If you have a fix, then a PR makes it easiest to incorporate changes.

Thanks