[LaTex][Beamer] Windows API error 5: Access is denied

Dawid Laszuk published on
1 min, 155 words

Recently I had to change from Linux (Ubuntu) environment to this Windows 7 (do you know which one?). Now I am discovering whole new system, with whole new level of difficulties and limitations.

In few days I am giving talk about "Self-organization criticality", thus a presentation would be handy. When I wanted to download a 'beamer' packaged via MiKTeX "Windows API error 5: Access is denied". It means that the program does not have read-write permission to some folder it wants to modify. There are three solutions (as I see now) to this:

  1. Start "package manager" as administrator, i.e. right mouse button (RMB) and "Run as administrator".
  2. Give public access to all directories that MiKTeX needs to acces. This is done in RBM on folder which you want to modify -> Properties -> Security.
  3. Download and manually place the essential files in the right places.