It happens randomly after a restart but not every time. So the tool already has been installed for a while and then the message appears after a reboot.
The installation itself is done via network and the local SYSTEM account. But of course the rainmeter.ini is located in the user's profile with the default permissions (user has full rights on the folder and files inside).
It's really strange since Rainmeter worked for years without problems and suddenly the issue with this message appeared.
So what I'm asking myself is why is the ini file modified / saved at all when starting Rainmeter ? Is this really needed ? (til now it wasn't a problem at all but things may have changed with Windows 11 )
Well, it's certainly strange if it happens even with no skin or with just Illustro loaded - otherwise a skin could potentially play a part in this too. Other than a clean uninstall / reinstall, seeing if protected folders might have something to do with it, or double checking the other startup programs / processes / services on such systems: https://docs.rainmeter.net/tips/clean-rainmeter-uninstall/ https://forum.rainmeter.net/viewtopic.php?t=30869
I personally can't think of anything else to recommend in this case.
I suppose you cannot pinpoint which Windows and Rainmeter versions were the last to work as expected before, as per your description, though I doubt downgrading would be a feasible solution either...
That error message means the user (the account that is running Rainmeter) does not have permission to "write" to the settings file. One of the first things Rainmeter does when it starts is to check if the settings file is writable and is an essential part of Rainmeter. Nothing is written to the settings file at this point, it is just a "check" to see if Rainmeter has permission to do so.
While I cannot say for certain, I suspect that installing Rainmeter using the "System" account over a network is the issue. Maybe the end user doesn't have permission to write to the settings file and/or its directory.
)
