Running SIMS as a non-admin user - What permissions do you set and how?

[David44]

SIMS, as we all know, is a horrible piece of software that requires odd permissions, especially when SIMSLoad.exe is updating the various components.

 

How do you set these permissions? I'm talking about things like giving 'everyone' write access to c:\windows\sims.ini and possibly the same for the c:\program files (x86)\SIMS directory. I think there might be registry keys that the user needs to write to too.

 

We are moving away from RM CC4. Their RM supplied SIMS packages currently set the permissions for us. I have access to the packages but the permissions are expressed in hexadecimal. I could go through them and work out what each one does and recreate it with group polices or a settings package but I'd like to avoid it if someone else has already got the answers.

 

Are people still using SIMSPerm.bat?

We want to avoid using Solus. We want users to be able to update SIMS when they open it and not have them wait for Solus to do so.

[BKGarry]

Before we migrated away from SIMS. I started using this https://github.com/rwjuk/admin-scripts/blob/master/SIMSUpdate.ps1

 

Copied from server to share and then run on machine startup to replace if there is an update 

[PotNoodleTech]

I've looked in an old GPO as we've moved on from that now - but these settings worked perfectly for like a decade teachers ran their on sims updates first thing in the morning.

 

Create a GPO

 

Give teachers or your teachers security group modify rights to:

%ProgramFiles% (x86)\SIMS

%ProgramFiles%\SIMS

%SystemRoot%\sims.ini

 

Edited June 20, 2025 by PotNoodleTech

[mavhc]

Do you need any permissions? SOLUS agent updates, that can run as a different user