How can I remove or deactivate the Windows system32/find.exe?

Solution 1:

Rather than removing Windows' find.exe, I strongly recommend putting GNU in your path before Windows\System32. For example, with Cygwin, you can use something like:

path c:\cygwin\bin;c:\windows\system32;c:\windows;c:\program files\foo;c:\program files\bar;c:\windows\system32\wbem

Solution 2:

You can gain access to all protected files by changing the ownership.

For Windows 7, on the file or folder that you want to edit:

• Go to Properties->Security->Advanced->Owner
• Change owner to either Administrators or your own User
• On Properties->Security grant rights to the new owner

Source: Windows 7 – How to Delete Files Protected by TrustedInstaller