Correct. You simply can't reliably install Rainmeter in portable mode to C:\Program Files. That is a strictly protected folder in Windows. It will be fine to install and store the static program files (thus the apt name of the folder) in there, but you simply can't store things that are dynamically changed by the program while it is running in that folder.I don't install Rainmeter in portable mode, but besides that, yes, the behavior has an explanation, see the first part of these posts:
https://forum.rainmeter.net/viewtopic.php?t=31708#p197792
https://forum.rainmeter.net/viewtopic.php?t=38699#p199096
The bottom line is that the C:\Program Files location is generally protected by the OS, and Rainmeter.ini is typically expected to be at C:\Users\[User]\AppData\Roaming\Rainmeter, which is what those error messages are trying to convey. As for whether those error messages should occur, I suppose they shouldn't, but then, as I said, I never installed Rainmeter in portable mode, so I'm not that familiar with that behavior. Maybe one of the developers could share his view on this, when and if he sees your post.
P.S. By the way, changing permissions for the Rainmeter.ini file might not be enough if you don't change permissions (or ownership) for the folder you want to place Rainmeter.ini at.
Statistics: Posted by jsmorley — Yesterday, 6:13 pm