Fix Windows Access Denied Error for File / Folder Manually

In many situations, windows pop up a dialogue box with an error message “Access is denied, You cannot Access this file or Folder or you don’t have permission to access this file”. As you clock on any file or folder to access it and you are getting the message as stated above then you need to assign the ownership or permission to the particular file or folder. It is a common error being faced by the users, sometimes it suggests you to delete the file but you need not delete the file or folder. In this article, I am going to discuss the best way to resolve this error, read the complete article to know to how to assign ownership or permission to a particular file or folder and you can easily resolve the access denied error.

There are mainly three issues which result in access denied message lets talk about them separately and also their resolution method to fix access denied error in windows. This error can occur in any version of windows os like win 10, win 8, win 7, win vista, win XP etc.

Case 1: – An Access Denied message will be displayed.
Case 2: – You can’t access this folder or file kindly delete, save or change the file or folder.
Case 3: – As you installed a new version of windows so you cannot open a file or folder in the new version of window.

Here I listed the common reasons for folder access denied error and any other cause may be there behind access denied error lets talk about its resolution method.

Case 1: – Getting “Access Denied Error Message”  Error

The folder/file access denied error message appears mainly in three situations which are given below:

• If the file is encrypted.
• If the folder ownership has changed.
• If you do not have the appropriate permission.

Resolution Method for Windows Access Denied Error for File / Folder

1. If the File or Folder is Encrypted then

Encryption is a way to convert a readable text (plain text) into nonreadable text (ciphertext) by applying any encryption mechanism like public key or private key and this method is known as cryptography. If a folder or file is encrypted then you should have a decryption key to convert ciphertext into plain text. So first you need to determine whether the file is decrypted or not, follow the steps given below.

• Right Click on the folder and click on the Properties option.
• Locate the General tab and click on it.
• Now go to the Advance button and click on it.

Now check whether the Encrypt Content to Secure Data check box is checked or not. If it is checked then you need to acquire the certificate from the person who encrypted the folder or file. If it is not checked that shows the file is not encrypted, in this situation move to the other method to resolve file access denied error in windows os.

2. Fix Access Denied Error When Folder / File Ownership changed

Folder ownership is changed error occurred when you upgrade the windows from earlier version to the newer version. During this process, some of your account information might be changed due to which you don’t have the permission to access the file or folder. In this situation, you need to assign the ownership to the folder to fix access denied error in windows 10, 8, 7, follow the steps given below to resolve this issue.

• Right Click on the file or folder and click on the Properties from the list.
• Click on the Security Tab and then hit  Advance button from the bottom.
• Now click on Change Tab, if a pop up appears and ask for username and password then provide the detail click on Ok.
• Enter the name of the person to which you want to give permission, click on Check Name tab and then click on Ok.
• If you want to assign the permission to the person for the subfolder contained by the folder then check on the Replace Owner on Sub-containers and Object.
• At the end click on Ok to finish this process.

3. Resolve Access Denied Error If you don’t have Appropriate Permission

Permissions are basically a set of rule which checks that you have rights to access or made any change to the particular file and folder. If you do not have appropriate permission then windows show file/folder access denied error. To check the permission follow the steps given below.

• Right Click on the File or Folder and then hit on the Properties from the list.
• Click on the Security Tab from the menu bar.
• Go to Group or User Name, find your name and click on it to view permission that you have.

If you are not able to open a file and getting folder access denied error. Then check that you have read permission or not. If you don’t have read permission then follow the steps given below and to perform this operation you need to be logged in as an Administrator.

• Right-Click on the file or folder then hit on Properties from the opened list.
• Click on the Security Tab from the menu bar.
• Go under the Group or User Name, click on your name to view the permission that you have.
• Click on the Edit option and check the check boxes of permissions which you want to acquire.
• At the end click on OK to finish the process.

Case 2: –  When you are not Able to Change,  Save,  Access & Delete Particular File/Folder

There are many situations in which you are not able to perform some operations like change, save, access or delete a specified folder and getting folder/file access denied error in windows. Here I am listing all possible reasons.

• If the File is corrupted.
• If the file is encrypted.
• If the user profile is corrupted.
• The folder ownership is changed.
• If you don’t have required permission.

At the above I discussed how to resolve the folder access denied issues when file is encrypted, ownership is changed and if you don’t have required permission you can resolve these error from there, here I am going to discuss what to do when user profile is corrupted and file is corrupted and you are getting access denied error in windows. Then follow the steps given below:

1. When File or Folder is Corrupted then

File corruption is the most frequent reason due to which you are not able to access or modify the particular file and getting folder access denied error in windows. The most frequent reason for corruption is when a file is open and suddenly system crashed or losses power. The file may be corrupt by any virus attack as well, so in this situation, you can either delete the file if you have updated backup to resolve this issues.

2. When the User Profile Is Corrupted Then

Sometimes your local user profile got corrupted then the window will prevent you to access the file or folder and shows file or folder access denied error. In this situation, you need to delete the current profile and create new local user profile. Follow the steps given below to create the new user profile.

• Find and click on Change PC Settings.
• A new panel will appear, from menu bar click on Users tab.
• Hit on the Add User button and then click on the Can they Sign in without Microsoft Account.
• Navigate to Local Account and click on it.
• Enter the new account name in the username field.
• If you want to assign a password then enter the password and verify the password as well. If you don’t want to assign a password simply click on Next button without entering the password.
• At the end click on Finish button to complete the process.

Case 3: – You are not Able to Access file or folder after Upgrading new Version of Windows

When you upgrade an existing windows version to new version then also the window shows error when you try to access a file or folder. This situation can be occurred due to some reason which is given below.

• If the folder ownership is changed.
• If the files are being stored in the windows.old folder from your previous system.

I have discussed above how to resolve access is denied for the file or folder error due to ownership changed you can follow the steps. Here I am going discuss what to do when the file is stored in windows.old folder.

If the File is Being Stored in Windows.old Folder Then

• Go to My Computer and click on it or press window-E
• Click on the drive in which window is installed, commonly its C drive.
• Find the windows.old folder and click on it.
• Click on the Users Folder from the list.
• Find your file by pacifying username.
• Open the file which you want to retrieve.
• Copy the files which you want to access and past it into new upgraded windows library.
• Repeat the copying and pasting steps for all files.
• At the end close all opened tab.

Final Words!!

In this article, I tried to list all possible reasons that can cause file/folder access denied error in windows while accessing a file or folder and their resolution method. I hope this effort will help you to resolve access denied error for folder or file in windows.