It so happened that when reinstalling the system on Windows 10, the access rights to some files and folders changed. And now, when you try to open, change or delete this object, a message with access denied (“no access to the folder”, “request permission to change this folder” or similar messages) pops up.
What to do if there is no access to the folder?
In this case, you should restore your access rights. But keep in mind that you must have administrator rights on the computer. Also, you should not change the owner of the entire system partition of the disk.
Let's consider several ways:
Gaining access using system security settings
Right-click on the problematic file or folder, that is, which you need to access.
In the context menu, select “Properties”.
Go to the “Security” tab and click the “Advanced” button.
Opposite the “Owner” item, click the “Change” button.
In the window that opens, click the “Advanced” button
and in the next one - the “Search” button.
A fairly large list appears, but we are interested in our own account or the “all” item. Click “Ok”.
If you are changing the owner of a folder rather than an individual file, also check the "Change owner of subcontainers and objects" checkbox.
Click OK.
Check the boxes for permitted operations on the object. For example, if we click “Full Control”, we will get full control over the file: reading, writing, deleting, etc. If you want to set more specific access settings, for example, to allow everything except deletion, then you should use the “Display additional solutions” item.
The selected object should appear in the list
This is all. If for some reason this option does not bring a positive result, try another method:
Using the takeown command on the command line.
To change the owner of a folder or file using the command line, there are two commands: takeown and icacls. Let's consider the first of them.
To use this command, launch the command prompt as Administrator (In Windows 7 and 8, right-click on the command prompt icon and select “Run as administrator”; in Windows 10, right-click on the “Start” icon and select “Command” string (administrator)").
In the command line we type the command
takeown /F “full path to file”
Become the owner of the specified file. To make all computer administrators owners, use the /A option after the file path in the command.
takeown /F “path to folder or disk” /R /D Y
Become the owner of a folder or drive.
After running the command, a message should appear indicating that you have successfully taken ownership of the file or files in the specified folder.
Using the icacls command on the command line.
Another command that allows you to change the owner of a folder or file is icacls.
Also, as in the previous paragraph, launch the command line as administrator and enter the command:
icalc “path to file” /setowner “Username” /T /C
More details about this command and its switches can be found right there on the command line.
In these simple ways you can change or assign owners of files and folders, regain “lost” access and get rid of related errors. Additionally, there are other ways to resolve the access denied issue, such as using third-party programs such as TakeOwnershipPro. This is of course a matter of taste, however, I would not load the computer with additional software when the problem can be solved quickly using the system itself.
Problem: The network resource cannot be accessed. The network folder is displayed...
but when I try to log in, the system displays the following message:
Windows cannot access \\computer\network_resource. Permission to access \\computer\network_resource absent. Contact your network administrator to gain access.
In the Windows XP operating system, a similar message sounds like this:
No access to \\computer\network_resource. You may not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to obtain the appropriate access rights. Access denied
Why can't I access the network resource?
The reason may be due to the following factors:
- The user does not have permission to access the share.
These rights are configured on the tab Access and are relevant only for setting up network access. - The user does not have permission to access the folder at the NTFS permission level
Configured on the tab Safety. This setting regulates access rights both over the network and locally. - The user does not have network access permissions or NTFS rights.
How to share a network folder with all users
Settings must be performed on the computer where the network resource is located.
Go to Computer Management:
Open the section Shared folders. Select a subsection Shared Resources and find out the local path to the folder that is open to the network.
In our example, we see that the network resource temp
matches local path C:\temp
:
Find the local folder, right-click on it and call Properties:
1 The first thing to check is network access permissions. Open the tab Access and press the button Advanced setup:
Press the button Permissions:
We check for whom network access is open, and also check the rights.
In order for all users to be able to access the network resource, the list Share Permissions need to add a group All.
In our case, full access is open to the group All. This means everything is fine with network permissions:
2 The second thing you need to check is NTFS rights. Go to the tab Safety and check the global permissions to access the folder.
In our example, we see that only users and administrators of the local computer can see and enter this folder. This means that if we try to log into a network resource under a user who does not have an account on the local computer, we will be denied access.
In order to allow access to the folder to all users, even those who do not have an account on the local computer, you need to add the same group to the list All. To do this, press the button Change:
Click Add:
Adding a group All and press OK.
Attention! It is NOT necessary to search for a group in the list of groups and users. You can simply write the word “Everything” with your hands - always with a capital letter.
Sometimes when restoring or updating a Windows operating system, you may encounter problems accessing past files. An access error occurs when changing user permissions on folders.
Let's look at this problem using Windows 7 as an example. First, we need to open the “Advanced sharing settings” option, since by default the operating system uses the “Sharing Wizard...”
Enable advanced folder sharing settings
- Open the Folder Options section. To do this, follow the path: START – Control Panel (change the Category display to small icons) – “Folder Options”.
- In the Folder Options window that appears, go to the View tab.
- Find in the list of display settings the item responsible for “Using the Sharing Settings Wizard”, as in the figure below
- Uncheck the box found and save the changes by clicking OK at the bottom of the window.
Change permissions and permissions for a folder
- After the above steps, we move on to the main part of restoring access to the folder. Let's find the directory in the system that gives the error - picture below
- Right-click and in the context menu that appears, find the item “Sharing...”, and in it the sub-item “Advanced sharing settings
- In the window, go to the “Security” tab, which is responsible for access rights and permissions for all users of this system!
- In the center of the window you can see a list of users or user groups that have access to this folder. Most likely your account is not on this list.
- In order to fix it, click the “Advanced” button in the window that changes, click the “Change permissions” button.
- In the window, find the “Add” button, after which you will be given the opportunity to find and add a specific system user, for example, “Administrator\User” or the entire Administrators group.
Many users should probably be familiar with the fact that operating systems such as Windows 7 and higher quite often display messages indicating that the folder cannot be accessed. Sometimes it may be blocked to ensure system security. In some cases, the problem is with the so-called “super administrator” account or Trusted Installer system. In this review, we will look at how you can open access to folders in the Windows 7 operating system, including individual files and sections of the system registry.
The problem of lack of access to folders, files and registry keys
In most cases, blocking access attempts to perform any actions with folders, files or system registry keys is associated only with security reasons (so that the user cannot accidentally change objects that are of great importance for the functioning of the system). However, today quite often you can see messages appearing that the folder is not accessible for the most ordinary objects that are in no way connected with the system. It is possible that such objects have an attribute that prevents them from being edited or opened. In the simplest case (for example, for files with the EXE extension), they must be opened as an administrator. On the other hand, in some cases you have to use system components to gain access to the ability to control computer processes. Now we will try to figure out what to do in such a situation.
No access to folder: checking permissions
First, let's check if the lock is installed. To do this, in the standard Explorer program or any other file manager, you need to right-click the mouse to call up the context menu and go to the properties line. Below there will be two attributes. In this case, we will be interested in the first of them - “Read only”. If there is a checkmark next to this attribute, then you can view the contents of the file, but you cannot edit or save changes. This is the most primitive option.
Can't access folder Windows 7: Configure security settings
To gain access to all elements in the Windows 7 operating system, you will have to configure some security settings. To open access to a Windows folder or a separate file, you can only use this method. Right-click on the selected object and select the properties menu, in which we go to the security tab. At the bottom of the window there is an "Advanced" button. If you use it, you can go to additional parameters. Here we will be interested in the “Owner” tab. At the bottom of the window, you need to click on the change settings button and place the cursor on either the administrator group or your own account and click on the “OK” button. If the configuration is carried out not for a file, but for a directory, then you must additionally uncheck the line for replacing the owner of subcontainers and objects. In certain cases, in the view menu in Explorer on the tab of the same name, you may need to uncheck the box for using simple sharing if the object has such an attribute.
How to enable access to system registry elements
To gain access to editing system registry entries and keys, it is not necessary to always run the regedit command or the executable file of the same name with the EXE extension as an administrator. Still, some subsections may be beyond your control. The system will again display a message stating that the folder cannot be accessed. In this case, you must select the desired subsection on the left side of the registry. After that, a right mouse click is performed in it and the context menu is called up. In this menu you need to select the permissions section. Here you need to use the “Advanced” button, and then repeat all the steps described above.
How do I set permissions for my own account?
At this stage, you need to use the security tab again, on which you need to use the button for changing groups and records for a specific object. Next, you need to click on the add button and enter your account. After this you need to confirm the addition. Now in the permissions column in the lower window you need to check all the boxes and save the changes made. It is worth noting that this configuration method will only be useful for single objects (directories and files).
Using the Command Line
Now let's look at how you can access the folder using standard command line utilities. In this case, you can use the takeown and icacls commands. From the “Run” menu, launch the console as an administrator. Be sure to start the command line with administrator rights, regardless of what account the user is currently working under. The only exception in this case will be access under the administrator account, which is disabled by default. Then you need to enter the command takeown/f “full path to the file” in the console. The path to the file must be specified without quotes. The second command looks like this: icacls “full path to file” / grant “account name”: f (again, everything must be specified without quotes). This utility allows you to transfer control rights for an object to a specified account. If entering these two commands for some reason does not produce results, then you must reboot the system in safe mode, and then perform the described operations again.
Conclusion
This review presented the most effective and simple methods that allow you to access any objects of the Windows family of operating systems. Many experts recommend using system registry tweaks. However, this method is very difficult. It is suitable only for those users who have the necessary knowledge.
When trying to access any folder or file, the user may receive a system message “Access to the specified device, path or file is denied. You may not have the necessary rights to access this object." The culprit of such dysfunction is usually some kind of virus or anti-virus software that blocks access to the desired file. Below I will analyze in detail the essence of the problem with access to files, and also explain how to fix it.
This error message occurs in a situation when a user tries to run a file or open a folder he needs, but access to them is blocked for various software and hardware reasons.
Such reasons for “Access to the specified device, path, or file” may be:
- Blocking the virus from accessing files necessary for the user;
- Blocking access to files by the antivirus;
- A folder or file required by the user is damaged or deleted from the PC;
- Network access to the required file (directory) has been lost;
- The shortcut to the required file is damaged;
- Windows OS blocked access to the file considering it suspicious.
How to fix denied access to a device, path or file
To get rid of the “access denied” error, you need to do something like the following:
- Check your system for viral malware. Such proven tools as “DoctorWeb Curate” or “Advcleaner” will help with this. If the virus blocks their launch, restart the PC in safe mode (quickly press F8 when turning on the computer), and try running the specified anti-virus tools in this mode. After the malware has been found and removed, restart your PC;
- Disable your system antivirus before accessing the required file. Go to the settings of your antivirus and temporarily deactivate it (in some cases, only completely removing the antivirus helped);
- Check if the file exists in the specified location. If you are accessing a file through a shortcut on your desktop, or the file was previously available to you over the network, it doesn't hurt to make sure that it is physically in the same location. In the case of a shortcut, hover your mouse cursor over it, right-click, and select “Properties” from the menu that appears. Then go to the "General" tab, find the "Location" option, and make sure the path is there.
Also go to the “Shortcut” tab, in the “Object” field, look at the path to this file, and make sure that this file is present in the specified path. If necessary, create a shortcut to this file again.
In case of network access, make sure that your network is active and the file is in the same place.
- Check file permissions. Open Explorer, find the file you need, hover over it, right-click, and select Properties. Go to the “Security” tab, in the “Groups or Users” list, click on your name, then click on the “Edit” buttons on the right.
Click on “Change”
In the permission window that opens, select our user again at the top, and below, under the “Allow” option, check the “Full Control” box. Click on “Ok” and reboot the system, this may help solve the “Access Denied” error;
- Unlock the required file. In some cases, Windows may consider a file suspicious and block its activation at the software level. To unlock such a file, you need to launch Explorer, find this file on the hard drive, right-click on it, and select “Properties”. If necessary, go to the “General” tab and click on the “Unblock” button at the bottom.
Conclusion
In most cases, the cause of the “Access Denied” error is the activity of virus and anti-virus software that blocks access to required files or folders. To solve this problem, first check your PC for viruses, disable your antivirus, and only then use other alternatives outlined in this material.
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