How to fix You don’t currently have permission to access this folder

How to fix “You Don’t Currently Have Permission to Access This Folder” Window Error?

Windows 10 users commonly encounter the “You don’t currently have permission to access this folder” error if they have recently just upgraded their system to Windows 10 from a previous OS version, usually Windows 7. The users facing this error might have also encountered another error, “Error 0x80007005”.

This error prevents the user from accessing, renaming or deleting folders and files even if they have signed in as an administrator. The error pops up when you attempt to do any one of the above actions.

Sometimes, this problem can be fixed by unchecking the “Read-only” checkbox found by right-clicking the folder and selecting Properties and opening the General tab. However, this is not always the case and even then “Access Denied” error message is received.

This problem might arise because the user may have a legacy user in Windows 7, which does not exist in Windows 10 anymore. These results in the folders getting locked for accessing and are required to be reassigned.

What are the causes of the occurrence of the “You don’t currently have permission to access this folder” error?

As reported by Microsoft, there are several reasons that can cause this error:

• Removal of the user or group from the list of “Group or user names” on the Security tab of the folder.
• Explicit application of the “Deny” functions to the user or group mistakenly.
• Creation of a conflict between the New Technology File System (NTFS) permissions and share permissions.

How to fix the “You don’t currently have permission to access this folder” error?

Method One: Change the ownership of the affected file/folder

You can easily change the ownership of the files/folders that were automatically locked after the Windows 10 upgrade. To change the ownership, follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Right-click on the file/folder on which you cannot perform any operations. Click on Properties from the context menu.
3. In the new window that opens, click on the Security tab.

1. Locate Group or user names section. Check if you have access to that file/folder.
2. Click on the Advanced button if you do not have access.
3. At the top of the Advanced Security Settings window, you will find an Owner section. Select it. Now, click on Change.
4. In the selected text box, enter your User Account.
5. Click on the Check Names button.
6. Another way of doing this is by clicking on the Find Now button. This will display a list of available accounts. You can simply select your account, and then click the OK button.

1. Click on the “Replace owner on subcontainers and objects” checkbox to check it.
2. Also, check the “Replace all child object permission entries with inheritable permission entries from the object” checkbox.
3. Click on the OK button. This will save the changes and the “You don’t currently have permission to access this folder” error will be solved.

Method Two: Choose ‘Everyone’ in the Security Tab in Properties

You can also troubleshoot by changing the permissions to ‘Everyone’ in the Security tab. To change the permissions, follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Right-click on the file/folder on which you cannot perform any operations. Click on Properties from the context menu.
3. In the new window that opens, click on the Security tab.
4. Click on the Edit button.
5. In the new window, click on the Add button.
6. In the selected text box, type “Everyone”.
7. Click on the Check Names button.
8. Now, click on the OK button.

1. In the previous window, under the Group or user name section, select Everyone.
2. Under the Permissions for Administrator section, select the Full Control option. This will give a check under the Allow column.

1. Click on the Apply button. Then, click on the OK button. This will save the changes and the “You don’t currently have permission to access this folder” error will be solved.

Method Three: Unchecking the ‘Read-only’ option

Although this solution works rarely, it can prove to be useful and thus can be tried. To change the folder from ‘Read-only’, follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Right-click on the file/folder on which you cannot perform any operations. Click on Properties from the context menu.
3. In the new window that opens, uncheck the Read-only checkbox.
4. Click on the Apply button. Then, click on the OK button. This will save the changes and the “You don’t currently have permission to access this folder” error will be solved.

Note that this solution does not work always. You might get access to the folder if you are lucky, but this happens rarely. But if it does not, you will get “Access is denied” message. No harm or damage will be done and the folder will remain unreachable.

Method Four: Using Command Prompt as Administrator

Command Prompt is a Windows component that has ways to solve every issue in your PC. You can use Command Prompt to gain the ownership of the folder. To solve this error using Command Prompt, follow the steps mentioned below:

1. In the Windows search box, type Command Prompt or press Windows key + S, and then type Command Prompt.
2. Right-click on the Command Prompt option as displayed in the results, and then click on Run as Administrator from the context menu.
3. When the Command Prompt opens, type the following command in the command line and then, press the Enter key

takeown /f /r /d y

1. Close the Command Prompt window.
2. Reboot your computer. This will save the changes and the “You don’t currently have permission to access this folder” error will be solved.

Method Five: Use a third-party Data Recovery Software

If any of the methods mentioned above do not work out, then there are always some third-party softwares available which can be trusted to recover lost files and thus solve the “You don’t currently have permission to access this folder” error.

One such data recovery software is EaseUS file recovery software. All you have to do is to install the software and then click Scan on the local disk partition where you encounter the “You don’t currently have permission to access this folder” error. This will generate a quick scan that will look for the location of lost files. After the quick scan, automatically the deep scan is initiated to locate other files.

Now, you can preview the lost files and try to restore your data. You can go from file to file during the preview. You can then select those files which you want to recover and then click on the Recover option. You can save the recovered files in another folder of your PC or even an external storage.

References:

1. https://www.auslogics.com
2. https://innov8tiv.com