Denied permission to access folders

[Jack K]

I recently purchased a new external hard drive and I set about transferring
files from my old XP computer to my new hard drive that I then connected to
my Sony Vaio laptop. Most files on the new hard drive are accessible on my
Vista laptop, but a large group (100 Gig) of video editing folders and files
are not accessible. I get these messages:

"You don't currently have permission to access this folder. Click "continue"
to gain access."

Then "You have been denied permission to access this folder - To gain access
you will need to use the security tab."

I have tried to follow the instructions on the help file: "Take ownership of
a file or folder", but although I have at least managed to get the video
files visible, Windows Media Player cannot play them. I can't do anything
with these files, not even delete them or copy them!!

Can anyone give me some advice please, this unexpected problem is driving me
nuts!

Thanks, Jim

 

[Jimmy Brush]

Hello,

This is a common problem with files that you created from another
installation of Windows.

This has to do with the security settings that Windows XP applied to
these files. Since they were created from your user account in XP,
they do not apply to your user account in Vista, and so you are denied
access in some circumstances.

To fix this, you can follow these steps:

- Click Start
- Type: cmd
- Right-click cmd when it appears
- Click Run As Administrator
- Change location to the folder you need access to (e.g. cd e:\folder)
- Type: takeown /F . /R /A /D Y > NUL
- Type: icacls . /grant USEROI)(CI)(F) /L /T /Q
(Where USER is your username - you will only have access from your
XP and Vista machine in this case)
(Or, replace USER with Users if you want anyone [on any computer
your hard drive is plugged into] to have full access to these files)

- JB

 

[Jack K]

Thanks very much Jimmy for this information, I will give this a method a
try, but I'm a bit nervous about doing this! Is there a method that can be
used without resorting to programming techniques? The folder and files are
still accessible from the external drive on my old XP computer, even though
I can't get access to them on my Vista laptop.

Incidentally, I tried copying one of the folders again from my XP computer
to a new folder on my external hard drive, and this time it was accessible
on my laptop Vista machine. So it seems that it's just one particular folder
that Vista has problems with, it's not a consistent problem, so this is
rather odd.

Regards, Jim

Hello,

This is a common problem with files that you created from another
installation of Windows.

This has to do with the security settings that Windows XP applied to
these files. Since they were created from your user account in XP,
they do not apply to your user account in Vista, and so you are denied
access in some circumstances.

To fix this, you can follow these steps:

- Click Start
- Type: cmd
- Right-click cmd when it appears
- Click Run As Administrator
- Change location to the folder you need access to (e.g. cd e:\folder)
- Type: takeown /F . /R /A /D Y > NUL
- Type: icacls . /grant USEROI)(CI)(F) /L /T /Q
(Where USER is your username - you will only have access from your
XP and Vista machine in this case)
(Or, replace USER with Users if you want anyone [on any computer
your hard drive is plugged into] to have full access to these files)

- JB

I recently purchased a new external hard drive and I set about
transferring
files from my old XP computer to my new hard drive that I then connected
to
my Sony Vaio laptop. Most files on the new hard drive are accessible on my
Vista laptop, but a large group (100 Gig) of video editing folders and
files
are not accessible. I get these messages:

"You don't currently have permission to access this folder. Click
"continue"
to gain access."

Then "You have been denied permission to access this folder - To gain
access
you will need to use the security tab."

I have tried to follow the instructions on the help file: "Take ownership
of
a file or folder", but although I have at least managed to get the video
files visible, Windows Media Player cannot play them. I can't do anything
with these files, not even delete them or copy them!!

Can anyone give me some advice please, this unexpected problem is driving
me
nuts!

Thanks, Jim

 

[Jimmy Brush]

To be honest, it is much easier to use these commands than to use the
explorer interface, as it is a bit of a pain to work with.

Basically, what this does is set the "Administrators" group as the
owner of the folder you select, as well as all the files and folders
contained within that folder. You can do this from the GUI inside of
the security tab, under advanced, and under the owner tab, and
checking the replace owner checkbox.

The second command adds a permission giving either you specifically or
all users full access to the folder and every folder and file
underneath the folder you select.

You can do this from the security tab by adding a permission from the
GUI, assigning it to either your username or the users group, and
checking the allow box under full control.

- JB

Thanks very much Jimmy for this information, I will give this a method a
try, but I'm a bit nervous about doing this! Is there a method that can be
used without resorting to programming techniques? The folder and files are
still accessible from the external drive on my old XP computer, even though
I can't get access to them on my Vista laptop.

Incidentally, I tried copying one of the folders again from my XP computer
to a new folder on my external hard drive, and this time it was accessible
on my laptop Vista machine. So it seems that it's just one particular folder
that Vista has problems with, it's not a consistent problem, so this is
rather odd.

Regards, Jim

Hello,

This is a common problem with files that you created from another
installation of Windows.

This has to do with the security settings that Windows XP applied to
these files. Since they were created from your user account in XP,
they do not apply to your user account in Vista, and so you are denied
access in some circumstances.

To fix this, you can follow these steps:

- Click Start
- Type: cmd
- Right-click cmd when it appears
- Click Run As Administrator
- Change location to the folder you need access to (e.g. cd e:\folder)
- Type: takeown /F . /R /A /D Y > NUL
- Type: icacls . /grant USEROI)(CI)(F) /L /T /Q
(Where USER is your username - you will only have access from your
XP and Vista machine in this case)
(Or, replace USER with Users if you want anyone [on any computer
your hard drive is plugged into] to have full access to these files)

- JB

I recently purchased a new external hard drive and I set about
transferring
files from my old XP computer to my new hard drive that I then connected
to
my Sony Vaio laptop. Most files on the new hard drive are accessible on my
Vista laptop, but a large group (100 Gig) of video editing folders and
files
are not accessible. I get these messages:

"You don't currently have permission to access this folder. Click
"continue"
to gain access."

Then "You have been denied permission to access this folder - To gain
access
you will need to use the security tab."

I have tried to follow the instructions on the help file: "Take ownership
of
a file or folder", but although I have at least managed to get the video
files visible, Windows Media Player cannot play them. I can't do anything
with these files, not even delete them or copy them!!

Can anyone give me some advice please, this unexpected problem is driving
me
nuts!

Thanks, Jim

 

[Jack K]

To be honest, it is much easier to use these commands than to use the
explorer interface, as it is a bit of a pain to work with.

Basically, what this does is set the "Administrators" group as the
owner of the folder you select, as well as all the files and folders
contained within that folder. You can do this from the GUI inside of
the security tab, under advanced, and under the owner tab, and
checking the replace owner checkbox.

The second command adds a permission giving either you specifically or
all users full access to the folder and every folder and file
underneath the folder you select.

You can do this from the security tab by adding a permission from the
GUI, assigning it to either your username or the users group, and
checking the allow box under full control.

- JB

Thanks Jimmy for your help with this frustrating problem. On this occasion,
I have taken the "easy" way out, which was to open a new folder on my
portable hard drive and redo the whole copying job from my XP computer into
this folder. Fortunately, my Vista laptop has recognised all the files in
this new folder on the portable hard drive without any problems so far. But
I can see that, if you understand, and are confident using your direct
programming method, you would get the permission altered faster than using
the explorer interface, which I found most difficult to work with. However,
if you use this programming method, will you have a problem when you connect
your portable hard drive to an XP computer?

I am now wondering whether my Vista computer somehow corrupted just one
folder on my portable hard drive, even though my XP computer could still
access the portable hard drive without difficulty. It was time consuming to
recopy all the 100 gig of files into a new folder, but at least it has
worked.

 

[Guest]

I am now wondering whether my Vista computer somehow corrupted just one
folder on my portable hard drive, even though my XP computer could still
access the portable hard drive without difficulty. It was time consuming to
recopy all the 100 gig of files into a new folder, but at least it has
worked.

The Vista computer did not corrupt the folder. The problem is that XP set
the permissions on the folder to only Administrators. That works well on XP
because virtually every user is member of Administrators and so can access
it. On Vista, even if you are a member of Administrators you cannot actually
access resources as them without jumping through certain hoops. Jimmy's
work-around basically just jumps through the hoops for you. This is how Vista
is designed. if you are interested in why, Mark Russinovich's UAC article is
a good, although very technical, read:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2007/06/UAC/default.aspx.
You may find the book below useful too.

 

[Jack K]

The Vista computer did not corrupt the folder. The problem is that XP set
the permissions on the folder to only Administrators. That works well on
XP
because virtually every user is member of Administrators and so can access
it. On Vista, even if you are a member of Administrators you cannot
actually
access resources as them without jumping through certain hoops. Jimmy's
work-around basically just jumps through the hoops for you. This is how
Vista
is designed. if you are interested in why, Mark Russinovich's UAC article
is
a good, although very technical, read:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2007/06/UAC/default.aspx.
You may find the book below useful too.

Thanks Jesper for these interesting references. What puzzles me is how this
denial of permission has happened only once on one particular folder that I
created on an external hard drive on a Windows XP computer. I have a brand
new Seagate Freeagent 500 Gig external hard drive, but I think the drive is
working well and was not part of the problem? The fact that I was able to
reperform on my XP computer the job of creating a 100 GIG folder on an
external drive and this second attempt created no problems on my Vista
computer, was a surprise to me because it shows perhaps, that the security
system is not being applied consistently by Vista. Or perhaps I unwittingly
did something different when I recreated the file.

Incidentally, any file that is added to the offending folder, immediately
becomes locked and unable to be read, copied or deleted on my Vista
computer.

Regards, Jim

 

[Guest]

Hi, I had the exact same problem after importing my files and settings from
an old XP install, now, I find after resetting permissions, I can no longer
download emails, I am assuming this is an off-shoot of this, as it happened
right at the same time as sorting permissions.

Thanks.

0x80070005 report from windows mail

 

[Guest]

Thanks Jesper for these interesting references. What puzzles me is how this

denial of permission has happened only once on one particular folder that I
created on an external hard drive on a Windows XP computer.

It has to do with the permissions on that folder. XP set them to allow only
Administrators full access. That works on XP, but not on Vista.

Incidentally, any file that is added to the offending folder, immediately
becomes locked and unable to be read, copied or deleted on my Vista
computer.

Without going into a very long explanation, this has to do with how
permission inheritance works. Any new file you add to the folder gets the
permissions the folder specifies to put on it, which is usually, but not
always, the same as the permissions on the folder. The longer description is
in the book.

 

[Guest]

It may not. Can you give us more detail on the problem? What error messages
do you see? What did you do to the folders to fix the problem? Which e-mail
program are you using?

 

[Guest]

Doing what was recommended by Jimmy Brush, was long winded and would of been
easier going into the permissions section for the folder, as it happens,
after doing what was recomended, Windows Mail no longer had permission to
write to the Windows Mail folder in my users account, so all had to be reset.

 

[Jimmy Brush]

What folder did you apply the permission changes to?

- JB

 

[Guest]

I am having a similar problem to the OP but with one difference.

I am trying to run an exe file from a CD. I tried running it from the run
window but receive the message "you don't have permission to open this file.
Contact the file owner or administrator to obtain permission".

I have full admin rights and the CD is a standard commercial program (i.e. I
purchased it).

I tried using explorer and am unable to even right click on the file (i.e. I
right click on it but the menu does not appear). I am able to right click on
other files (non-apps) but not on the exe file.

I tried the commands in your post but:

1. There was no choice to "run as administrator" when right-clicking on the
box. However, the title on the cmd box did indicate "Administrator c:\...

2. I could not get the drive to change to d:\setup (the directory the file
is in) but assume this is because the CD is read only.

Any suggestions as why Vista won't let me run the file?

Hello,

This is a common problem with files that you created from another
installation of Windows.

This has to do with the security settings that Windows XP applied to
these files. Since they were created from your user account in XP,
they do not apply to your user account in Vista, and so you are denied
access in some circumstances.

To fix this, you can follow these steps:

- Click Start
- Type: cmd
- Right-click cmd when it appears
- Click Run As Administrator
- Change location to the folder you need access to (e.g. cd e:\folder)
- Type: takeown /F . /R /A /D Y > NUL
- Type: icacls . /grant USEROI)(CI)(F) /L /T /Q
(Where USER is your username - you will only have access from your
XP and Vista machine in this case)
(Or, replace USER with Users if you want anyone [on any computer
your hard drive is plugged into] to have full access to these files)

- JB

I recently purchased a new external hard drive and I set about transferring
files from my old XP computer to my new hard drive that I then connected to
my Sony Vaio laptop. Most files on the new hard drive are accessible on my
Vista laptop, but a large group (100 Gig) of video editing folders and files
are not accessible. I get these messages:

"You don't currently have permission to access this folder. Click "continue"
to gain access."

Then "You have been denied permission to access this folder - To gain access
you will need to use the security tab."

I have tried to follow the instructions on the help file: "Take ownership of
a file or folder", but although I have at least managed to get the video
files visible, Windows Media Player cannot play them. I can't do anything
with these files, not even delete them or copy them!!

Can anyone give me some advice please, this unexpected problem is driving me
nuts!

Thanks, Jim

 

[Guest]

I can't get onto my E:\ hard drive with the commands you gave I am familiar
with the old DOS commands. When I type cd e:\backup or cd e:\ or cd e:, the
command goes back to c:\, even when I cd.. back from windows directory.

Hello,

This is a common problem with files that you created from another
installation of Windows.

This has to do with the security settings that Windows XP applied to
these files. Since they were created from your user account in XP,
they do not apply to your user account in Vista, and so you are denied
access in some circumstances.

To fix this, you can follow these steps:

- Click Start
- Type: cmd
- Right-click cmd when it appears
- Click Run As Administrator
- Change location to the folder you need access to (e.g. cd e:\folder)
- Type: takeown /F . /R /A /D Y > NUL
- Type: icacls . /grant USEROI)(CI)(F) /L /T /Q
(Where USER is your username - you will only have access from your
XP and Vista machine in this case)
(Or, replace USER with Users if you want anyone [on any computer
your hard drive is plugged into] to have full access to these files)

- JB

I recently purchased a new external hard drive and I set about transferring
files from my old XP computer to my new hard drive that I then connected to
my Sony Vaio laptop. Most files on the new hard drive are accessible on my
Vista laptop, but a large group (100 Gig) of video editing folders and files
are not accessible. I get these messages:

"You don't currently have permission to access this folder. Click "continue"
to gain access."

Then "You have been denied permission to access this folder - To gain access
you will need to use the security tab."

I have tried to follow the instructions on the help file: "Take ownership of
a file or folder", but although I have at least managed to get the video
files visible, Windows Media Player cannot play them. I can't do anything
with these files, not even delete them or copy them!!

Can anyone give me some advice please, this unexpected problem is driving me
nuts!

Thanks, Jim

 

[Seth]

I can't get onto my E:\ hard drive with the commands you gave I am familiar
with the old DOS commands. When I type cd e:\backup or cd e:\ or cd e:,
the
command goes back to c:\, even when I cd.. back from windows directory.

That's because none of the commands you typed tell the machine to go to
drive E:, just to change the current directory on drive E:.

Try simply...
E: [Enter]
....to change your current drive to E: Then you can "cd" around the E: drive
all you want.

 

[Mark Bourne]

Hello,

This is a common problem with files that you created from another
installation of Windows.

This has to do with the security settings that Windows XP applied to
these files. Since they were created from your user account in XP,
they do not apply to your user account in Vista, and so you are denied
access in some circumstances.

To fix this, you can follow these steps:

- Click Start
- Type: cmd
- Right-click cmd when it appears
- Click Run As Administrator
- Change location to the folder you need access to (e.g. cd e:\folder)
- Type: takeown /F . /R /A /D Y > NUL
- Type: icacls . /grant USEROI)(CI)(F) /L /T /Q
(Where USER is your username - you will only have access from your
XP and Vista machine in this case)
(Or, replace USER with Users if you want anyone [on any computer
your hard drive is plugged into] to have full access to these files)

- JB

I recently purchased a new external hard drive and I set about transferring
files from my old XP computer to my new hard drive that I then connected to
my Sony Vaio laptop. Most files on the new hard drive are accessible on my
Vista laptop, but a large group (100 Gig) of video editing folders and files
are not accessible. I get these messages:

"You don't currently have permission to access this folder. Click "continue"
to gain access."

Then "You have been denied permission to access this folder - To gain access
you will need to use the security tab."

I have tried to follow the instructions on the help file: "Take ownership of
a file or folder", but although I have at least managed to get the video
files visible, Windows Media Player cannot play them. I can't do anything
with these files, not even delete them or copy them!!

Can anyone give me some advice please, this unexpected problem is driving me
nuts!

Thanks, Jim

Working on the same problem but not sure what the purpose of the smiley
face is? Without it, both my user name and USERS are rejected as
invalid.

Are you referring to a smiley after "USER" in this line?:That's whatever you're using to read the message substituting graphics
for text smilies. It should be ""USER : ( O I )..." but without the
spaces - I've inserted them to stop your reader recognising a smiley!
It's probably replacing the colon-open parenthesis with a sad face

It can be quite amusing looking at some online archives where complex
command lines come up full of smilies... unless of course you're the one
trying to use the command! ;o)

 

[btgavin]

Jimmy,
Are there any other switches that need to be added for Vista? I made the
mistake of loading AOL software and now I can't delete the files, even after
using the fix you provided.
Thanks
Brian

Hello,

This is a common problem with files that you created from another
installation of Windows.

This has to do with the security settings that Windows XP applied to
these files. Since they were created from your user account in XP,
they do not apply to your user account in Vista, and so you are denied
access in some circumstances.

To fix this, you can follow these steps:

- Click Start
- Type: cmd
- Right-click cmd when it appears
- Click Run As Administrator
- Change location to the folder you need access to (e.g. cd e:\folder)
- Type: takeown /F . /R /A /D Y > NUL
- Type: icacls . /grant USEROI)(CI)(F) /L /T /Q
(Where USER is your username - you will only have access from your
XP and Vista machine in this case)
(Or, replace USER with Users if you want anyone [on any computer
your hard drive is plugged into] to have full access to these files)

- JB

I recently purchased a new external hard drive and I set about transferring
files from my old XP computer to my new hard drive that I then connected to
my Sony Vaio laptop. Most files on the new hard drive are accessible on my
Vista laptop, but a large group (100 Gig) of video editing folders and files
are not accessible. I get these messages:

"You don't currently have permission to access this folder. Click "continue"
to gain access."

Then "You have been denied permission to access this folder - To gain access
you will need to use the security tab."

I have tried to follow the instructions on the help file: "Take ownership of
a file or folder", but although I have at least managed to get the video
files visible, Windows Media Player cannot play them. I can't do anything
with these files, not even delete them or copy them!!

Can anyone give me some advice please, this unexpected problem is driving me
nuts!

Thanks, Jim

 

[btgavin]

Under file properties there is a "special permissions," in addition to the
usual "read," "write," etc. Is there another parameter that I can add to the
command string to unlock the special permissions?

Hello,

This is a common problem with files that you created from another
installation of Windows.

This has to do with the security settings that Windows XP applied to
these files. Since they were created from your user account in XP,
they do not apply to your user account in Vista, and so you are denied
access in some circumstances.

To fix this, you can follow these steps:

- Click Start
- Type: cmd
- Right-click cmd when it appears
- Click Run As Administrator
- Change location to the folder you need access to (e.g. cd e:\folder)
- Type: takeown /F . /R /A /D Y > NUL
- Type: icacls . /grant USEROI)(CI)(F) /L /T /Q
(Where USER is your username - you will only have access from your
XP and Vista machine in this case)
(Or, replace USER with Users if you want anyone [on any computer
your hard drive is plugged into] to have full access to these files)

- JB

I recently purchased a new external hard drive and I set about transferring
files from my old XP computer to my new hard drive that I then connected to
my Sony Vaio laptop. Most files on the new hard drive are accessible on my
Vista laptop, but a large group (100 Gig) of video editing folders and files
are not accessible. I get these messages:

"You don't currently have permission to access this folder. Click "continue"
to gain access."

Then "You have been denied permission to access this folder - To gain access
you will need to use the security tab."

I have tried to follow the instructions on the help file: "Take ownership of
a file or folder", but although I have at least managed to get the video
files visible, Windows Media Player cannot play them. I can't do anything
with these files, not even delete them or copy them!!

Can anyone give me some advice please, this unexpected problem is driving me
nuts!

Thanks, Jim

Working on the same problem but not sure what the purpose of the smiley
face is? Without it, both my user name and USERS are rejected as
invalid.

 

[FromTheRafters]

Use a Linux (or other) penetration disk.

 

[Guest]

I think that some data maybe damaged or the uninstall of the system causes
some problems of recognizing you right to read the files , though existing,
but not being available through the file management of the operating system.
It is certainly not available through command line.
If you want to have your data recovered, you may use some professional
software such as Handy Recovery, or asking professional data rescue team for
help.
And, I've no idea about the meaning of 'takeown'.

Opinion above is only for reference. Make your own decision.