Cannot access folders and files even with Administrator rights
Hours& days gone trying to solve niggling issues that Microsoft cannot fix (using the built-in diagnosis tools/compatibility options/MS promises to advise when solutions found). But I amstopped from progress by restrictions to folder & file access preventing self-diagnosis. Whyare administrator rights not effective? How do I as Administrator give myself access rights? If not available how do I return to XP and retrieve the cost of Windows 7? Note that the PC compatibility test tool for Win7 upgrade from XP noted no significant problems!
November 18th, 2009 6:15am

This is total ____... so from what I can assume from your post Andreas is that, even though we have Admin Access, we are STILL unable to get to files that are on OUR system? To top it off, it's the 'Default' setting? So is this just another Microsoft fail? Further, what does it matter 'what' Stumbl5r is look at/for, it's THEIR machine, apparently they have admin rights on their account and they should have any access they want. Epic Fail Microsoft, Windows 7 has proven to be just Vista's Lite, 1/2 the processor usage and 1/2 the access. Thanks for nothing MicroStuff.
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November 19th, 2009 1:48am

Hi Stumbl5r, Does the computer has another OS?If answer is yes,the problemshould be caused bythe ownership of those files/folders belongs to the user account on the other OS. Please try to take ownership of files/folders to test the issue. 1. Please navigate to the target file/folder. 2. Right-click on the file/folder and choose Properties. 3. Click the "Security" tab and see if your current user is listed in the "Group or user names" list. If not, please click Edit-> Add button, type the name of your current user in the "Enter the object names to select " box, then click "OK" to add this group. 4. Select the user from the list and then check the "Allow" checkbox next to "Full Control".5. Click the Advanced button and click the "Owner" tab. Then, press "Edit" button. 6. Select current user from the list and check the "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects" checkbox. 7. Click "OK" to save changes and wait for Windows 7 to transfer the ownership of all the objects on the partition. 8. Click OK again to save changes and exit the Properties window.9. Test the issue again. Does it work? Hope it helps.
November 19th, 2009 3:47am

To be able to be help out we must narrow down the problem and therefore we need to gather as much information about the problem as pssible, which results in questions back at you. We could of course talk in general terms but that does not help anyone I suppose. In general Windows Vista and Windows 7 have what is called User Account Control activated by default. When UAC ias activate even though you are using an useraccount which is a part of the administrators group it is by default running with standard user priviliges. When you want to for instance install an application you will be asked to approve it, whereafter the installation process alone gets the higher priviliges. The same thing applies to certain files and folders and you might see these "approve" dialogue boxes from time to time when working with files. UAC is there a security boundary and you can turn it off if by searching for "Change User Account Control settings" in the startmenu.
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November 20th, 2009 2:28am

Like many, I opted to avoid an upgrade to Vista and have left XP on my home desktop. My wife recently purchased a laptop with Windows 7 Home pre-installed (so there's no "other OS" to deal with). Having Windows experience dating before 3.1, I felt secure enough to try and make a few changes (like deleting those obnoxious "Free Trial This..." and "Free Netflix" icons from the "All Users Desktop". After finding out how to '"activate" the Administrator account, it seems that MS doesn't trust that user account to do something that simple. So, if I wish to do such things to my computer, how do I go about doing that?
December 2nd, 2009 12:17am

Good call Dapperman. However, when I put the slider all the way down in UAC and restarted my system, I still could not access certain files and folders in Windows Explorer even if I have administrator access. I am doing Win 7 Home Premium 64-bit btw. This is irritating me to no end, that I cannot access files and folders in my own computer - including the folder 'Application Data', 'Local Settings', 'PrintHood' and so forth. Does anyone have a workaround, please?
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December 2nd, 2009 9:03pm

I found the extremely labor intensive workaround. For every folder misbehaving that way (including 'SendTo', 'Startup' and so forth), one needs to right-click on the folder, and go into its properties. In the security tab, the advanced option enables the user to claim ownership of all those folders, whose default owner is SYSTEM. Once the user claims ownership, then the contents can be seen. However, this needs to be done individually on each folder. Gaah!!!
December 2nd, 2009 9:37pm

How to Take Ownership in Windows and access locked files and folders1. Locate the file or folder on which you want to take ownership in windows explorer 2. Right click on file or folder and select Properties from Context Menu 3. Click on Security tab 4. Click on Advance 5. Now click on Owner tab in Advance Security Settings for User windows 6. Click on Edit Button and select user from given Change Owner to list if user or group is not in given list then click on other users or groups. Enter name of user/group and click ok. 8. Now select User/group and click apply and ok. (Check Replace owner on subcontainers and objects if you have files and folder within selected folder) 9. Click ok when Windows Security Prompt is displayed 10. Now Owner name must have changed. 11. Now click Ok to exist from Properties windows Once you have taken the ownership of file or folder next part comes is Granting Permissions to that file/folder or object. How to Grant Permissions in Windows 7 1. Locate the file or folder on which you want to take ownership in windows explorer 2. Right click on file or folder and select Properties from Context Menu 3. Click on Edit button in Properties windows Click ok to confirm UAC elevation request. 4. Select user/group from permission windows or click add to add other user or group. 5. Now under Permission section check the rights which you want to grant i.e check Full Control under the Allow column to assign full access rights control permissions to Administrators group. 6. Click Ok for changes to take effect and click ok final ok to exit from Properties window. Now you can access files of folder in windows 7 with full permissions and take full control
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December 3rd, 2009 7:23pm

Good job, Michael, in detailing the steps. However, perhaps it ought to be mentioned as well that this needs to be done for EVERY single folder for those folders that Windows 7 considers system folders (some of which are frankly ridiculous). Even if the user checks the box asking it to inherit the permissions from the folder to subfolders, it does not always work out. Sometimes, one has to take ownership of subfolders separately. This is highly irritating to say the least.
December 4th, 2009 10:58pm

This is interesting - could it also be "Does this computer 'think' it has another OS installed"?I have a Vista Home Premium machine and I used the provided Windows backup prog to secure all my files. Then a catastrophic virus attack hit.No matter,I thought, just reinstall Vista, my applications and then my files. Hah! Reinstalling Vista and the apps was tedious but do-able.Re-creating Vista accounts of a flavor that would allow a proper file restore simply proved impossible. I have had endless hassles of not being able to access this, not having permissions to do that,etc. etc.I believe that the lack of aFULL SYSTEM backup and restore application, together with the maddeningly complex ownership and privileges is what makes the Vista Home OS'es not fit for purpose.(In fact, I bought a Mac, and that has problems of its own, of course.)I really hoped that Windows 7 would have fixed this, but this discussion shows that is simply not the case. What a pity.Steve.
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December 5th, 2009 2:21am

I have not read all the reply’s the question but enough. Depending of the edition of windows, the simplest but not so available way is to domain the pc and the as administrator take ownership of the folders and all below it,
January 22nd, 2010 7:40pm

Nice thread dredge. ;)One thing, though, that wasn't mentioned here is the 'problem' of some of the posters trying to access folders that don't really exist.Example: suiraqua wrote:... that I cannot access files and folders in my own computer - including the folder 'Application Data', 'Local Settings', 'PrintHood' and so forth. ...Those aren't real folders. Note the 'shortcut' arrow on them (and, the fact that the're hidden/system folders.) They're actually shortcuts, placed there for 'legacy' app compatibility. Nothing is in there. ;)-Chris[If this post helps to resolve your issue, please click the "Mark as Answer" or "Helpful" button at the top of this message. By marking a post as Answered, or Helpful you help others find the answer faster.]
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January 24th, 2010 8:29pm

This is all good info if the user is not already listed, or not already listed as having control of the problematic folder/file. However, what if the user IS already listed as the owner with administrator priveledges and still can't copy/delete/edit the folder/files? I understand the properties differences associated with the same username on different operating systems, however following all of the above instructions are not solving our problem.We have a domain server (2003 SBS). All of our users have administrator accounts. We've even logged onto the machine as domain\administrator, taken ownership of the folder (and subdirectories in question), and still can't copy/delete/edit the folder/files in question. We can't copy/delete/edit the folder in question from safe mode, regardless of which user (or administrator) logs on. We can't copy/delete/edit the folder in question by attaching the hard drive to another machine and taking control of the files. We can't log onto the local machine as adminstrator and copy/delete/edit after taking ownership of the folder/files.No matter who we log on as (EG: domain\administrator) we take control, and that works (changes owner to domain\administrator), but when we try to copy/delete/edit the folder we get the error "must have permission from administrator\domain", which is who is logged onto the system (domain\administrator) and just took ownership. This is not a shortcut, its a folder with a few files including a .jpg. We've tried doing the entire folder and individual files including the .jpg. None of it can be accessed in any way other than reading. We have the same problem with various folders/files on several machines with Window 7 Ultimate 64bit on each of them, all dual booting with XP Pro. Taking ownership from XP fails to work in exactly the same manner.Its really a pain as we're trying to backup data before doing a format, but can't copy a particular folder. I haven't seen this issue addressed here yet. I'm wondering how many people are having the same problem, rather than just not understanding how to take ownership. This seems to be a serious Windows 7 glitch that all the experts are walking around rather than addressing (not that I'm suggesting they are doing so intentionally). It appears to me that Win 7 is corrupting the ownership information for some folders/files, and as I said, we've seen this on more than 1 machine with Win 7 Ultimate 64bit.
January 31st, 2010 12:57am

Glad to hear it helped seseberg! I'm one of the authors of Access Gain Tool so in case something doesn't work as expected you can always ask here and we will try to come up with a solution.
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March 3rd, 2010 8:11am

That fix is greatly appreciated Seseberg. Although its too late for me to try now (couldn't wait any longer and formatted, losing the folder I was having problems with on the last occasion) I'll be sure to save it for the next time. :)
March 3rd, 2010 9:04pm

Guys, I don't want to brag, but the guy who made the AccessGain Filter is a romanian, and, romanian is the second spoken language in Microsoft Corporation... At least that's what I know... Has it changed lately? I am curious as to what the culprit of this whole utterly annoying issue is.... Don't permissions apply hierarchically to all files and folders once ownership is changed and permissions are modified? what IS happening there that is preventing us from access to our files? Is the Safe Mode Administrator any diferent privilege-wise than the normal Administrator that everyone uses? This is so annoying...................
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March 4th, 2010 6:30am

Well what do you know, exactly as I suspected.... I logged in under safe mode and I WAS ABLE TO DELETE THE FREAKIN' FILES that refused to delete under a normal administrator account. Conclusion: the safe mode administrator is MORE privileged than the everyday administrator rights account that everybody uses... fix for this? IDK...
March 4th, 2010 6:56am

Sorry if it caused any confusion, but DKW41 is also me (can never keep track of all my MS accounts and they're no help for merging them all together).I know that safe mode as Administrator made no difference in my situation. Whether its more powerful or not, I don't know. But my problem seemed to be more of a file corruption issue than an ownership/permissions problem. Whatever account I logged into (both in safe mode and not) took ownership correctly, but still when trying to edit or move the files I got an error saying whoever just took control would have to authorise it. Was really hoping this fix would resolve that issue.So safe mode as administrator solved your problem, but Access Gain Tool did not? Curious because I know of a few users on other forums who have the same problem as I do and would really appreciate a fix. :)
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March 4th, 2010 10:58pm

This entire thread is ridiculous. After I upgraded to W7 by starting with a new hard disk, I have no admin access even though I am the admin. I am not going to go through every damn file on my computer to change this by hand. I am a reasonably savvy user, but this is just a great example of why the world is moving the mac platform. Non-thinking responses aimed at computer scientists, awful software implementation with no thought to actual end users, crappy QA I should not have to stomach some lame explanation for why I can't access my own damn files. I am pissed beyond belief. This should have taken five seconds, not multiple hours. No one at MS ever accepts any responsibility for the fact that their stuff just never works. MS treats me as if my time is worth nothing. So I am still screwed and can't get at my files. What should work Right click folder Apply admin rights Propogate to all child folders Enter Any other answer is complete BS.
March 8th, 2010 1:44am

Agree completely, 2planker. If technically savvy users like us have to fight the OS like this, g*d help the regular punter. It is absolutely galling that any OS can block me, the owner and sole user, from doing whatever the ____ I like on my own computer. It feels as if a virus has taken over my machine - and its a new laptop I just bought. I should not have spend endless hours ploughing through user forums vainly trying to find somebody who knows how to fix this, nor install workarounds that hack the OS, just in order to install & customize the damn programs that I bought the computer to use in the first place.This is the last Microsoft OS I ever buy, I'm so pissed. After this, its Mac or some variety of Linux for me.
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March 8th, 2010 11:12am

This has worked for me, although it is a bit cumbersome. Forgive me if this is general knowledge. It appears to be appropriate. Navigate to your directory using cmd or PowerShell (Or better yet, use the 'open command prompt here tweak :) ) You can perform the following from any location but navigating to the directory saves you a lot of typing. Take ownership: takeown /f filename takeown /f directoryname /r Take full rights: cacls filename /G username:F (I think that 'directoryname' will also work in place of 'filename' in the command above.) Close the cmd window and then delete the files. Once the files are gone, go up a level and do the same to the directory. Delete it. Usually what I will do is to use wildcards within a directory to make my life easier. So I usually simply type the following: takeown /f *.* cacls *.* /G username:F Caveats: 1. I have had mixed success with taking ownerships of directories and having it propagate throughout the directory and subdirectories. If that is the case, you might have to do this one directory or subdirectory at a time. 2. Don't forget to close cmd prompt windows that are actively in the directory you want to delete. 3. I suppose you could write a batch command for the above wildcard commands and put it in your path. That way, all you would have to do it open the command prompt to the correct directory and type "sudo.bat" or whatever you wanted to name it. 4. This worked for my problem which arose from system files on a 2nd hard drive that used to be a system disk on an xp machine. Your mileage may vary.
March 8th, 2010 4:18pm

I support that wholeheartedly. As you said, it is extremely irritating that the OS can block me, the sole user and owner of the system. Besides, I still haven't been able to put my favorite programs in the startup folder - so that they start up at boot time. That includes Microsoft's own Process Explorer. It appears that the system will not allow me to run that program without showing a user access control prompt every freakin' time! In my Vista system I had promptly disabled the UAC after getting the system. In Win 7, I let it run, thinking that I shall let it do its job - but perhaps it's time to take it out altogether. What can be more frustrating and irritating than a UAC prompt that has no capacity for learning?
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March 8th, 2010 9:54pm

I guess I'm a bit more patient with these things than some people. I spend half my day every day researching/fixing computer problems (my choice of work), so this is just one more for me. I agree that its aggravating, but no more for me than any other computer issue.So in MS's defense, people scream that they want security and MS implements some very good tools to remedy that situation (although still a bit buggy). If MS did nothing, people would scream at that. The thing is that security is an ongoing issue which gets more complicated every day, so not like one fix is going to be the end all for the situation. Personally, I'm more happy that they're trying new things, rather than sitting on what they've done in the past.And anyone who thinks switching to Apple or Linux OS is going to solve all their computer issues is just plain out of touch. Get ready for a whole new learning curve and a whole new set of problems. When you get tired of the limitations and problems of those OS's, you'll be back. :-)
March 8th, 2010 11:22pm

I am and have been a long time MS user, and have not yet switched completely to the Dark Side. But security surely doesn't need to include idiocy? Your loyalty to MS is admirable, but your reasonings leave a lot to be desired, I'm afraid. The UAC implementation in Win7 is plain idiotic.
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March 10th, 2010 2:34pm

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------One thing, though, that wasn't mentioned here is the 'problem' of some of the posters trying to access folders that don't really exist.Example: suiraqua wrote:... that I cannot access files and folders in my own computer - including the folder 'Application Data', 'Local Settings', 'PrintHood' and so forth. ...Those aren't real folders. Note the 'shortcut' arrow on them (and, the fact that the're hidden/system folders.) They're actually shortcuts, placed there for 'legacy' app compatibility. Nothing is in there. ;)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Actually, these shortcuts do lead to the desired folders. The reason they cannot be accessed has nothing to do with object ownership - it has to do with the permissions set for the single object in question. If you (with admin rights) want to access such shortcuts as 'Application Data', 'Local Settings', 'PrintHood', etc., all you need to do is> open the Properties for the Object you were denied access to> select the Security tab> click on the Advanced button> click on the Change Permissions button> Edit the Everyone entry and remove the check from the Deny box for List Folder / Read Data> (I also usually add a check the Deny box for Delete just so the Everyone entry doesn't go away due to being left with no Permissions selected - makes it easier to reverse if so desired)> ensure the Permissions change will be Apply to: This folder only and click the OK button> click OK 3 more times (until all Properties boxes are closed).You will now have access to your desired Folder(s). If the Profile you are using is not the Object's Owner you will be prompted to make your Administrative access Permanent. To avoid such permanency you have 2 choices: 1) Log on as the Object's Owner in order to edit the Permissions; 2) Enable, use, then disable, the default Administrator account - but that's another "can of worms" to be opened.
March 13th, 2010 6:16pm

Not sure if this helps. My OS drive had an error on boot up that I couldn't get around... however all my ADMIN files and folders (C:/Documents and Settings/Admin/...)were still intact. I reinstalled Windows XP on a different drive, then went back to original OS drive to copy my Favorites, My Documents, etc. and found that I couldn't access them. Permission Denied - probably due to different boot passwords etc. After a few days of tinkering I found that I could SHARE the files, which got me into the subfolders of the ADMIN Folder, but still no access to my Favorites, etc. I decided to do a backup of the ADMIN folder incase I found a solution in the future, but I couldn't directly copy the ADMIN folder to another drive so I decided to try the free backup Utility included with XP (<START><All Programs><Accessories><System Tools>Backup). This allowed me to copy the folder to another directory. On a hunch, I used the same Backup program to restore the copy I just made - this (beautifully) gives an option to "Remove Security Settings" and to restore to a different directory (advanced settings). I restored the backup and can now access the previously "secured" files. Kind of a long way around - but hey, I'm happy I didn't lose all my files.
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June 6th, 2010 11:45am

I also have the same problem. I upgraded from vista ultimate to windows 7 ultimate and even though i am the only account on this computer and i have turned off UAC i still get the "needs administrator privileges" popup with many folders and some apps. I already had full control as "Administrators (Me\Administrator)" but right clicking on the file and selecting "open as administrator" doesn't work. I granted myself as User (me\user) full control, that didn't help. It wasn't until i granted "Authenticated Users" full control that i was able to open the file. What a hassle. There has to be a better way. Don
June 16th, 2010 11:42am

Hey Folks! I've been praising Microsoft for many years now. I am a developer by profession and have configured a great many servers and websites. After 'playing' a whole weekend with my new Win2008 Server JUST TO GET ONE F-IN WEBSITE UP, I am in a terrible mode...However when the website finally was up I just wanted to copy a .mdf and .ldf (SQL Server files) from my development computer to the server it just goes 'access denied' I mean COME ON!!! How idiotic can you get? And oh my god: 'You have to take ownership' La-di-da * 1000 What kind of people dreams up these ideas? And worse yet MS supports it! This post took about 5 minutes to put together, time well spent to let out some steam after 20-30 hours of pointless clicking just to get the easy stuff to work... Pffaaaa Really annoyed now... On a side note I am really considering moving to another development platform, I am passionate about developing applications not configuring a system that obviously has been totally screwed by some people who think its a good idea to force you to take ownership of a file that is in your computer where you are administrator. Anyway...I give the folks at MS one more chance...But you are running out of chances at an increasing rate! /Anders
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July 5th, 2010 3:17pm

I had a same problem.I am using WINDOWS 7 ULTIMATE 32-bit and had to re-install it. After re-installing i had no access to my muzik folder.i was not able to delete anything neither to change anything.Everything was playable but I was not able to make any changes.I then followed this link and had full control on everything.May this help you. http://www.blogsdna.com/2173/add-take-ownership-option-in-right-click-context-menu-of-windows-7.htm thanks Arslan
August 5th, 2010 7:08am

Run Explorer with admin rights: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=144776"A programmer is just a tool which converts caffeine into code" CLIP- Stellvertreter http://www.winvistaside.de/
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August 5th, 2010 8:02am

Andre.Zeigler, It'll be interesting to see if this helps anyone, as it doesn't work on our machines (Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit on domain server with Win 2003 SBS). "make a right click on Permissions and set your user as owner of the key and give your current user writing permissions. Next, delete or rename the value RunAs. Now the Elevated-Unelevated Explorer Factory is disbaled and you can start the Explorer with admin rights." When I try to save the new permissions I get error: Unable to save permission changes on {CDCBCFCA-3CDC-436f-A4E2-0E02075250C2}. Of course I can't delete RunAs afterwards either because of this. :-(
August 6th, 2010 12:27am

In fact, once again my permissions have become corrupt. Programs that I've run every day without a problem are now crashing due to permissions or refusing to start at all. I have no malware on my computer according to AVG, Avast, Malwarebytes, and SuperAntiSpyware (CounterSpy is one of the programs refusing to start now). Not one of these fixes has worked to solve the problem, so I'm making a list of the "customizations" I've made to my desktop to reformat. This will be the 3rd format I've had to do because of problems with Win 7 becoming corrupt in some way. I still love the OS, but its no XP for stability. :-(
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August 6th, 2010 1:04am

This thread is dangerous and a load of Ballony. Go here and find the answer in seconds! http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7security/thread/c506c825-a22f-4aff-9a75-9b83bd14ff44
November 23rd, 2010 8:14am

Michael, THANK YOU! Simply brilliant! I had been so very frustrated trying to access the Application Data folder on my Windows 7 PC. Tried the rest. Then, tried the best! You're da man!
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April 22nd, 2011 6:35pm

- Open 'user accounts control 2' from control panel. (if not available see elsewhere how to make this visible) - See the users list. Your username has probably more than 1 group(mine had, HomeUser and Administrators). - Click on your username and properties and click on 'groupmembership'. Now there are 3 options: * standard user * administrator user * other levels Mine was on other levels. I changed it to the second(Administrator) Now, when I want to delete a file or folder that has administrator rights, I get a popup, but there is a button that enables me to go on! SuccesFlorisz, WHS, XP NL/EN SP3, Windows Media Center, Win7, Pocket Loox with 2003SE and Samsung SGH-i600 with WM 6.5
June 1st, 2011 5:56am

You "DA MAN"!
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June 3rd, 2011 4:32pm

I have had the same problem. I had the files on another computer, and they will not work on my PC. This is truely unbelievable as I have tried all above comments regarding user settings and - nothing!I've specnt hours on this, I'm no programer, but I usually fiddle around and get things going, the above directions were great, but to no avail. I get the same exact message no matter what level of access. I swear it if this keeps happening it's the last version I'm PAYING for. What a killer
June 6th, 2011 11:30am

Thank you. I tried this and worked like a wonder. Appreciate your detailed instructions.
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July 21st, 2011 2:20am

I've just wasted a couple of hours trying to delete a folder I created under my own account. None of the many solutions worked. Only when I tried to rename it did I find the cause: Windows 7 gives an incorrect error message when trying to delete it. It tells me I need administrator rights (that I already have) or special authorisation (I'm already the owner). But when I try to rename it, it tells me it can't because it's open in another program. That problem was that another computer in the local network had an explorer window open on that folder. Once I moved out of that folder on that computer, the first computer could delete it. This happened on a Windows 7 with French language display activated. It may be that the problem is limited to a translation error in one langage version where the incorrect message has been pasted by mistake.
December 5th, 2011 12:02pm

thnx that helped me . Yes !
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December 10th, 2011 6:07pm

I do want to say thanks... Been fighting with this for about a month...Everyone wants you run the same scans with the same results...I tryed your way and all ######## broke lose an this thing...Dont know how long it will stay seemed to adapt to it quickley but my bit defender picked up some files before it froze.. my eset got some and I managed to get some deleted...Anymore advise would be much appreciated this thing is scarey mean....again THANK-YOU...
January 11th, 2012 7:27am

Hi Stumbl5r, Does the computer has another OS? If answer is yes, the problem should be caused by the ownership of those files/folders belongs to the user account on the other OS. Please try to take ownership of files/folders to test the issue. 1. Please navigate to the target file/folder. 2. Right-click on the file/folder and choose Properties. 3. Click the "Security" tab and see if your current user is listed in the "Group or user names" list. If not, please click Edit-> Add button, type the name of your current user in the "Enter the object names to select " box, then click "OK" to add this group. 4. Select the user from the list and then check the "Allow" checkbox next to "Full Control". 5. Click the Advanced button and click the "Owner" tab. Then, press "Edit" button. 6. Select current user from the list and check the "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects" checkbox. 7. Click "OK" to save changes and wait for Windows 7 to transfer the ownership of all the objects on the partition. 8. Click OK again to save changes and exit the Properties window. 9. Test the issue again. Does it work? Hope it helps. it's not quite as simple as that. I used to think so, but I discovered that if you change user accounts, suddenly you can't access those files... microsoft has a program called takeown.exe which you can compile, and basically it adds to the files and folders the Everyone user/group and NT_Authority/SYSTEM. the latter is probably something you cannot do, but the former you can probably do. Administrator should also have access to the files as well. if you can add both at once, and I think you can, do both, but you should be using Administrator rights to do it or logged in as Administrator. if you want to change a whole tree of files you must apply the changes to the files and folders and subfolders.
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January 16th, 2012 12:38am

i think it could be your antivirus blocked access to those files try uninstalling antivirus, modyfiying /deleting those files, then re-installing the antivirus (or switch to another AV) only way it worked for some of my files
January 18th, 2012 7:39am

Just wasted a complete afternoon and evening trying to solve this problem of having complete Administrator rights over my machine but still not being able to delete a directory and files. Have tried everything, yes everything including all the work rounds above to no avail. The UAC in Windows 7 is just as it was in, dare I say it Vista, just there to encourage us to think life has no purpose, no meaning and to stick our fingers in the USB port in the hope of a short circuit and a quick exit from this Microsoft misery. No wonder people are switching to Mac's, I use to have the patents but now its just a bore. I'm pretty sure I know what the problem is, I'm convinced that the hard drive in my machine, although the computer was custom built for me, has had a pre-used hard drive put in and the directory and files I am seeing are from a previous but not correctly deleted installation i.e. Windows 7 is seeing them as shared files. Can't Microsoft come up with a simple solution to what I'm sure is not an isolated problem?
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February 21st, 2012 2:57pm

I was unable to delete some mp3 files that I had previously stored on an external hard drive even though I was logged in as administrator. The thing that worked for me was to create another user account with administrator privileges. After changing to that account I had complete access and was able to delete the files without difficulty.
March 7th, 2012 10:34am

backing up dapperman here, this problem, and it's solution are nothing more than completely unacceptable, on a professional, personal, and industry level. in this thread alone are about 8 solutions with various results but nothing solid. and microsoft not taking responsibility for its flubs as always. the most obvious fact about this bug is that microsoft is absolutely aware of the problem and has not fixed it in a useful and understandable way, despite complaints, and amid their thirteen thousand security updates and fixes in the updates that come sometimes 3 times a day. Which begs to question, what is it you are trying to acheive Microsoft? Fragment the industry? Toss diligent workers out of your inner circle of agreed upon (internal) misunderstandings or nebulous standards? Poke your users in the eye and blame them for not being able to see things properly? It is a flaw, and a huge gaping flaw at that. a flaw which you stand behind with the full rigalia of ignorant bliss, blaming the user, and having them do your dirty work patching up the hole you made in their ship. if it doesn't work, and you know it, fix it in a way that people want to use it! or does microsoft have stock in apple so they win either way? (not a ridiculous thought, Bill gates bought near half their stock like 20 years ago didn't he? Historically microsoft has claimed to make the computer systems people want, and take user suggestions to improve their products, ok, do it then. Fix this on your end! Here are a bunch of people asking for a new "feature", htat beign the absence of this bug. Whatever the issue it is obviously a flaw from user responses and varied results listed here. What we (all) are generally looking for is inherant logic, and to build on previously acquired skills, not point for point solutions for every cotton picking new problem microsoft "innovates" and invents against all previous experience or user requests to the contrary. Finally, how about some consistency for once, that would really rock our worlds. Fewer windows, fewer click, fewer questions, fewer bugs, quirks, and no new redesigns of the wheel, we just want something round that rolls as expected, not squares, round recs, or octagons, just a traditionally round wheel is fine for us, really. if we change tires the only difference we should experience is a smoother ride. please stop building the bumps into the thing for G*d's sake! The best user interface is a transparent one, not one that pops up introducing new and innovative roadblocks to progress all the time. please, please, fix this, or you should start paying rent on our hard disks and direct billing so we can collect consulting fees for problems you create and we have to solve for you on our own time. PS: this isn't a rant, its an in depth request for a "feature" call it "noinventnewbugsonpurpose" i will be in the commercial, "i'm a pc, and i invented it" IMHO
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March 31st, 2012 12:14pm

It appears that these are symbolic links and that WIn7 hasn't got the wherewithal to follow the symlink to the real folder to assess the security settings. - Hence everyone's frustration. For those of us who are extremely technical, we'd like to be able to remove and re-create a link as needed to test a scenario... I've done it for years with Altos Xenix, SCO Xenix, SCO OS/5, AIX and Linux from Caldera 2.2 through todays versions... Windows has been moving in a direction to incorporate more *nix like concepts as they move away from their DOS orientation, but in the process they have focused on the "general user" at the expense of the "administrative user" (i.e. "root" in *nix) I've always wanted to try a stripped down, non-backwards compatible, Windows Server. I'm sure it could be made admin-friendly and allow push updates without spending thousands of dollars on push-update software mechanisms... But so far, they've missed the boat. I have 1 Win7Prof PC at home, 1 Mac and 2 Debian systems. Both the Win and OS/X systems make it very hard to administer/customize/etc. the OS. The 2 Debian systems give more bang for the buck and don't inhibit the root user at all once you make 2 changes (using "su root" as a user) in /etc/pam.d to allow logging into the desktop as root. We can always hope MS will see those of us who recommend server platforms as a market at some point. (Wouldn't it be awesome to have basic *nix constructs available for admins? And "bash" vs. "cmd"?) I certainly don't see any need to utilize Windows except in those cases where some vendor/site is compatible with MS/IE only. There are a few of them and I rail on them constantly to be platform independent. Our software is. It takes a lot of work, but we use Apache/MySQL/PHP to deliver our medical practice management application from any of the *nix-OS/X-WinServer server platforms to anyone who has Chrome/FireFox/Safari/Opera/IE or similar browsers. But administering the server platform under Windows is about 5 times more time intensive to install and about 10 times more time intensive to maintain than *nix platforms. We have about 200 Linux servers we are able to support with 4 staff. We have about 50 Windows servers we are able to support with 4 staff. With numbers like that, I don't see us leaning toward Windows in the foreseeable future.
April 18th, 2012 1:54pm

Hi This small tool does create a new right-click 'menu-item', but how to run this on a remote server -- because my website is hosted on a 3rd-Party server and its owners' after-sales service is extremely poor, please?GK
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April 20th, 2012 9:05am

Hi, Bogdan Plz reply to my Query posted above. Thanks!GK
April 20th, 2012 9:07am

Hey Robinson, Better approach than Andreas, but seriously... why do you folks answer questions with questions? Take Stumbl5r at what he posted. I understand that you don't want to assume, but I really would expect more from an MVP and MSFT Moderator. You would think that you could provide a straight answer to what was asked. Does MS purposefully make things complicated and expect you all to follow suit and complicate things even more. Seriously "Does the computer has another OS?"... aside from the poor grammar (which I am certainly guilty of at times), why would you assume this and start with this fix? ... sigh... Hey Stumbl5r! Control Panel > System and Security > Change User Account Control Settings You'll get a popup... read! Pull the slider all the way to the bottom... do what you need to do (i.e. install/change/remove files) ... put the slider back to the setting YOU want (that is, IF YOU WANT to). Hope that works, it did for me. Hey Robinson and Andreas! Go collect another little badge under your name to show how a power user can complicate a simple question more. I had the problem being i couldn't access my folders (ex: Music) and i did exactly what DapperMan said. Slide the bar and BINGO! thanks DapperMan :)
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April 26th, 2012 8:31am

oh god please help. I came to this thread through hours of searching. I dont know much but i feel like my pc has been hacked. I cannot move, delete or access my own BLOODY files! Im not completely computer illiterate, I dont understand a lot of what you are all talking about. I cant believe this, I bought a new pc, Im the only user, I dont even have ONE OTHER USER on this computer, its all brand new stuff, brand new windows 7 64 bit. I CANT EVEN MOVE MY UNI ASSIGNMENTS OR DELETE ANYTHING! WDTV is dead, I cant stream to my iPad anymore, what the hell? For gods sake what do I do? Am I going to have to destroy my hard drive and get an old copy of XP or Vista and start again I dont understand, Im so angry. Why is Windows doing this to me. I tried your fixes but it didnt work. I cant believe this... Has this been fixed, can someone tell me what to do? Many thanks in advance
May 3rd, 2012 8:35pm

I am afraid to think at the future versions of Microsoft!!! If now there are admin rights, UAC, ownership, only to be able to work on YOUR OWN COMPUTER (and not on a network, or internet or...), then what is next? How many levels of security we will have to pass, after we already paid good money for our operating system, to do what we need? Why, to be an admin, is not enough for your computer (as I said, I am not considering a networked one - over there the network admins should have the full rights, but a stand alone one)?
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May 29th, 2012 3:04pm

The problem I have is it does not allow me to take ownership, even tho I am 'full control' administrator. Apparently because I copied the folder from a CD to my desktop it is 'unknown owner' and won;t let me take ownership. I am now stuck with the folder, Any suggestions? I run Win 7 64 bit.
June 6th, 2012 9:27pm

Whenever I need higher rights and "priviledge" does not help, then I use simple trick and start the tool by scheduled task in interactive mode as SYSTEM. Regards Milos
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June 8th, 2012 3:02am

Thanks to "no spamming" for posting the correct answer. This is not a UAC problem. This problem is being encountered because there is a DENY Access Control Entry (ACE) to Deny access to the EVERYONE group, stamped on many system folders throughout the file system. All interactive access receives the access associated with the Everyone group (pretty sure that is still correct through at least Win7 and Win2008). If you Remove the Deny Everyone Access Control Entry, then you can access the folder. I believe that Microsoft shot themselves in the foot on this one. Here is an excerpt the post from nospamming (thanks again): "If you (with admin rights) want to access such shortcuts as 'Application Data', 'Local Settings', 'PrintHood', etc., all you need to do is> open the Properties for the Object you were denied access to> select the Security tab> click on the Advanced button> click on the Change Permissions button> Edit the Everyone entry and remove the check from the Deny box for List Folder / Read Data> (I also usually add a check the Deny box for Delete just so the Everyone entry doesn't go away due to being left with no Permissions selected - makes it easier to reverse if so desired)> ensure the Permissions change will be Apply to: This folder only and click the OK button> click OK 3 more times (until all Properties boxes are closed). You will now have access to your desired Folder(s). If the Profile you are using is not the Object's Owner you will be prompted to make your Administrative access Permanent. To avoid such permanency you have 2 choices: 1) Log on as the Object's Owner in order to edit the Permissions; 2) Enable, use, then disable, the default Administrator account - but that's another "can of worms" to be opened."
September 24th, 2012 3:57pm

Thanks to "no spamming" for posting the correct answer. This is not a UAC problem. This problem is being encountered because there is a DENY Access Control Entry (ACE) to Deny access to the EVERYONE group, stamped on many system folders throughout the file system. All interactive access receives the access associated with the Everyone group (pretty sure that is still correct through at least Win7 and Win2008). If you Remove the Deny Everyone Access Control Entry, then you can access the folder. I believe that Microsoft shot themselves in the foot on this one. Here is an excerpt the post from nospamming (thanks again): "If you (with admin rights) want to access such shortcuts as 'Application Data', 'Local Settings', 'PrintHood', etc., all you need to do is> open the Properties for the Object you were denied access to> select the Security tab> click on the Advanced button> click on the Change Permissions button> Edit the Everyone entry and remove the check from the Deny box for List Folder / Read Data> (I also usually add a check the Deny box for Delete just so the Everyone entry doesn't go away due to being left with no Permissions selected - makes it easier to reverse if so desired)> ensure the Permissions change will be Apply to: This folder only and click the OK button> click OK 3 more times (until all Properties boxes are closed). You will now have access to your desired Folder(s). If the Profile you are using is not the Object's Owner you will be prompted to make your Administrative access Permanent. To avoid such permanency you have 2 choices: 1) Log on as the Object's Owner in order to edit the Permissions; 2) Enable, use, then disable, the default Administrator account - but that's another "can of worms" to be opened."
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September 25th, 2012 3:44pm

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