7 Best Fixes: You Don’t Currently Have Permission To Access This Folder

You might have recently upgraded your Windows OS to the Windows 10 version. And to your surprise, suddenly you are getting an error message that says: “You Don’t Currently Have Permission To Access This Folder” or “Access Denied, You don’t have permission to access.” Don’t worry, you are not alone, there are plenty of users who have encountered this problem.

This issue prevents users from accessing their files and folders. Even if you log into the computer via an administrator account, still you’ll face these limitations. Fortunately, this error is very easy to resolve. In this article, we discuss why the “You don’t currently have permission to access this folder” error comes up and all the efficient ways to get rid of it.

What Does The ‘You Don’t Currently Have Permission To Access This Folder’ Error Mean?

This error is similar to the error code 0x80007005 and both of them get triggered when you upgrade your OS to Windows 10. You might have had a legacy user in Windows 7. In Windows 10, there is no legacy user feature. 

So, your folders can get locked on their own once you upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10. This is not something to be worried about. Your OS is simply asking you to reassign the ownership of the folders.

Cause Behind The ‘You Don’t Currently Have Permission To Access This Folder’ Error

1. The user account or group got removed from the list of allowed accounts saved in the Security tab of the specific folder you are trying to access.
2. The user or group has applied the explicit “Deny” function by mistake.
3. The New Technology File System (NTFS) permissions have a conflict with the share permissions.

Methods To Fix ‘You Don’t Have Permission To Access On This Server’

Here are 7 different ways to fix the “You don’t currently have permission to access this folder.” Try them out one by one until the error is resolved.

1. Deselecting The ‘Read Only’ Option
2. Modify Permissions Of Local Disk (C:)
3. Change Ownership From Command Prompt
4. Give Permission To ‘Everyone’ From ‘Users Properties’
5. Give Full Control To Everyone
6. Authorize Your Account To Access It
7. Modify Local Policy Settings

1. Deselecting The ‘Read Only’ Option

This solution rarely works. But, it’s an easy method and so, you should try it once before moving on to the next solution. If the fix works, you would be able to access the folder. If it doesn’t work, an error message will come up saying, “Access is denied.” Don’t worry because nothing will happen and the folder in question just stays locked. 

Follow the steps given below to deselect the Read Only option.

1. Go to File Explorer and right-click on the folder that you can’t access
2. Click on Properties
3. In the Properties window, deselect the Read Only option
4. Click on OK > Apply to save the changes

2. Modify Permissions Of Local Disk (C:)

1. Go to This PC and right-click on Local Disk (C:)
2. Click on Properties

3. Navigate to the Security tab in the Properties window and click on Edit.

4. Now, click on “Add…” from the Security tab to alter the permissions

5. From the “Select Users or Groups” window, type in “Everyone” in the field that says “Enter the object names to select” box.

6. Next, click on “Check Names” which will check the authenticity of the object names you’ve entered.
7. Click on “OK”. This will add “Everyone” as a new user group.

8. Go back to the Security window and click on “Everyone” 
9. Now, in the Permissions for Everyone section, mark the checkbox in the Allow column next to Full Control and Modify to provide full control of this folder to everybody.

10. Next, click on Apply and then on OK. Click on Yes > Continue.

Try opening the folder that was causing problems earlier. It should open without any issues now.

3. Change Ownership From Command Prompt

If several folders are giving the same error, i.e., “You don’t have permission to access this folder,” then, you should try taking ownership of the Windows root folder. Follow the steps given below to take ownership of the folders via the Command Prompt:

1. Open the File Explorer.
2. Go to the location of the file/folder that you can’t access.
3. Right-click on the file/folder and click on Properties.
4. Next, go to General and copy the location mentioned in the ‘Location:’ section
5. Next, press Windows + R keys to open the Run utility and type in cmd. Then, press the Ctrl+Shift+Enter keys. This opens the Command Prompt window with elevated rights.
6. Type in the command given below and paste it in the Command Prompt window and press the Enter key. 

TAKEOWN /F “path of the file or folder\ file or folder name” /R /D Y

Note: Don’t forget to replace the ‘path of the file./folder’ section with the actual path of the file

7. Next, run the following command:

ICACLS path of the file (or folder)\file (or folder) name /grant administrators: F

Once you’ve done so, you should be able to access the folder now.

4. Give Permission To ‘Everyone’ From ‘Users Properties’

1. Open the C drive of the computer.
2. Right-click on the Users folder.
3. Click on the “Properties” option

4. Go to the Security tab > Edit > Add

5. Type in Everyone in the “Enter the object name to select:” field

6. Click on “Check Names” and then on OK
7. A Windows Security prompt will come up, click on OK.
8. Click on Apply > OK in the Properties window

5. Give Full Control To Everyone

1. Right-click on the file that is causing the problems and then, click on Properties
2. Go to the Security section and click on Edit to modify the permission settings
3. From the ‘Group or user names:’ section, select “Everyone”
4. Next, mark the checkbox next to “Full Control” permission. This will give you full control of the file.
5. Next, click on Apply > OK
6. Go back to the Properties screen and click on Apply
7. Then, click on OK

6. Authorize Your Account To Access It

1. Go to the folder’s location
2. Right-click on the folder and click on Properties. Go to the Security tab in the Properties window
3. Click on Edit
4. Next, click on Add to add your account. The Select User or Group window will come up, click on the Advanced option
5. Click on Find Now and keep scrolling till you find your username
6. Click on OK and again on OK. Restart your system and check if you can gain access to the respective folder.

7. Modify Local Policy Settings

1. Press Windows + R keys from the keyboard
2. Enter the line below and click OK

gpedit.msc

3. This opens up the Local Group Policy Editor screen. Navigate to the location given below:

Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options

4. From the right panel, look for the User Account Control Admin Approval Mode for the Built-in Administrator account. Double click on it.

5. Disable the settings by clicking on the radio button beside “Disabled.”

6. Click on Apply and then on OK to save the settings
7. Next, find the User Account Control Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode setting and set it to Disabled. Click on Apply > OK.

8. Finally, reboot your system for the changes to be applied.

Final Words

In the above article, we have listed down all the ways you can try to gain access to a folder that you currently don’t have permission to access. If you have tried out all the above solutions and still can’t get to open your folder, check your system for malware. The virus infection may be preventing you from accessing your folder.