Windows 7 Access denied

[tonyroder]

In an XP/Windows 7 dual-boot system, Windows 7 Explorer tells me that a number of folders in the W7 C disc (such as Cookies, Documents, Application Data, etc.) are "not accessible" and that "access is denied". What could have triggered this problem, and what can I do to eliminate it?

P.S. I have read the similar threads but I don't quite understand how they apply to this problem.

 

[Mike]

Unsure of the cause, but here is a possible solution:

1. Navigate to c:\users\
2. Right-click on your username and go to Properties
3. Under c:\users\(your username) you should see: System, Your Username, and the Administrators group. If not, you need to re-add them. If you need help with this, let me know.
4. Make sure all of these accounts have FULL CONTROL. Special permissions need not be checked.
5. Go to Advanced from that same tab and ensure all permissions are NOT INHERITED.
6. Under the Owner tab ensure that the owner is set to your username.

If any of these are different from what is described, apply these changes to all sub-folders and files. This should allow you to reclaim the permissions that you have lost.

If you have access to the partition from within Windows XP, something could have messed up the permissions. You should keep the drive read-only when you're in XP if at all possible. Other than that, I'm not sure how these permission-based problems keep popping up, as they seem to be an anomaly. There is also a scripted way to restore all default Windows 7 permissions.

See:

Quick way to reset all security permissions to default? (Windows 7)

How do I restore security settings to the default settings?

Hope this helps.

 

[tonyroder]

If any of these are different from what is described, apply these changes to all sub-folders and files. This should allow you to reclaim the permissions that you have lost.
​

So far so good, Mike: it cleared the problem in the C disk, thanks very very much. But... it advised me that it could not access a number of folders -- which remained prefixed with a small blue curved arrow -- in the realm above "Computer". Since I don't know whether the folders and files above "Computer" are essential/necessary for running applications, I don't know whether to concern myself about their inaccessibility.

 

[Mike]

Probably not. You will not be able take ownership of some files due to the fact that they are used by the system. I don't think this will be a problem, unless you start to notice issues. There are some segments of the C drive and user profile that need to be protected for compatibility reasons and for restore reasons. If your account had unlimited access to every single file, it would be very easy for anyone who got into your account to perform a variety of malicious tasks.

 

[tonyroder]

I'm pleased to report that I found a serendipitous solution to the "Access denied" problem. Discouraged by the performance of Widnows Explorer, I installed another file manager (Free Commander, in this instance) and wonders of wonders, I now can open folders to which WE denied access. Not ALL of them, but certainly Documents and Settings and so on.