Windows 7 Cannot Delete a Folder - You need permission to perform this action

Timmy Deleu

New Member
Hello,

I was cleaning up my laptop when I ran into this weird issue. I can't delete the folder no mather what I try. Even when I login as the administrator I can't delete. I tried taking ownership of the folder but it don't work. The folder is nothing special. It is one I have created and there used to be an mp3 inside. However, I can't even open the folder...

Here is my system information:
Windows 7 Home Premium Version 6.1.7600 Build 7600
X86-based PC
Notebook: Acer Aspire 7530View attachment system.txt

Thanks!
 
Hi Mike,

Thanks for the help, but I tried that already and it still won't let me delete or open the folder.

Thanks,
Timmy

Hi

Over zealous security is the main problem with Windows 7.
I've had it deny me access to folders I made the day before.

Try this, I've found it to be a big help.

It will add a Take Ownership option to the right click drop-down menu.
It should take care of most of these issues.

Take Ownership App.

Add "Take Ownership" to Explorer Right-Click Menu in Win 7 or Vista - How-To Geek

Mike
 
Hi Again.

Have you tried this?

How to Enable the Administrator Account

Open the command prompt with elevated privileges by clicking the Start orb, All Programs, Accessories, right-click Command Prompt and then select Run as administrator.

Type or cut and paste…

net user administrator /active:yes

and then press Enter.

Log out and log back in as Administrator.

When you are done undue the process by doing the same thing and pasting in

net user administrator /active:no

Mike
 
You could give this one a try too.

I've been using it for a while and it seems to work well.

Link Removed - Not Found
 
A very old, but very reliable way to remove things, like Viruses, Spyware or just plain old corrupted files, from any NTFS hard drive:

Prepare a DOS boot disk, with NTFS4DOS on it. Boot up in DOS, and then run NTFS4DOS, which opens up your C: drive so you can access any file or folder from your DOS prompt. Then you can use the Delete or Rename commands, free of the rules that Windows imposes. There are NO permissions in DOS. You have full command over every file on your computer.

I use that technique when I'm doing a full backup of an NTFS partition. Using DOS batch files, I can delete the pagefile, old Restore Points, all temp and tmp files and anything else I may desire, before doing my backup. I keep over four gig's of junk out of my Backup Image File that way.

Something old is new again!:wink:

Old Timer :cool:
 
Last edited:
Something probably stills has a handle on the video. You might try closing any utility you were using to play the file. And it may not be obvious which one it is. If you have the file being linked to another computer or network, or media server, or whatever, close that access also.

If the previous suggestion does not help, you may need to try removing the file from offline, which means boot into the Windows Recovery Environment and open the Command Prompt and try deleting from there.
 
try this batch file i wrote,
it basically is a temp fix for a file or foder you need to access
rename the file from
permissions.txt
to
permissions.batView attachment Permissions.txt



click the file

drag the file or folder onto the command prompt window

click enter

type in your account name

click enter

type grant

click enter

done............

this should give you permissoin to that particualr file,

let me no if it works as i will continue to update and modify batch filles for other members
 
The easy way to delete a file or folder is to use Unlocker,that can be downloaded from the Internet. This unlocks and deletes any file. I used it to delete the Internet Explorer file on my Windows 7,which then removes the program. The IE file is owned by Trusted Installer, and so cannot be deleted, unless you take ownership of it. Which does not always work.

But I was able to remove that file and get rid of Internet Explorer,thanks to Unlocker. Which was the only program that worked for me. So it should work for your files too. Andrea Borman.
 
Andrea's suggestion should work but, otherwise, have you tried deleting it from safe mode?
Another way could be to run a search in the registry, for the exact name of the folder, and delete it from there, if it exists. Not for the timid and backup your registry first
 
Hello,

I was cleaning up my laptop when I ran into this weird issue. I can't delete the folder no mather what I try. Even when I login as the administrator I can't delete. I tried taking ownership of the folder but it don't work. The folder is nothing special. It is one I have created and there used to be an mp3 inside. However, I can't even open the folder...

Here is my system information:
Windows 7 Home Premium Version 6.1.7600 Build 7600
X86-based PC
Notebook: Acer Aspire 7530View attachment 13481

Thanks!

What is the folder that you are trying to delete? Is it a Windows of Microsoft folder, or just your own personal folder? For example an empty video or audio file?

First of all,program files like Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player,as well as some Microsoft files are owned by Trusted Installer. And if you try to delete them it won't let you do it. This is a safety feature, as these are important files and are part of the Windows operating system. And to delete them could make Windows unstable. And so the safety feature of not letting you delete it,is put there to stop you from deleting it accidently or intentionally.

And on Windows XP which is what I have got as well-I recently bought another netbook,with Windows XP Home Edition. The last they had in the shop as in England,they are no longer making Windows XP or Windows Vista laptops any more,only Windows 7. And on Windows XP,although they do not have Trusted Installer ownership,it still will not let you delete Internet Explorer,or any Microsoft or Windows files.

One way round this is to take ownership of the file,but even then this does not always work. So the best solution is Unlocker. But if your file is not an important file,it could be that the file is empty or altered,that is why you cannot delete it. For example,I had an empty video file,which was a copy of a video I made. But because I deleted the video,the copy was empty.And when I tried to delete it,I got a message saying"the file cannot be deleted,no file found." So that blank file was on my desktop for months before I found out about Unlocker,which deleted that file right away.

So what type of file is it you are trying to delete,a Windows file or just your own personal folder? If it is a Windows or Microsoft file,it is not advisable to delete it as it could mess up your system. But if it is just your own personal video file or folder it should be okay to delete it. Andrea Borman.
 
I now see the thread is two weeks old! I guess Timmy sorted out the problem?
 
To Take Ownership of a file or folder:

1. Right-click the file or folder for which you want to set permissions, click Properties , and then click the Security tab.

2. Click Advanced to open the Advanced Security Settings for <Object> dialog box.

3. Click Owner tab, click Edit. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type your password or click Continue.

4. In the new Advanced Security Settings for <Object> box, in the Change owner to:field, select your User name, and Check the Replace owner on subcontainers and objects. Click OK, repeat for remaining boxes. (If your User name is not listed click theOther users or groups button to add your account).

5. Open the directory containing the folder you wish to delete. Right-click the folder and delete it or make changes to it.

Another step to consider if the above steps still fail is adding take ownership to the right click context menu.

  1. Download the TakeOwnership.zip file from here.
  2. Extract the RAR file to the Desktop or any folder to get a file named “Ownership.reg”. Note that if you want to see the extension “.reg” you need to enable it in “Folder Options” but it’s not necessary.
  3. Right-click on Ownership.reg file and select Merge option.
  4. Click “Yes” for the User Account Prompt (UAC) and then again click “Yes” for theRegistry Editor pop up and then click “OK” when you get the successful message.
  5. Now, you will see a new option named Take Ownership when you right-click on a file or folder.
  6. Right-click on folder/file for which you want to take ownership and select Take Ownership option to take ownership of the file or folder.
 
Hi

Old post but the other way to get around things that Windows won't let you remove, rename of move is to boot to a Ubuntu disk.
Once in Ubuntu you can do anything your want without Windows interfering.

http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/install-desktop-latest

I always have an up to date bootable Ubuntu disk laying around, I can't tell you how many times it has come in handy.
Especially if you have an unbootable computer.

Mike
 
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