13 ways to fix “Access Denied” folder error in Windows
Do you see the “Access Denied” error while trying to open a Windows folder? Suddenly, you get locked out of all files saved in that particular folder. This thing is not good, but we need to understand why the Windows 10 folder generates access denied popup errors before fixing.
Some users need to resolve the “Access Denied” error when they try to open a file saved inside a folder. While we mainly focus on the folder side, these solutions should also give you access to the files in question due to the way Windows works and treats these two elements.
The user account you are using to access the folder does not have the necessary administrative rights to access it. Change the user account or contact the system administrator responsible for the IT equipment if it is your work laptop.
If you are trying to access a folder that you have synced with Google Drive, you may see this error. Google Drive can cause conflicts with File Explorer jobs, forcing the folder to show an “Access Denied” error. A quick way to test this is to close the Google Drive process from the Task Manager. A simple restart will reactivate your favorite cloud storage app.
Press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open the Task Manager. Find “googledrivesync.exe” in the Processes tab, right click and select End Task.
The folder may be password locked or encrypted by the administrator or someone who has control or access to your Windows computer. You will need to contact the administrator or your supervisor to unblock it.
You can also try to decrypt it yourself if your Windows user account has the correct rights and permissions. Right-click on the folder and select Properties or press Alt + Enter. Go to the General tab> Advanced and uncheck the “Encrypt content to protect data” option. Save these new settings.
The folder containing the files may be damaged. This could also damage the files inside. Thankfully, you can recover data from a damaged folder without breaking a sweat.
Moving a folder in Windows is easy. Just cut (Ctrl + X) and paste (Ctrl + V) anywhere. It may happen that you have moved the folder to a different location, but due to cache issues or some bugs, it still shows up there. Press F5 to refresh the screen and double check.
If a user account does not have administrator privileges, they can add the account to the administrators group.
Check again if you still get the access denied error while opening that folder.
Each install copy of Windows comes with a built-in administrator account that you can enable using command prompt. Once enabled, switch to the administrator account and you should be able to access that forbidden folder. The default administrator account acts as a super account with all privileges enabled by default.
Continuing the previous point, Windows Security Suite also has a ransomware module to protect against such threats. You can find it in Windows Security> Virus & threat protection.
Disable the Controlled folder access option here and try again. You should now be able to access the folder.
Your Windows user account may also be damaged, not just files and folders. Creating a new standard user or administrator account is quick and can help fix several common errors like folder access denied.
Windows Access Denied error should no longer appear when opening that folder.
It is recommended that you back up your log files before making any changes in case something goes wrong. These are system-wide files and can mess up your computer. Do not you want it.
Usually you will see some sort of message about a ransomware attack displayed on the screen notifying that your computer has been hacked. The hacker would block you from the critical system and users’ folders / files and then ask for money, probably in Bitcoin. Some third-party apps like Malwarebytes also offer ransomware and malware scanning. You should download Malwarebytes and run a check just to make sure the folder is not infected.
Using a cloud storage service like OneDrive or Google Drive can solve such problems. Since there is a copy of the file on the cloud service provider’s servers, you will never have to face such problems again in life. Some premium cloud storage apps also offer saving multiple versions of the same file so you can undo any changes you’ve made.
Consider using cloud storage for important files, but if you are concerned about privacy and security, get yourself a HDD / SSD and make regular backups. For now, we hope one of the solutions worked for you.
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