Solution to Resolve Folder access Denied in Windows 10 Error

Windows 10 users may experience one or more of the below mentioned issues, when tried to access or work with the files and folders in their Windows PCs.

  1. You cannot access, change, save or delete files and folders.
  2. You receive an “Access Denied” error message or similar message.
  3. You cannot open a file or folder after you install a new version of Windows OS.


For resolving particular issue, follow the steps for the issue that best describes your situation. Use the method for your version of Windows OS. Note that, you may not always receive an “Access Denied” error message for these kind of issues. However, if particular steps do not resolve the issue, try a different set of steps.

Cause: An “Access Denied” error message can occur due to one or more of the following reasons:

  1. The folder ownership has changed.
  2. The file is encrypted.
  3. You do not have the appropriate permissions to access the file or a folder.




Step 1: Open up a File Explorer window and browse to the folder you want to access.


Step 2: Right-click on it and choose Properties. In the resulting window, change to the Security tab, and click Advanced button at the bottom.


Step 3: Then, you will find the text that says Owner: and probably Unable to display current owner next to it. Click the Change link to the right of this to change the item’s owner.


Step 4: Now, you will need to select which people or groups can access the resources. In the Enter the object name to select box, type Administrators to allow all PC admins to access it, or just your username if you prefer. Click Check Names and the box text will auto-correct to PCNAME\ADMINISTRATORS; click OK to accept this.

Step 5: Finally, back on the Advanced Settings window, check the box for Replace owner on sub-containers and objects below the Owner field. This ensures that you can access everything inside that folder without having to repeat these steps. Click OK and you are all set to access the folder.

However, encryption can help protect files and folders from unwanted access. You can’t open an encrypted file or folder without the certificate that was used to encrypt it. To determine whether it is encrypted or not, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click the file or a folder, then click Properties.
  2. Then, click the General tab, and then click Advanced

If the encrypt contents to secure data check box is selected, you need to have the certificate that was used to encrypt the file or a folder to be able to open it. You must obtain the certificate from the person who created that file.

If any file or a folder that you are looking for, is lost or deleted by you in hurry, then how will you make out to bring back that particular file or a folder? Simple, you can bring back the lost or deleted file or a folder by using File and Folder Recovery software from Remo. Folder Recovery software recovers files and folders from hard drives formatted with FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, and ExFAT file systems. So, straightaway download and install the free trial edition of Folder Recovery software on your system to evaluate it before you purchase. You are allowed to preview the recovered files even before purchasing the complete version of the tool.