Although this message can cause problems, you should be able to fix it on Windows 10 by using one of our solutions.
What Access Denied means?
If access to a network share, an Intranet, or the Internet is being refused to you and you are seeing the message above, then you do not have the authorization to access the resource in question and will need to use another account. You might need to change the type or your account or log into another one altogether in order to pass this security check successfully.
Why am I getting Access denied in Windows 10 when opening a folder?
This message usually means that you don’t have the proper privileges to access this directory. Sometimes, you might even get Access denied message on administrator account. In other instances, you’ll get You need permission to perform this action error. In most cases, switching to a proper account or taking ownership of the folder in question will fix the problem.
How do you fix Access Denied?
Fix – Access is denied in Windows 10
1. Take ownership of the directory
The problem is present on all versions, so you can get Access denied message on Windows 11 as well. Luckily, we have solutions that will help you regardless of the version you’re using.
This error usually appears when you try to access a file or a directory while having insufficient privileges. This happens if you’re not an administrator or if you don’t have ownership over a folder.
To fix the problem you just have to assign ownership to your account, and you can do that by following these instructions:
Locate the problematic folder, right-click it and choose Properties from the menu.
Navigate to the Security tab and then click the Advanced button.
Locate the Owner section at the top and click on Change. The Select User or Group window will now appear.
In the Enter the object name to select field enter Administrators or your user name, then click the Check Names button. If everything is in order your input will change.
Click OK to save changes. The owner section will now change.
Check Replace owner on subcontainters and objects and click Apply and OK to save changes. Some users are suggesting to check Replace all child object permission entries option, so you might do that as well.
In some cases, you might have to manually assign permissions to your account. To do that, follow these simple steps: If your user name is already available, simply double-click it and perform Step 5. Another way to take ownership is to use Command Prompt. To do that, start Command Prompt as administrator and enter the following lines:
takeown /f “path_to_folder” /r /d y icacls “path_to_folder” /grant administrator:F /T
Of course, be sure to replace path_to_folder with an actual path to the inaccessible folder. After running these two commands you should have full access to the problematic folder, and thus fix the Access is denied error with Command Prompt.
2. Add your account to the Administrators group
Sometimes Access is denied message appears if you try to access a folder while not having administrator privileges. This can be a problem, but you can fix it by adding your account to the Administrators group. To do that on Windows 10, follow these steps:
3. Enable the hidden Administrator account
Windows 10 by default has a built-in Administrator account that you can use. By using this account you should have unrestricted access to your PC. Due to security measures, this account isn’t easily accessible, but you can enable it by doing the following: Keep in mind that after switching back to your main account the issue might still persist. If needed, you can use the Administrator account to make the necessary changes to your system and fix the problem.
4. Check your permissions
Sometimes you’ll get Access is denied message if you lack certain permissions to access the desired directory. However, you should be able to fix the problem by following these steps: This is a simple solution, but if your user name isn’t on the list you’ll have to add it manually and then change its permissions. Several users reported that you need to grant Full control to both Administrators and Users over the problematic folder, so be sure to try that as well. In some cases, you might even want to give Full Control to Everyone in order to fix the problem.
5. Use Command Prompt to reset permissions
According to users, you might be able to fix this problem simply by using Reset Permissions tool. Simply download the tool, run it, select the problematic directory, and check all available options. After doing that, you should be able to access the directory without any problems, otherwise, OneDrive may be causing this issue, so to fix it you need to do the following: If that doesn’t solve the problem, you’ll need to perform the following steps as well: If the problem still persists, you might have to repeat this solution and disable OneDrive until Microsoft fixes the problem.
6. Set your account as administrator
If you’re getting Access is denied message, you might be able to fix it simply by setting your account as an administrator. This is rather simple and you can do it by following these steps:
8. Close Google Drive and reinstall it
Access is denied message sometimes appears while using Google Drive. To fix the issue, you need to completely close Google Drive and end all processes associated with it. To do that, follow these steps:
9. Edit your registry
According to users, this error message can appear if you try to access a network shared directory. This can be a big problem, but you can resolve it by making a few changes to your registry. Modifying the registry can cause certain issues, so be extra cautious and export your registry just in case. To modify your registry, do the following: Keep in mind that this solution only applies to network-shared folders, so it won’t work with local folders.
10. Turn off User Account Control
User Account Control is a useful feature that will prevent applications and users from running commands that require administrative privileges. SPONSORED This is a useful feature, but sometimes it can cause Access is denied message to appear, especially when installing new software. To fix the issue, you need to do the following:
11. Disable your antivirus software
Antivirus software is rather important, but sometimes third-party antivirus can cause this error to appear. According to users, they got Access is denied message while trying to install certain applications, and the cause was their security software. To fix this issue you just need to temporarily disable your security software and try to install the application again. If the problem doesn’t appear, it means that the issue was caused by your antivirus software, so you should consider updating or replacing it. There are multiple efficient antivirus programs that will not interfere with other applications on your PC. Then, discover them and choose from the best antiviruses compatible with Windows10.
12. Change ownership or permissions of Temp and Installer folders
When installing new software its temporary files are usually moved to Temp or Installer folders. However, if you don’t have the necessary permissions, you might not be able to install the desired application. If this error message appears while trying to install applications, be sure to check if the following folders have the necessary permissions
C:\Windows\Installer C:\Users\Your_username\AppData\LocalTemp
If needed, you might have to change ownership or permissions in order to fix this problem.
13. Check environment variables
In some cases, Access is denied message can appear while trying to create a zipped folder in Windows. This is usually because the %TEMP% variable isn’t properly set. To fix this problem, you need to configure environment variables by doing the following: After doing that, navigate to the %TEMP% folder by entering %TEMP% in the address bar in File Explorer. Once you open the Temp folder, try to create a new folder and delete it. If you can’t create or delete a folder, you’ll need to take ownership of the Temp folder or change your permissions.
Fix – Access is denied Windows 10 cmd
1. Pin Command Prompt to Start Menu
If you’re getting Access is denied message while trying to start Command Prompt, you might want to try pinning it to Start Menu.
2. Run Command Prompt as administrator
Sometimes Access is denied can appear in PowerShell or Command Prompt while trying to run a certain command. This message indicates that you don’t have the necessary privileges to access a specific file or to perform a specific command. However, you can fix this issue in most cases simply by running Command Prompt as an administrator. We already explained how to start Command Prompt with administrative privileges in one of our previous solutions, so be sure to check them out.
Fix – Access is denied Windows 10 hard drive
1. Change your permissions
If you can’t access a hard drive partition due to Access is denied message, you might want to try changing your permissions or the owner. We already explained how to do that in our previous solutions, so be sure to grant Full Control to your user account in order to access your hard drive partition. Several users reported that you can fix the problem by giving Full Control to Everyone group, so try that as well. Keep in mind that you might have to add the group manually if it’s not available on the list. It’s crucial to remember that you shouldn’t change the permissions of your system drive. If you have problems accessing your C: drive, you might want to try a different solution. We have to mention that this solution can be potentially dangerous, so keep in mind that you’re using it at your own risk.
2. Change the sharing settings
According to users, if this error appears while accessing external hard drive you can fix it simply by changing a few settings. To fix the issue, due to the following:
3. Check if USB drives are blocked
Sometimes you might not be able to access an external hard drive due to Access is denied message. This can occur because USB drives are blocked by your registry. Before we start fixing the problem, we have to mention that this solution can be potentially dangerous, so be extra cautious. To search your registry, do the following: Keep in mind that these values might not be available on your PC, so if you can’t find them you should probably skip this solution.
4. Uninstall HP Device Manager
If you’re having this error while accessing a hard drive partition on an HP device, you might want to try removing HP Device Manager software. Several users reported that this application prevents them from accessing their hard drive, so be sure to remove it and check if that solves the problem.
Fix – Access is denied Windows 10 Notepad
1. Run Notepad as administrator
This error message can appear sometimes while starting Notepad. If you have the same problem, you should try running Notepad as an administrator. To do that, simply locate Notepad shortcut, right-click it and choose Run as administrator. If that solves the problem, you should set Notepad to always run with administrative privileges. To do that, follow these steps:
2. Change how files open
Access is denied message can appear if Notepad starts automatically with Windows. This is usually caused by .ini files, but you can easily solve this issue. To do that, follow these instructions: After your PC restarts, check if the problem is resolved.
3. Delete desktop.ini files
If Notepad and Access is denied message appear every time you start your PC, you might want to try deleting the desktop.ini file. This file is located in these directories:
C:\Users\Your_Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Startup C:\Program Data\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
Visit both directories and remove desktop.ini files from them. Keep in mind that this file can be hidden, so be sure to reveal hidden files and folders. We already showed you how to do that in our previous solution, so be sure to check it out. After deleting desktop.ini files, the problem should be completely resolved and Notepad won’t start anymore along with Windows.
Why is Access denied when I am the administrator?
User Account Control is a helpful security feature that is included with Windows 10. The purpose of this feature is to alert you anytime you or an application tries to carry out an action that needs administrator capabilities. Even if you are logged in with an administrative account, you can get a notice saying that access is forbidden when you try to use this function. You may get around that however by turning off the User Account Control option on your computer. To find out more solutions, check out our guide on how to fix Access denied on Windows 10/11 administrator account. Access is denied message can affect both files and folders, and it can even prevent you from installing new applications. This can be a big problem, but we hope that you managed to solve it by using one of our solutions.
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