Best Ways to Fix Folder Access Denied Error in Windows

Is your access getting denied when you try to open any folder on your Windows PC.? Then in this guide, I have explained various troubleshooting methods to fix...

Swayam Prakash

Last updated on March 23, 2021

Swayam Prakash

Author

Swayam is a professional tech blogger with Masters Degree in Computer Applications and also has experience with Android development. He is a staunch admirer of Stock Android OS.Apart from tech blogging, he loves gaming, traveling and playing/teaching guitar.

Best Ways to Fix Folder Access Denied Error in Windows

You can utilize any of the fixes I have mentioned below.

Have You Removed the USB Drive?

Have you have inserted a USB drive into your PC and accessed some files from a certain folder? And then removed the drive without copying the files,.? Well, then you cannot access the folder anymore. Either you have to copy down that folder or its contents to your PC or insert the USB drive once again into the PC and use the folders and files.

You can use cloud drives to store your important and frequently accessed files so these files can remain platform-independent. From any device, you can access your files and folders without any issue.

Try Changing the Folder Permission

If you see folder access denied when you try to open the folder, then try to acquire the permissions to do so. You can manually try to change the folder permission.

Right-click on the folder that you’re not able to access
From the menu select Properties
Navigate to the Security tab
Click on Edit
Select your username and it will display what permission it has for that particular folder
Make sure to click the checkbox Full Control.
To confirm the changes click Apply and OK to close the Properties dialog box

Now, try to open the folder and you should be able to access it easily.

Is The Folder Corrupt?

This may happen that you have tried to copy or move a folder from one location to the other. For some reason, the process of copying or moving the content got disrupted. Then if you try to access the folder on the target device it may return a Folder access denied error.

If you try to access the same folder on the source device, you can easily open it. So, the solution is to once again copy the folder from the source device to the destination device.

Is The Folder You Are Trying to Open is Synced With Google Drive

Google Drive often creates conflicts with a folder if it is synced with Drive. To fix that you have to close the Google Drive process by accessing the Task Manager. Then a reboot will fix things up.

Press Ctrl + Alt + Del to invoke the Task manager
Click on the Processes tab
Among the list of active processes, look for googledrivesync.exe
once you find it, right-click on it and select End Task

Contact System Administrator

Are you trying to access a folder on a computer in an enterprise network.? This means that the folder and its contents are protected. Hence, you are getting the folder access denied error. You have to ask the system administrator to grant you access to the folder. You as a general user cannot gain access to the folder.

This scenario is more common in offices where the user’s movement in the workstation is limited. If you have genuine reasons to access a folder, just convey it to the system admin of your network and he will help you out.

Tweak the Registry to Fix Folder Access Denied Error

You can modify the registry of your Windows OS and find your way into the folder that not allowing you to access its content. Keep in mind that this is a risky process and can cause problems in the proper functioning of your computer.

Disclaimer: GetDroidTips will not be responsible for software or any other issue happening on your PC. Follow this guide at your own risk.

Press Windows + R to invoke the Run box
Type regedit and press enter key
Click Yes to confirm

Then follow the path mentioned below and navigate accordingly

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Services/LanmanWorkstation/Parameters

Then right-click on the open space and from the mini-menu select New > DWORD(32-bit) value
Name that as AllowInsecureGuestAuth
Once the file is created double click on it
Change the Value Data to 1 and click OK
Now close the registry and restart your computer

Check the folder that was showing access denied earlier and try to access it.

Disable Controlled Folder Access

Windows security system has an option that is enabled by default to protect your computer from probable ransomware threat. If this feature is enabled, then sometimes while opening a newly moved/copied folder it will

Press Windows + I to go to system settings
From here, click on Update & Security
On the left-hand panel click on Windows Security
Then click on Virus & Threat Protection
Click Manage Settings
Now click on Manage Controlled Folder Access
Finally, click on the toggle to disable controlled folder access

Check for Viruses and Malware

This is another major reason why users lose access to their folders and see the access denied error. Make sure that you have installed proper anti-virus on your PC. Then simply scan that folder. If you see the anti-virus detects something that can potentially harm your computer, then remove that threat. The anti-virus will take care of that on its own though.

After the virus or malware is removed, the folder can be accessible. Even after removing the virus still if you’re facing issues with the folder access denied, then try to copy it to some other device and check if you can access it from that one.

If the virus/malware issue persists, then try to remove the folder otherwise it will sit there and spread the virus to other folders and directories.

So, that’s all about how to fix the folder access denied error when you try to access any folder on your computer. Try any one of these solutions and I’m sure that will fix the issue for good.

Best Ways to Fix Folder Access Denied Error in Windows