SOLVED: Cannot Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows

Several things can cause a file or folder to be locked in such a state that even a local, domain or enterprise administrator cannot change.  In the ADVANCED SECURITY SETTINGS, you may see:

YOU DO NOT HAVE PERMISSION TO VIEW THIS OBJECTS SECURITY PROPERTIES, EVEN AS AN ADMINISTRATIVE USERS.  TRY TAKING OWNERSHIP OF THE OBJECT…

In this case there are four ready ways to deal with the problem:

  1. Log out and then log back in, or just reboot to clear any files you may have open
  2. Browse to the root folder you are working on (one level down from the file/folder you are having trouble with), right click and select PROPERTIES, then click the SECURITY TAB, then the ADVANCED button, then click the REPLACE ALL CHILD PERMISSION ENTRIES…
  3. Use CMD line or third party tool to set permissions
  4. Use COMPUTER MANAGEMENT to close the open file/folder in question.  Click START and type COMPUTER MANAGEMENT then expand SHARED FILES > OPEN FILES > right click on your file or folder and select CLOSE FILE

You may find other blogs like: https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/315441-unable-to-take-ownership-of-files-in-win-2k8-r2-server useful if you are still having problems.

View Comments

  • At #2 it starts. Some run fine but I'm getting major push back with the message [ and error occurred applying security information to : ~~~~ Access Denied (and then many folders and files) I am on an administration login.

    • Hi Jack;

      Are you using Windows 10 Home? I understand that there are some additional limitations with HOME, but I have no Win 10 HOME to test with.

  • In my case another program (devenv.exe) was holding the handle to the folder. After reading this note - i could use handle.exe tool from sysinternals to find the process holding the file handle. close the process & i was good to go. thanks much!

  • Also, make sure that any programs that could have opened the file are fully closed. That's why rebooting works, it forces everything program to close.

  • Thanks so much. A reboot fixed the problem. I was then able to delete the folder without a hitch.

Published by
Ian Matthews

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