When changing operating systems and migrating data, you might end up not being able to access some of your files or folders anymore. This can happen due to the fact that your user has lost ownership of those files & folders or it no longer has the required permissions. In this tutorial will try to address this type of issues and help our readers that reported having such problems.

Even though the procedure is a bit long, you will see that things are not very complicated.

If you cannot open, delete or change a folder from your disk, it means that you either need to take ownership of that folder or/and you need to change your user's access rights. To make this kind of change your user needs to be an administrator.

Both operations are done from the same menu. First, navigate to that specific folder, right click on it and select Properties.

Taking Ownership

In the Properties window go to the Security tab and click on Advanced.

Now go to the Owner tab. Here you will see the current owner of that folder. If your user is not the owner, click on Edit. If you have User Account Control enabled, press on OK.

In the Owner window, click on Other users or groups.

Now you need to type the user name or the group of users that will take ownership of the selected folder. If you type "Administrators" you will give ownership to all the users that are administrators on your PC. If you want to give ownership only to your user, then type your user name. After that, press on Check Names.

If the user or group was found on your computer, you will see that the text you typed was changed to [Your PC Name]\[User] or [Your PC Name]\[Group]. If so, press on OK.

If the user/group was not found you will receive a Name Not Found error window. Make the necessary corrections and try again.

In the Owner window, select the user/group you just added, select Replace owner on subcontainers and objects and press OK.

Now you will receive the confirmation that you have taken ownership of the folder. Press on OK and that's it.

Changing Permissions

In the Properties window go to the Security tab and click on Edit.

If you are not on the list of users or groups that have permissions defined, you should click on Add. If your user or group is on that list, select it, click on Allow Full Control and then press OK.

Now you need to type the user name or the group of users for which you want to change the permissions. If you type "Administrators" you will give permissions to all the users that are administrators on your PC. If you want to give permissions only to your user, then type your user name. After that, press on Check Names and then on OK.

If the user/group was not found you will receive a Name Not Found error window. Make the necessary corrections and try again.

In the Security window, select the user/group you just added and then click on Allow Full Control.

Related articles:
Windows Vista Security Center
Manage User Accounts
Change Owner v1.0
Parental Controls