Take Ownership Of A File Or Folder

Have you ever tried to open a file or folder and gotten that annoying, "...Access is denied" error message.

You can gain access to this folder, as long as you have Administrative credentials ( click here if you don't know what your credential level is ). There are a few differences in the procedure depending on whether you have XP Home Edition or XP Professional/MCE. The differences are:

XP Home Edition

If you have XP Home Edition, you must restart your computer in SAFE MODE (To start in safe mode, tap the F8 button on your keyboard as your computer is booting up, when the options screen comes up select Safe Mode). At the Windows Login Screen Select "ADMINISTRATOR".

XP Professional or XP Media Center Edition

If you have XP Professional or any of the versions of XP MCE, you won't have to restart your computer in Safe Mode, but you will have to Disable Simple File Sharing. To do this,

Click Start then Run, then type control folders then click OK

Then Click on the VIEW tab

Then Scroll down and uncheck Use Simple File Checking

The Rest of the Procedure is the same for XP Home Edition and XP Professional (MCE)

Navigate to the folder or file that you want to gain access to. Once you locate it, Right-Click on it with your mouse and select Properties

You Should See a Tab For Security , click on it, and then click on Advanced

When the window comes up you should see 4 tabs, like this:

Make sure that your Username is listed on the Permissions Tab, then Click on the Owner Tab.

(If the username is not listed, click here for the procedure on how to add it).

On the Owner Tab Select the username that you want to gain access, Then Check Mark Replace Owner on Subdirectories and objects then Click Apply.

Click Ok, and you should now be able to access the folder or file.