58. How Do I Take Ownership Of A Folder Or
File
Sometimes you come across an 'access denied'
message when attempting to access a file or folder
on your pc. When this happens you need to take
ownership of the file or folder in order for you to
obtain access.
Before you start you must be logged onto your
computer using and account that has Administrative
privileges and also, if you are using Windows XP
Professional you should disable Simple File Sharing.
If you are using Windows XP Home you will need to
boot into Safe Mode and then log on using an
account with administrative rights. If you don't
boot to Safe Mode in XP Home you will be unable to
see the security tab.
To take ownership of a Folder proceed as
follows:
- Right Click on the Folder.
- Select Properties from the
drop down menu.
- In the Properties window
click on the Security tab.
- If a Security message appears then click
OK.
- Next click Advanced and click
on the Owner tab.
- A name list will now appear.
- Click your name or that of
Administrator if you are logged on
as Administrator.
- If you should wish to take ownership of the
full contents of the folder then click the Replace Owner on sub-containers and objects
check box.
- Now click OK.
- A message will now appear stating:
"You do not have permission to read the contents of
directory folder name. Do you want to replace the
directory permissions with permissions granting you
Full Control?" "All permissions will be
replaced if you press Yes."
- Press Yes.
- Finally click OK and then
re-apply and security settings, etc., that you want for
the folder.
If you need to take control of a File
then proceed as follows:
- Right Click on the Folder.
- Select Properties from the
drop down menu.
- In the Properties window
click on the Security tab.
- If a Security message appears then click,
OK.
- Next click Advanced and click
on the Owner tab.
- A name list will now appear.
- Click the Administrator name
or group and then click OK.
- Now click, Add.
- In the Enter the object names to
select list type the user or
group account you want to give access to
the file, i.e., Administrator.
- Next click OK.
- The Group or User name list now appears.
- Click on the account you want to use and then
click on the permissions you want to assign.
- Finally Click OK.