Permission denied to access folders

[Guest]

I recently upgraded from XP SP2 to Vista using an upgrade disc I received
from Dell with the purchase of my laptop. Most everything transferred over
smoothly but when I tried to access common folders such as My Music, My
Pictures, etc. I was given an error message saying "You don't currently have
permission to access this folder; click continue to access." After clicking
continue, I saw another message saying I was denied permission and given an
option to go to the security tab to change some settings. I worked with those
settings but still was not able to get anywhere.

I only have one account setup on this machine right now. Also, UAC has been
turned off. Can anyone help me?

I believe these folders are the old ones that I used back on XP and not the
new ones created by Vista, but since I'm still so new to Vista I really have
no idea which is which.

 

[Guest]

Steve-

The KB article was helpful but my problem is slightly different than what is
described in the article. If I read it correctly, the article explains how to
solve the problem of a "Documents" folder in the start menu not pointing to
the correct corresponding "Documents" folder carried over from XP.

My problem is that it seems like I actually have two sets of Documents
folders -- one from XP and one new set from Vista. I don't need the Vista set
to point to the XP set, as I have already begun to save new files in the
Vista set. However, I just need access to the old XP set. If I go to Start
and then Documents, I'll see my old folders from XP. When I try to access any
My ____ folder, I get the error message described in my first post.

Thanks.

 

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

rypurdude

There is nothing in those old XP folders, so there is no need to access
them. The "My" designation for user folders was retired in Vista.

The old XP user folders are now Junctions, which means they simply point to
the new folder that is used in Vista. They are there for compatibility
purposes for old programs that are not compatible with Vista. When an older
program tries to access one of these folders, they are automatically
redirected to the new user folder in Vista.

You can see a list of these folders using a command prompt.

Go to Start and type cmd and press Enter.

In the command window, type:

dir /aL

Press Enter.

The results will be a list of all the Junctions for the user folders. These
will show the name of the old XP user folder and the name of the new folder
that replaces it in Brackets.

A typical line will look like this:

12/13/2006 04:15 PM <JUNCTION> My Documents [C:\Users\user
name\Documents]

This line shows the old XP folder, My Documents, is now called Documents and
it is located in the C:\Users\user name folder. (Where user name is the
account you are logged on with.

Another thing you need to do is turn UAC back ON. When you turn this off,
you also disable much of the compatibility and Virtualization that is built
into Vista.

 

[Guest]

Hi Ron. I found your post to be informative. I do want to clarify
something. When I click on C drive and there is a folder that has a shortcut
icon on it (i.e. Documents and Settings folder) and that I can not access as
Permission is Denied, does that always indicate that that particular folder
is a Junction? Does that shortcut icon used on a folder that I can not
access always indicate that that folder is a Junction folder? If so, when I
open the Users folder, All Users and Default User has that same icon on the
folder and while I can open the All Users folder, I can not open the Default
User folder as permission is Denied. But, Default, Public, and my own
folders do not have the icon and I can open those 3 folders. This is very
confusing for me. I can open my own folder but there are subfolders within
that I can not open (i.e. Templates, Local Settings, Application Data), which
brings me to another question of where do I now store Templates. I am
finding this learning process to be a bit of a headache. As with other XP
users, I am not accustomed to being locked out of folders on my system. It
might have been better all around if instead of being denied access a pop-up
might have said, this folder is a marker or Junction folder and contains no
data.

rypurdude

There is nothing in those old XP folders, so there is no need to access
them. The "My" designation for user folders was retired in Vista.

The old XP user folders are now Junctions, which means they simply point to
the new folder that is used in Vista. They are there for compatibility
purposes for old programs that are not compatible with Vista. When an older
program tries to access one of these folders, they are automatically
redirected to the new user folder in Vista.

You can see a list of these folders using a command prompt.

Go to Start and type cmd and press Enter.

In the command window, type:

dir /aL

Press Enter.

The results will be a list of all the Junctions for the user folders. These
will show the name of the old XP user folder and the name of the new folder
that replaces it in Brackets.

A typical line will look like this:

12/13/2006 04:15 PM <JUNCTION> My Documents [C:\Users\user
name\Documents]

This line shows the old XP folder, My Documents, is now called Documents and
it is located in the C:\Users\user name folder. (Where user name is the
account you are logged on with.

Another thing you need to do is turn UAC back ON. When you turn this off,
you also disable much of the compatibility and Virtualization that is built
into Vista.

--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

Steve-

The KB article was helpful but my problem is slightly different than what
is
described in the article. If I read it correctly, the article explains how
to
solve the problem of a "Documents" folder in the start menu not pointing
to
the correct corresponding "Documents" folder carried over from XP.

My problem is that it seems like I actually have two sets of Documents
folders -- one from XP and one new set from Vista. I don't need the Vista
set
to point to the XP set, as I have already begun to save new files in the
Vista set. However, I just need access to the old XP set. If I go to Start
and then Documents, I'll see my old folders from XP. When I try to access
any
My ____ folder, I get the error message described in my first post.

Thanks.

 

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

KWilson

The junctions appear in many difference places in the User folders. One
thing you can do to help, until you get used to the new folder structure, is
go to Folder Options, in Control Panel. Select the View Tab and Place a
check mark in the "Do not show hidden files and folders" option. This will
hide all of these junction folders and give you a cleaner folder tree.

The All Users folder is not a Junction, it is called a Symbolic Link. It
behaves differently because it has a different set of permissions, although
it's appearance is the same as a junction. When you open this folder you
will simply see a mirror copy of the "C:\Program Data" folder.

Follow the steps I posted below and use the command prompt to reveal all of
the junctions on the system.

Once the list is displayed, click the black and white icon at the top left
of the window and click on Select All. Press Enter to copy all of the text
in the window. Open an instance of Notepad and Edit/Paste. Print this list
and keep it handy for reference.

I hope this answers your questions, if not just post back to this thread.


--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

Hi Ron. I found your post to be informative. I do want to clarify
something. When I click on C drive and there is a folder that has a
shortcut
icon on it (i.e. Documents and Settings folder) and that I can not access
as
Permission is Denied, does that always indicate that that particular
folder
is a Junction? Does that shortcut icon used on a folder that I can not
access always indicate that that folder is a Junction folder? If so, when
I
open the Users folder, All Users and Default User has that same icon on
the
folder and while I can open the All Users folder, I can not open the
Default
User folder as permission is Denied. But, Default, Public, and my own
folders do not have the icon and I can open those 3 folders. This is very
confusing for me. I can open my own folder but there are subfolders
within
that I can not open (i.e. Templates, Local Settings, Application Data),
which
brings me to another question of where do I now store Templates. I am
finding this learning process to be a bit of a headache. As with other XP
users, I am not accustomed to being locked out of folders on my system.
It
might have been better all around if instead of being denied access a
pop-up
might have said, this folder is a marker or Junction folder and contains
no
data.

rypurdude

There is nothing in those old XP folders, so there is no need to access
them. The "My" designation for user folders was retired in Vista.

The old XP user folders are now Junctions, which means they simply point
to
the new folder that is used in Vista. They are there for compatibility
purposes for old programs that are not compatible with Vista. When an
older
program tries to access one of these folders, they are automatically
redirected to the new user folder in Vista.

You can see a list of these folders using a command prompt.

Go to Start and type cmd and press Enter.

In the command window, type:

dir /aL

Press Enter.

The results will be a list of all the Junctions for the user folders.
These
will show the name of the old XP user folder and the name of the new
folder
that replaces it in Brackets.

A typical line will look like this:

12/13/2006 04:15 PM <JUNCTION> My Documents [C:\Users\user
name\Documents]

This line shows the old XP folder, My Documents, is now called Documents
and
it is located in the C:\Users\user name folder. (Where user name is the
account you are logged on with.

Another thing you need to do is turn UAC back ON. When you turn this off,
you also disable much of the compatibility and Virtualization that is
built
into Vista.

--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

Steve-

The KB article was helpful but my problem is slightly different than
what
is
described in the article. If I read it correctly, the article explains
how
to
solve the problem of a "Documents" folder in the start menu not
pointing
to
the correct corresponding "Documents" folder carried over from XP.

My problem is that it seems like I actually have two sets of Documents
folders -- one from XP and one new set from Vista. I don't need the
Vista
set
to point to the XP set, as I have already begun to save new files in
the
Vista set. However, I just need access to the old XP set. If I go to
Start
and then Documents, I'll see my old folders from XP. When I try to
access
any
My ____ folder, I get the error message described in my first post.

Thanks.

 

[Guest]

Thank you for your quick response, Ronnie. I had already run the /aL command
but ran it again and saved it. I didn't understand about the Symbolic Link
and Junction differences. Your information has helped I purchased this
HP laptop yesterday and can't figure out why it would have those Junction
folders anyway...unless it is in case I use the Vista cable to transfer files
between computers?

KWilson

The junctions appear in many difference places in the User folders. One
thing you can do to help, until you get used to the new folder structure, is
go to Folder Options, in Control Panel. Select the View Tab and Place a
check mark in the "Do not show hidden files and folders" option. This will
hide all of these junction folders and give you a cleaner folder tree.

The All Users folder is not a Junction, it is called a Symbolic Link. It
behaves differently because it has a different set of permissions, although
it's appearance is the same as a junction. When you open this folder you
will simply see a mirror copy of the "C:\Program Data" folder.

Follow the steps I posted below and use the command prompt to reveal all of
the junctions on the system.

Once the list is displayed, click the black and white icon at the top left
of the window and click on Select All. Press Enter to copy all of the text
in the window. Open an instance of Notepad and Edit/Paste. Print this list
and keep it handy for reference.

I hope this answers your questions, if not just post back to this thread.


--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

Hi Ron. I found your post to be informative. I do want to clarify
something. When I click on C drive and there is a folder that has a
shortcut
icon on it (i.e. Documents and Settings folder) and that I can not access
as
Permission is Denied, does that always indicate that that particular
folder
is a Junction? Does that shortcut icon used on a folder that I can not
access always indicate that that folder is a Junction folder? If so, when
I
open the Users folder, All Users and Default User has that same icon on
the
folder and while I can open the All Users folder, I can not open the
Default
User folder as permission is Denied. But, Default, Public, and my own
folders do not have the icon and I can open those 3 folders. This is very
confusing for me. I can open my own folder but there are subfolders
within
that I can not open (i.e. Templates, Local Settings, Application Data),
which
brings me to another question of where do I now store Templates. I am
finding this learning process to be a bit of a headache. As with other XP
users, I am not accustomed to being locked out of folders on my system.
It
might have been better all around if instead of being denied access a
pop-up
might have said, this folder is a marker or Junction folder and contains
no
data.

rypurdude

There is nothing in those old XP folders, so there is no need to access
them. The "My" designation for user folders was retired in Vista.

The old XP user folders are now Junctions, which means they simply point
to
the new folder that is used in Vista. They are there for compatibility
purposes for old programs that are not compatible with Vista. When an
older
program tries to access one of these folders, they are automatically
redirected to the new user folder in Vista.

You can see a list of these folders using a command prompt.

Go to Start and type cmd and press Enter.

In the command window, type:

dir /aL

Press Enter.

The results will be a list of all the Junctions for the user folders.
These
will show the name of the old XP user folder and the name of the new
folder
that replaces it in Brackets.

A typical line will look like this:

12/13/2006 04:15 PM <JUNCTION> My Documents [C:\Users\user
name\Documents]

This line shows the old XP folder, My Documents, is now called Documents
and
it is located in the C:\Users\user name folder. (Where user name is the
account you are logged on with.

Another thing you need to do is turn UAC back ON. When you turn this off,
you also disable much of the compatibility and Virtualization that is
built
into Vista.

--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User


Steve-

The KB article was helpful but my problem is slightly different than
what
is
described in the article. If I read it correctly, the article explains
how
to
solve the problem of a "Documents" folder in the start menu not
pointing
to
the correct corresponding "Documents" folder carried over from XP.

My problem is that it seems like I actually have two sets of Documents
folders -- one from XP and one new set from Vista. I don't need the
Vista
set
to point to the XP set, as I have already begun to save new files in
the
Vista set. However, I just need access to the old XP set. If I go to
Start
and then Documents, I'll see my old folders from XP. When I try to
access
any
My ____ folder, I get the error message described in my first post.

Thanks.

 

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

KWilson

Glad this helped.

Just for information, the Junctions and Symbolic Links are there for
compatibility for older programs. These programs are still looking for the
Documents and Settings, My Documents, All Users folders, etc. If they cannot
find them, they will silently fail with their installation. The junctions
and symbolic links will automatically redirect these programs to the new
location for these folders in Vista and allow them to install and run
properly.

--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

Thank you for your quick response, Ronnie. I had already run the /aL
command
but ran it again and saved it. I didn't understand about the Symbolic
Link
and Junction differences. Your information has helped I purchased
this
HP laptop yesterday and can't figure out why it would have those Junction
folders anyway...unless it is in case I use the Vista cable to transfer
files
between computers?

KWilson

The junctions appear in many difference places in the User folders. One
thing you can do to help, until you get used to the new folder structure,
is
go to Folder Options, in Control Panel. Select the View Tab and Place a
check mark in the "Do not show hidden files and folders" option. This
will
hide all of these junction folders and give you a cleaner folder tree.

The All Users folder is not a Junction, it is called a Symbolic Link. It
behaves differently because it has a different set of permissions,
although
it's appearance is the same as a junction. When you open this folder you
will simply see a mirror copy of the "C:\Program Data" folder.

Follow the steps I posted below and use the command prompt to reveal all
of
the junctions on the system.

Once the list is displayed, click the black and white icon at the top
left
of the window and click on Select All. Press Enter to copy all of the
text
in the window. Open an instance of Notepad and Edit/Paste. Print this
list
and keep it handy for reference.

I hope this answers your questions, if not just post back to this thread.



--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

Hi Ron. I found your post to be informative. I do want to clarify
something. When I click on C drive and there is a folder that has a
shortcut
icon on it (i.e. Documents and Settings folder) and that I can not
access
as
Permission is Denied, does that always indicate that that particular
folder
is a Junction? Does that shortcut icon used on a folder that I can not
access always indicate that that folder is a Junction folder? If so,
when
I
open the Users folder, All Users and Default User has that same icon on
the
folder and while I can open the All Users folder, I can not open the
Default
User folder as permission is Denied. But, Default, Public, and my own
folders do not have the icon and I can open those 3 folders. This is
very
confusing for me. I can open my own folder but there are subfolders
within
that I can not open (i.e. Templates, Local Settings, Application Data),
which
brings me to another question of where do I now store Templates. I am
finding this learning process to be a bit of a headache. As with other
XP
users, I am not accustomed to being locked out of folders on my system.
It
might have been better all around if instead of being denied access a
pop-up
might have said, this folder is a marker or Junction folder and
contains
no
data.

:

rypurdude

There is nothing in those old XP folders, so there is no need to
access
them. The "My" designation for user folders was retired in Vista.

The old XP user folders are now Junctions, which means they simply
point
to
the new folder that is used in Vista. They are there for compatibility
purposes for old programs that are not compatible with Vista. When an
older
program tries to access one of these folders, they are automatically
redirected to the new user folder in Vista.

You can see a list of these folders using a command prompt.

Go to Start and type cmd and press Enter.

In the command window, type:

dir /aL

Press Enter.

The results will be a list of all the Junctions for the user folders.
These
will show the name of the old XP user folder and the name of the new
folder
that replaces it in Brackets.

A typical line will look like this:

12/13/2006 04:15 PM <JUNCTION> My Documents [C:\Users\user
name\Documents]

This line shows the old XP folder, My Documents, is now called
Documents
and
it is located in the C:\Users\user name folder. (Where user name is
the
account you are logged on with.

Another thing you need to do is turn UAC back ON. When you turn this
off,
you also disable much of the compatibility and Virtualization that is
built
into Vista.

--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User


Steve-

The KB article was helpful but my problem is slightly different than
what
is
described in the article. If I read it correctly, the article
explains
how
to
solve the problem of a "Documents" folder in the start menu not
pointing
to
the correct corresponding "Documents" folder carried over from XP.

My problem is that it seems like I actually have two sets of
Documents
folders -- one from XP and one new set from Vista. I don't need the
Vista
set
to point to the XP set, as I have already begun to save new files in
the
Vista set. However, I just need access to the old XP set. If I go to
Start
and then Documents, I'll see my old folders from XP. When I try to
access
any
My ____ folder, I get the error message described in my first post.

Thanks.

 

[Guest]

Ronnie, I don't understand why it's JUST my music folder that denies my
access to it. No other folder does it. I ran the thing to get the list of
junctions, but now what do I do to get my Music folder to open?

KWilson

Glad this helped.

Just for information, the Junctions and Symbolic Links are there for
compatibility for older programs. These programs are still looking for the
Documents and Settings, My Documents, All Users folders, etc. If they cannot
find them, they will silently fail with their installation. The junctions
and symbolic links will automatically redirect these programs to the new
location for these folders in Vista and allow them to install and run
properly.

--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

Thank you for your quick response, Ronnie. I had already run the /aL
command
but ran it again and saved it. I didn't understand about the Symbolic
Link
and Junction differences. Your information has helped I purchased
this
HP laptop yesterday and can't figure out why it would have those Junction
folders anyway...unless it is in case I use the Vista cable to transfer
files
between computers?

KWilson

The junctions appear in many difference places in the User folders. One
thing you can do to help, until you get used to the new folder structure,
is
go to Folder Options, in Control Panel. Select the View Tab and Place a
check mark in the "Do not show hidden files and folders" option. This
will
hide all of these junction folders and give you a cleaner folder tree.

The All Users folder is not a Junction, it is called a Symbolic Link. It
behaves differently because it has a different set of permissions,
although
it's appearance is the same as a junction. When you open this folder you
will simply see a mirror copy of the "C:\Program Data" folder.

Follow the steps I posted below and use the command prompt to reveal all
of
the junctions on the system.

Once the list is displayed, click the black and white icon at the top
left
of the window and click on Select All. Press Enter to copy all of the
text
in the window. Open an instance of Notepad and Edit/Paste. Print this
list
and keep it handy for reference.

I hope this answers your questions, if not just post back to this thread.



--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User


Hi Ron. I found your post to be informative. I do want to clarify
something. When I click on C drive and there is a folder that has a
shortcut
icon on it (i.e. Documents and Settings folder) and that I can not
access
as
Permission is Denied, does that always indicate that that particular
folder
is a Junction? Does that shortcut icon used on a folder that I can not
access always indicate that that folder is a Junction folder? If so,
when
I
open the Users folder, All Users and Default User has that same icon on
the
folder and while I can open the All Users folder, I can not open the
Default
User folder as permission is Denied. But, Default, Public, and my own
folders do not have the icon and I can open those 3 folders. This is
very
confusing for me. I can open my own folder but there are subfolders
within
that I can not open (i.e. Templates, Local Settings, Application Data),
which
brings me to another question of where do I now store Templates. I am
finding this learning process to be a bit of a headache. As with other
XP
users, I am not accustomed to being locked out of folders on my system.
It
might have been better all around if instead of being denied access a
pop-up
might have said, this folder is a marker or Junction folder and
contains
no
data.

:

rypurdude

There is nothing in those old XP folders, so there is no need to
access
them. The "My" designation for user folders was retired in Vista.

The old XP user folders are now Junctions, which means they simply
point
to
the new folder that is used in Vista. They are there for compatibility
purposes for old programs that are not compatible with Vista. When an
older
program tries to access one of these folders, they are automatically
redirected to the new user folder in Vista.

You can see a list of these folders using a command prompt.

Go to Start and type cmd and press Enter.

In the command window, type:

dir /aL

Press Enter.

The results will be a list of all the Junctions for the user folders.
These
will show the name of the old XP user folder and the name of the new
folder
that replaces it in Brackets.

A typical line will look like this:

12/13/2006 04:15 PM <JUNCTION> My Documents [C:\Users\user
name\Documents]

This line shows the old XP folder, My Documents, is now called
Documents
and
it is located in the C:\Users\user name folder. (Where user name is
the
account you are logged on with.

Another thing you need to do is turn UAC back ON. When you turn this
off,
you also disable much of the compatibility and Virtualization that is
built
into Vista.

--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User


Steve-

The KB article was helpful but my problem is slightly different than
what
is
described in the article. If I read it correctly, the article
explains
how
to
solve the problem of a "Documents" folder in the start menu not
pointing
to
the correct corresponding "Documents" folder carried over from XP.

My problem is that it seems like I actually have two sets of
Documents
folders -- one from XP and one new set from Vista. I don't need the
Vista
set
to point to the XP set, as I have already begun to save new files in
the
Vista set. However, I just need access to the old XP set. If I go to
Start
and then Documents, I'll see my old folders from XP. When I try to
access
any
My ____ folder, I get the error message described in my first post.

Thanks.

 

[Guest]

AND DON'T FORGET SOME OTHER GOODIES SUCH AS:

INCORRECT FUNCTION
RUNTIME ERROR
ABNORMAL PROGRAM TERMINATION
"E" DRIVE IS NOT ACCESSIBLE (as well as the PERMISSION (for you) TO ACCESS)

If you get any help on any of these I hope you forward a copy to me. Thanks!
(e-mail address removed)