My Documents and Settings Folder is Not accessible in Windows 10! Fix It Now!

Summary

This article provides the tried and true way to solve the Windows 10 unaccessible Documents and Settings folder easily. If you are unable to access your Documents and Settings folder, just follow this article and access the folder without difficulty.

Documents and Settings Folder - Access Denied

Case 1. "Trying to move some picture files to a new laptop and I am being denied access to numerous folders including Documents and Settings, My Pictures, My Music, etc."

Case 2. "Currently, I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate on my desktop that I built. My computer boots up fine, no problems when I log in. However, the Documents and Settings folder is not accessible to me. Please help me!"

Workable Solutions	Step-by-step Troubleshooting
Solution 1. Gain File Read Permissions	Choose "Properties" of the file > Click the "Security" tab > See the permissions under Group...Full steps
Solution 2. Cancel Encryption Protection	Choose "Properties" of the file > Click "General" > "Advanced" > Use the certificate to decrypt the file or the folder ...Full steps

How to Fix "Access Denied" Documents and Settings Folder in Windows 10/8/7

When you try to access or work with Documents and Settings folder in Windows 10, you experience one or more of the following issues:

Issue 1: You receive an "Access Denied" error message or a similar message.

Issue 2: You cannot access, change, save, or delete Documents and Settings folder.

Issue 3: You cannot open the file or folder after you install a new version of Windows.

To solve these issues, we have these solutions. Before you take any action, restore data from the inaccessible Documents and Settings folder first. 

Powerful data recovery software - EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard, will help you to restore deleted, lost or formatted data with a few simple clicks. You can directly download and apply this software to retrieve data from an inaccessible hard drive, USB or other devices with the steps below:

Step 1. Select the location to scan the lost Documents folder.

Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard on your PC, under Specify a location, click "Browse" on Select Folder. Choose "Libraries" where you used to save the Documents folder and click "OK" to confirm. 

Step 2. Find and preview files in the lost Documents folder.

When the scanning process completes, find your Documents folder from "Deleted Files" or "Lost Files". Or search "Documents" in the search bar to quickly find your Documents folder. 

Open the Documents folder, check and double-click to preview the lost files.

Step 3. Restore the lost Documents folder and save it to a safe spot.

Select the found Documents folder and click "Recover" to choose another new and secure location on your PC to save it, click "OK" to confirm.

Now you can follow the solutions for the issue below.

Solution 1. Gain file/folder read permissions

• Right-click the file or folder, and then click "Properties".
• Click the "Security" tab.
• Under Group or user names, click your name to see the permissions that you have.
• Click "Edit", click your name, select the check boxes for the permissions that you must have, and then click "OK".

Solution 2. Cancel the encryption protection

• Right-click the file or folder, and then click "Properties".
• Click the General tab, then click "Advanced".
• If the Encrypted contents to secure data check box is selected, you must use the certificate to decrypt the file or folder to be able to open it.