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no permission to copy

Cliff burns 0 Reputation points
2026-05-05T13:45:49.7+00:00

when I tried to copy a directory from my old computer to the new computer, a message came up that said I did not have permission to copy that directory.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage
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  1. Bulldog 2,195 Reputation points
    2026-05-05T15:39:48.78+00:00

    The message is correct!

    In Windows, every user account is globally unique, meaning no two user accounts can ever be the same. Thus, 'you' on your old computer is not the same as 'you' on your new computer. Even though they are both 'you'.

    Now you understand why 'you' on your new computer can't copy a directory from somebody else's old computer - even though that somebody else is still you.

    The easy way around this is to copy the folder to an external hard drive or a USB flash drive, and then move the folder to your new computer. The copied directory inherits the permissions of the root of the external hard drive or USB flash drive, thus breaking the link to the old computer.

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  2. April Pagunsan 260 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-05-05T14:36:48.6+00:00

    Hi there, Thanks for posting here in Microsoft Community.

    In my experience you can try to sign in to the same user account that owns the files, then try copying them again that should work.

    Let me know how it goes, hoping to hear from you soon :)

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