Why can't I read/view folder contents when I belong to a group with Read and List Folder Contents permissions?

Question

Hi,

I am using Windows 10 Professional. I have two Administrator accounts, Paul_1 and Paul_2. I have one particular folder C:\Paul_2_Secured for which I would like Paul_2 to have Full Control, but Paul_1 to only have Read Only access.

As Paul_1 was the first account I created on this PC, I was logged on as Paul_1 when I created the folder C:\Paul_2_Secured. By default, 'Full Control' privileges for this folder were assigned to the Administrators group and also explicitly to user Paul_1. I started by disabling inheritance on C:\Paul_2_Shared and making Paul_2 the owner.

Next, still logged in as Paul_1, I created user Paul_2 and made Paul_2 a member of the Administrators group. I then disabled inheritance on C:\Paul_2_Secured and changed the owner from Paul_1 to Paul_2.

At this point, I logged in as Paul_2 and changed the permissions for C:\Paul_2_Secured as follows:

(1) I removed all permissions that were explicitly assigned to Paul_1. (I did this by removing Paul_1 from the list of group or user names to which permissions are assigned. I did not explicitly Deny any permissions)
(2) I assigned Paul_2 'Full Control' permissions
(3) I changed the permissions assigned to the Administrators group from 'Full Control' to just 'Read' and 'List folder contents'

After doing this, I logged in as Paul_1. I expected (or hoped) that I would be able to view and read the contents of C:\Paul_2_Secured but I would not be able to modify, add, or delete files. At the moment, I cannot even view the contents of this folder as Paul_1.

When I double-click the folder, I get a message saying "You don't currently have permission to access this folder. Click continue to get access to this folder." I clicked Continue, and got a message saying "You have been denied permission to access this folder. To gain access to this folder you will need to use the Security tab." When I went into folder properties (still logged in as Paul_1) and looked at the Security tab, it said "You must have read permissions to view the properties of this object."

If anyone here can explain why user Paul_2 is not getting the Read and List Folder Content permissions that (I believe) he should be entitled to from his membership in the Administrators group, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks in advance,
Paul

Answer 1

Hi there,

This situation happens because you are not the owner of this folder of files, The default owner of a file or folder is the person who creates the resource. Log on to the computer with the account which created the folder of the file, namely the owner, then you are permitted to modify the file or folder. Also, you can follow this article to assign ownership of files and folders: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/ff404240.aspx

Sometimes you might get this message while trying to access the Windows folder. This usually occurs due to your antivirus, so you might have to disable it. Also, try disabling the UAC and see if that helps.

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