Windows 8 In Depth

Fixing Permission Problems by Taking Ownership of Your Files

When you’re working in Windows 8, you may have trouble with a folder (or a file) because Windows tells you that you don’t have permission to edit (add to, delete, whatever) the folder. The result is often a series of annoying User Account Control dialog boxes.

You might think the solution is to give your user account Full Control permissions on the folder, but it’s not as easy as that. Why not? Because you’re not the owner of the folder. (If you were, you’d have the permissions you need automatically.) So the solution is to first take ownership of the folder, and then assign your user account full control permissions over the folder.

Here are the steps to follow:

1. Use File Explorer ...