Microsoft offers several ways to prevent Windows from deleting, renaming, or modifying your files or data so that your information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
However, some of these protections can get out of control, leading to errors such as “You need permission to do this action.” This can happen when you try to open a file, delete a folder, or launch an application. Sometimes Windows can even block certain tasks or actions, whether you are an administrator or not.
If you encounter this error, learn how to fix it using the solutions in this guide.
Reasons for the “You need permission to perform this action” error
There is no single reason for this error, but the best part is that it doesn’t always appear all the time. However, there are certain situations where this happens more often, such as trying to copy files, change the folder / file name, delete a file or folder, or install a program.
Ideally, such actions should not cause a hitch. If you do not have the required security permissions, the permissions are incorrectly changed, or a folder or file is locked by a system service or process because it is an essential file for Windows operations, you may receive this error.
The error can also be caused by malware infection or the use of certain third-party applications. All of this can be frustrating even if you have an administrator account because you cannot create, modify, or even delete any files or folders.
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How to fix “You need permission to perform this action” error
Your security software – antivirus or firewall – can cause conflicts and errors like this one. Disabling your antivirus temporarily is the best and safest way to check this. If that solves the problem, contact your vendor or switch to better antivirus software.
Note. While third-party antivirus software is disabled, enable Windows Defender, Windows 10’s built-in security software, to give your PC the protection it needs when trying to fix this error.
Disable 3rd party security software
Disable third-party security software
One way to disable your antivirus software is to use Task Manager. Press CTRL + ALT + DEL at the same time and select Task Manager from the blue screen of Security Options, or right-click the taskbar and select Task Manager from the context menu.
In Task Manager, click the Startup tab and note which applications start when the computer starts. Select a third-party antivirus application and click Disable to change its status.
Do the same for any other third-party antivirus application on your PC and restart it. Check if the error is gone, if not try the next fix below. If that helps, you can turn off Windows Defender and turn your antivirus software back on.
Run a malware scan with Windows Defender
Run a malware scan with Windows Defender
Your computer may have been infected with viruses or malware that caused the “You need permission to perform this action” error. Running a malware scan with Windows Defender will scan your computer for such malware and remove it, then you can check if the error is gone.
To do this, click Start> Settings and select Update & Security.
On the left menu, click Windows Security and select Virus & threat protection.
In the new window, click the Scan Settings link and select Full Scan. This will most likely detect and destroy any hidden viruses or malware lurking on your computer, although it will take longer than a quick scan.
If the scan found any threats, take appropriate action after the scan is complete and check if the error is gone after the scan.
Start SFC Scan
Run an SFC scan
The System File Checker (SFC) tool is one of the troubleshooting tools that scans, detects and fixes various system problems on your PC.
Open an elevated command prompt by typing COMMAND in the search box and select “Run as administrator”.
Enter this command: sfc / scannow
When the scan is complete, the SFC scanner will attempt to automatically fix any problems it finds. You can check if the error is gone by trying the same action on your computer.
Add your account to the Administrators group
Add your account to the administrator group
If more than one administrator account exists and you are trying to access content from other administrators, you may receive a “You need permission to perform this action” error message.
Right-click “Start” and select “Computer Management”.
Go to the Local Users and Groups section and double-click the Users folder.
Double click your account in the left pane.
Click the Add button on the Member tab.
Enter Administrators in the Enter Object Names to Select box and click Check Names> OK. Select Administrators, click Apply> OK.
Once your account is added to the Administrators group, check to see if the error still appears when you perform the desired action.
Make sure the folders / files are owned by a different administrator account
Check if the folders / files belong to a different admin account
Right-click Start> Run to open the Run utility, type netplwiz and press Enter.
In a new window, you will see user accounts and their types. To change the account type for any other accounts you have with administrator rights, click the Users tab and select the account you want to change in the Users on this computer section.
Click Properties.
Click the Group Membership tab and select either Standard or Administrator for the user account type. Click Apply> OK to complete the process.
Try again the action you wanted and see if the error goes away. If not go to the next solution.
Restart in Safe Mode
Restart in Safe Mode
Previously, Windows users pressed the F8 function key to enter Safe Mode, but this has changed since the F8 boot menu was removed in Windows 10 to improve system boot times. You can read more about this in our guide on why F8 doesn’t work on Windows 10, but here are the steps to take to restart your computer in Safe Mode.
Click Start> Power, hold down the Shift key, and click Restart to open the troubleshooting screen.
Click Advanced Options.
Then click on Startup Options.
Select “Restart”.
After restarting your computer, press F4 to enable Safe Mode, and then try the action again to see if the error goes away in Safe Mode.
Use Unlocker to remove locked folder / file
Use Unlocker to delete a locked folder / file
If you are trying to open a folder and this error appears, you can use the free Unlocker program to identify programs or processes that are blocking your folder.
Note. While installing Unlocker, click “Skip” several times when you are prompted to install other programs.
Install Unlocker, click Advanced and uncheck Install Delta Toolbar. Once the installation is complete, navigate to the appropriate folder in File Explorer, right-click it and select Unlocker You will see a popup with a list of processes or programs that are blocking the folder. If they are not there, it will be said that there are no locks.
If there is a list, you have three options: end the process, unlock a specific item, or unlock all to remove all locks from the folder.
Get full control permissions on a file / folder
Get full control permissions on file / folder
Right-click the file or folder you want to delete or open and select Properties.
Go to the Security tab and click Advanced.
Next to the “Owner” field, click “Change”.
In the Enter the object name to select box, enter the user account name and click Check Names.
Then click OK and select the Replace owner of subcontainers and objects check box.
Return to the Properties folder and click OK.
If you want to change permissions without taking ownership of the file / folder, right-click the file or folder, select Properties, go to the Security tab, and click Advanced.
In the “Access” column, check if your account has full access.
If not, or if your account is not listed, click Add and then click Select Member.
Enter your local username in the Enter Object Name to Select field.
Click Check Names to confirm the user account name and select OK. Select the Full Control check box to check all actions except special permission.
See if you can perform the desired action without showing an error.
Reinstall the affected application
Reinstall the affected application
If a particular app has permission issues that are causing this permission error, reinstall it and see if it fixes the issue.
Click Start> Settings> Applications.
Find the app you want to uninstall, select it and click Uninstall. After uninstalling, reinstall the app and see if the error goes away.
If none of these solutions work, you may have to perform a clean reinstall of your system, but only as a last resort, because this action completely cleans up your disk. If you go down this route, back up your personal files and other data first. You can choose other backup options such as cloud storage, using an external hard drive, or transferring files to another computer.
Did any of these fixes help you resolve the “You need permission to do this action” error on your computer? Let us know in the comments below.
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