Win 7 - access to Documents and Settings (and some others) folders is denied

I'm Administrator for my new DELL machine with OEM Windows 7. I transferred
most of my documents and settings from the old XP Home machine. Everything
looks fine. However, I cannot access the Documents and Settings, Config.msi,
System Recovery, System Volume Info and some other folders. I'm the only
account on this machine. Do I need special permissions? How to get them in
Win 7?

 

http://www.blogsdna.com/2159/how-to...sions-to-access-files-folder-in-windows-7.htm

I would also suggest you download the .reg file to enable rt. click "take
ownership" in the right click menu mentioned in the article. It works great.

 

Hi, Ilya.

Win7 (like Vista) does not actually have a "Documents & Settings" folder.
Because some applications that were written for WinXP are hard-coded to look
for the D&S folder, Win7 has a "Junction Point" by that name. The Junction
Point looks like a folder in some contexts, but it actually has NO files; it
simply points to the Win7 equivalent.

For example, instead of C:\Documents and Settings\Ilya\My Documents, you
should be able to find C:\Users\Ilya\Documents. (The "My" prefix was
dropped from several of the folder names.) And, if you are logged on to the
"Ilya" Administrator account, you should not need special permissions to see
the files in that folder. You will need Ilya's password for some functions.

Some of the other folders you mentioned may require special permissions, but
you should follow the Users\<username> approach to find those. For details,
search in Help and Support for "permissions".

Of course, you really should realize that "this is not your father's XP".
;^} Win7 looks a lot like WinXP on the surface, and there are many
similarities under the hood - but there are a LOT of differences, too. Some
users shake off the WinXP mindset quickly and get comfortable with Win7.
Others have problems because they keep expecting to use Win7 the way they
did WinXP.

Welcome to Win7. I think you'll like it - after a few days invested in
learning your way around. But, it is NOT WinXP!

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8089.0726) in Win7 Ultimate x64

 

Dear R.C. White and G. Morgan,

Thanks for your suggestions. I'll check them and will try to implement.

Ilya

 

Just tried to follow the advice in the article you've referred to and run
into few problems...
First, I downloaded and extracted the .reg file, however, it would not
install in the registry. All it would do - open in a Notepad. I think, from
there I could make changes in the Registry manually...
Then I tried to take ownership manually, and got lost because my settings in
some instances were different from the instruction and I could not find the
equivalents...
At the end, I'm back to square one...

Ilya

 

Thanks for detailed explanation of the root of my problem. Yes, I'm aware
(and feel!) that Win 7 is not my beloved XP. But it's OK. Apparently, I must
be a masochist, because, in spite of all troubles, I like it ;-)
I checked the Property of Docs and Settings folder and it shows no size,
while some other "inaccessible" folders show 0 KB. Does this mean that they
are empty? If so, should I delete them? I believe, the D&S folder came from
the file transfer from my old comp...
Your advice is appreciated.

Ilya

 

Only if you like to play with dynamite. The reason you see 0KB is
because they are symbolic links. Don't mess with Windows default
settings unless you like to live dangerously and don't mind rebuilding
your system on a regular basis!

Documents and Settings is a System folder and there on a clean install.
Why do people want to go messing with things they don't know anything
about and then wonder why it breaks all the time?

 

Hi, Ilya.

Of course there is NO size. Please read my message again.

In Win7 (and Vista) THERE IS NO D&S FOLDER!

And that's what I said in my first sentence.

There is only a "Junction Point". It's just a signpost, not a folder. All
it does is point the way to folders in the C:\Users\Ilya folder tree.

If a program was written for WinXP, it may be hard-coded to look for
information in D&S. So when it runs in Win7, it will be stymied if it can't
find D&S. So the Win7 developers put in the "imitation folder" named D&S to
satisfy those older programs that don't know what to do if they can't find
D&S. But, all D&S does is point the way to the actual folders in Win7.

Not really. The D&S Junction Point (NOT folder) is a feature of Win7, even
if WinXP never existed on your computer.

The Win7 developers really should have put in a more meaningful "error
message" than "Access Denied". We are not really denied access to that
"folder"; it is not really even "not accessible". It doesn't exist! Why
couldn't the message say what I said above: that D&S is not a folder, but a
Junction Point? Ditto the C:\Users\Default User "folder" - and a few
others. Like, in the C:\Users\Ilya folder, you probably have TWO "My
Documents" folders; if you click one, it opens as usual, but if you click
the other, you get the "Access Denied" error message.

I'm an accountant, not a developer, and I can't explain all these
"features". But I can try to stop users from beating their heads against a
brick wall, trying to fix something that ain't broke - just unexplained.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8089.0726) in Win7 Ultimate x64

 

Hello, R.C.,

of course, you were clear in your first message and even clearer in the
second. I read both messages with much interest and appreciate your help.
For the last 5 days, since I brought in this new comp and until your
explanations, I did exactly as you expected - beat my head against a brick
wall.

Thanks again for saving my sanity.

Ilya

 

Hi, Ilya.

I'm glad to help.

I should have made clear that I was NOT SHOUTING with the all caps in my
last message. Just trying to emphasize some points that might otherwise
have been buried in all my verbose text. ;^}

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8089.0726) in Win7 Ultimate x64