Windows Cannot Open the Folder: Fix Permission and File System Errors in 2026

"Windows cannot open the folder" and "access denied" folder errors appear when Windows blocks access to a folder due to ownership changes, permission settings, or file system corruption. Most cases are fixable.

Part 1. Take Ownership of the Folder

The most common cause of "access denied" on folders is incorrect ownership — particularly after upgrading Windows, restoring from a backup, or accessing a drive from a different Windows installation.

1. Right-click the folder → Properties
2. Click the Security tab → Advanced
3. At the top, click Change next to "Owner"
4. Type your username → click Check Names → OK
5. Check Replace owner on subcontainers and objects → click Apply
6. Back in Security tab, click Edit → add your username with Full Control

💡 Tip: Faster via Command Prompt (run as Admin):

takeown /f "C:\Path\To\Folder" /r /d y
icacls "C:\Path\To\Folder" /grant Administrators:F /t

This takes ownership and grants full access to the entire folder tree in one step.

💡 Tip: After taking ownership, verify the permission change worked by right-clicking the folder → Properties → Security and confirming your account now shows "Full control." Sometimes UAC or a running process prevents the change from applying until you reboot.

Part 2. Run CHKDSK for File System Corruption

If the folder was accessible before and now returns errors:

chkdsk C: /f /r

File system corruption can make folders appear inaccessible even when the actual files are intact. CHKDSK repairs the directory entries without deleting file data.

⚠️ Important: If CHKDSK finds and "fixes" errors that include your folder, check whether the folder still exists after CHKDSK completes. CHKDSK sometimes moves orphaned file fragments to a FOUND.000 folder — your files may be there with generic names.

Part 3. Check for Malware

Ransomware and some malware change folder permissions to prevent access. If the folder suddenly became inaccessible without any Windows changes:

1. Run Windows Defender Full Scan (Windows Security → Virus & Threat Protection)
2. After removing any threats, retry the ownership fix (Part 1)

🗣️ r/techsupport user: "Couldn't open a whole folder tree on my external drive. Ran a malware scan — found a virus that had changed folder permissions. After removal, took ownership with icacls and got everything back."

Part 4. When the Folder Itself Is Corrupted

If the error is specific to one folder and CHKDSK reports no errors, the folder's directory entry itself may be corrupted:

🗣️ r/WindowsHelp user: "Folder showed 0 bytes after a crash. CHKDSK found errors. After it ran, the folder showed its correct size and all files were accessible. No data loss — just a corrupted directory entry."

Part 5. Recover Files From Inaccessible Folders With Ritridata

If ownership and CHKDSK fixes do not restore access, Ritridata can scan the drive and recover the folder's contents directly from sectors — bypassing the access restrictions.

💡 Tip: After recovering files from an inaccessible folder with recovery software, save them to a different drive before attempting any further repairs on the original drive. Having a verified copy of the recovered files ensures you don't lose them if repairs cause unexpected issues.

Step 1 — Select the drive containing the inaccessible folder

Step 2 — Run a safe scan — bypasses permission restrictions at the sector level

Step 3 — Preview and recover the folder contents to a healthy location

FAQ

Why can't Windows open a folder I created? The most common reason is that Windows ownership transferred to a system account during an update or drive transfer. Taking ownership through the Security tab or via the takeown command restores access.

How do I fix 'Access is denied' for a folder in Windows 11? Right-click the folder → Properties → Security → Advanced → Change owner to your account. Then edit permissions to grant yourself Full Control. This resolves most access denied errors.

Can a folder become permanently inaccessible? In rare cases involving severe file system corruption, a folder's directory entry cannot be repaired by CHKDSK. In these cases, data recovery software can still find and extract the files from the raw drive sectors.

What is the FOUND.000 folder and why are my files in it? CHKDSK creates a FOUND.000 folder when it recovers file fragments that are no longer referenced by any directory entry. Your files may be inside FOUND.000 with generic names like FILE0001.CHK — open them to identify content.

References

• Microsoft — takeown Command
• Microsoft — icacls Command
• r/techsupport — Malware Folder Permission Fix
• r/WindowsHelp — CHKDSK Folder Recovery
• r/datarecovery — Inaccessible Folder Recovery