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Thread: Access Denied, Access Denied- like a broken record!

  1. #1
    Sam Guest

    Access Denied, Access Denied- like a broken record!

    Yesterday I installed Vista to setup a dual-boot with XP. I can't gain
    access in folders like 'Document & Settings', 'All Users' and even folders
    under my own account like 'App Data', 'Start Menu', 'local settings' and a
    few others without getting Access Denied. I even tried viewing those folders
    from within XP and still get ACCESS DENIED! It's like a bad song that never
    stops.

    I installed it from within XP instead of booting from the disc. I found a
    couple of articles in MS KB about this but they all refer to upgrading from
    XP to Vista and nothing on a dual-boot setup.

    "Access is Denied" Error Message When You Try to Open a Folder
    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/810881/en-us

    Error message when you try to access the My Documents, My Music, My
    Pictures, and My Videos folders in Windows Vista: "Access is Denied"
    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930128/en-us

    Neither were any help but they did describe the problem I'm having. Anyone
    know how to fix this? I wonder if this happened because I started the
    installation within XP; although technically one would think that wouldn't
    have made a difference.



  2. #2
    DosFan Guest

    Re: Access Denied, Access Denied- like a broken record!

    My documents etc in Vista do not actually exist as real folders anymore.
    Vista has a different filesystem than XP now.
    it's now C:\users\yourname\documents etc.
    look up about it on google.

  3. #3
    Jack Guest

    Re: Access Denied, Access Denied- like a broken record!

    These folders do not work in Vista.
    Use c:\Users folder instead.

  4. #4
    Sam Guest

    Re: Access Denied, Access Denied- like a broken record!

    Thanks for both replies, but I don't have access there either. Within my
    user folder, these are the directories I'm denied access to:

    Application Data
    Cookies
    Local Settings
    NetHood
    PrintHood
    SendTo
    Start Menu
    Templated

    Shouldn't I have access to these?

    The other strange things is, there are 2 'My Doc' folders under my User
    folder. One I have access and the other I don't. The one that I do have
    access has 'My Pics, Music & Videos' but when I try to open them, it comes
    back with access denied. My User Root {C:\User\Username[Root]} also lists
    'My Pics, Music & Videos' and here I do have access. I don't get it. This
    layout does not make any sense.

    Why does Vista even create a Doc & Settings folder if it doesn't use it any
    more?

    "Jack" wrote in message
    | These folders do not work in Vista.
    | Use c:\Users folder instead.
    | Jack



  5. #5
    Mark Veldhuis Guest

    Re: Access Denied, Access Denied- like a broken record!

    That's where your files really are. The other "directories" are just
    junction points:
    http://windowsconnected.com/blogs/jo...on-Points.aspx

  6. #6
    Bruce Sanderson Guest

    Re: Access Denied, Access Denied- like a broken record!

    All of these are "directory junctions" that point to the "real" place for
    this stuff in Vista. The default security on these "directory junctions"
    is:

    Everyone, this folder only, List folder/read data; Deny

    Apparently, this is done to prevent possible endless recursion by "legacy"
    applications that might use this path and to protect against accidental
    deletion of content in the target.

    If you know the name of a sub-folder or file, you can still access that
    through this path. For example, lets say you have a user account (and thus
    a profile folder) called abc. Then, you can access, for example:

    c:\documents and settings\abc

    e.g. using the command

    dir "c:\documents and settings\abc"
    or

    in Start, Run, key
    explorer /e,"c:\documents and settings\abc"

    but you can't navigate through c:\documents and settings in Windows Explorer
    becuase of the Everyone, Deny permission I mentioned earlier.

    I'm not aware of the reasons that the user profile folder structure in Vista
    and Windows Server 2008, but I expect there are several "good reason".

    One only sees these "directory junctions" if you change the "Folder Options"
    in Windows Explorer, Tools, Folder Options View (Show "Hide protected
    operating system files (Recommended)").

    Each one has a corresponding folder path that you can use instead to get at
    the contents by navigating through Windows Explorer. It's a new operating
    system, with a different folder structure for user profiles, so it's a
    question of getting used to it's differences.

    Old New
    Documents and Settings Users
    Application Data AppData\Roaming or AppData\Local or
    AppData\LocalLow
    Cookies
    AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies
    NetHood
    AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Network Shortcuts
    PrintHood
    AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Printer Shortcuts
    SendTo
    AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo
    Start Menu
    AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
    Templates
    AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Templates

    See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/205524/ for information about Junction
    Points.

  7. #7
    Sam Guest

    Re: Access Denied, Access Denied- like a broken record!

    Thanks for the detailed explanation, it helped a lot. Is there a place
    within the registry or the OS that lists a table of these junctions so I can
    resturcture the look? Or better yet, is it possible to turn them off all
    together so only real directories are present? I rather not turn off the
    setting 'show hidden folders'. Appreciate your help.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Posts
    2
    It sounds like you need to claim ownership of the folders in Vista so you can view them from there as well... you can google articles on how to claim ownership of folders and files but if you cannot find them, I should be able to dig something up when I am home next and see if I can find it for you...

    I am not sure though if you claim ownership in Vista if you will be able to access them in XP again (if dual booting) or if you would have to claim ownership again once booted back into XP...

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