Documents folder and Settings Access Denied: Why and How to Fix it?

Why is My Documents and Settings folder not accessible?

The My Documents folder is an important part of your Windows user profile, where you store personal files like documents, shortcuts, and favorites. You can easily access it by going to C:\Users\YourUserName\Documents in File Explorer or typing %userprofile%\Documents in the Run box (Win + R).

However, sometimes you will encounter Documents folder and Settings "Access Denied" error when trying to open this folder. Why is my Documents and Settings folder not accessible? When it happens, it may be due to reasons like disk encryption, incorrect permissions, or antivirus settings. 

These reasons also lead to folders disappeared in Windows 11 and 10. To fix this, first back up your files to keep them safe. Then, check your permissions to make sure you have access. You might need to change ownership of the folder, adjust security settings, or temporarily disable your antivirus.

Before fixing "Documents and Settings folder is not accessible"

Before making any repairs of the Documents folder and Settings access denied issue, try to back up any important files from your Documents folder, as it often holds valuable information. If you haven't had a chance to back up your files yet, AOMEI FastRecovery can help you recover many types of files, like documents, photos, and videos—even from places like your Desktop or emptied Recycle Bin. It can also recover lost or deleted files from your computer, USB drives, or other storage devices.

Below are simple steps to use AOMEI FastRecovery to recover data from your missing Documents folder.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI FastRecovery. Choose the exact partition or disk where your data lost and click Scan.

Step 2. Then, the recovery tool start to scan and search. lt will execute the “Quickly Scan" first for finding your deleted data fast, and then execute the “Deep Scan" for searching other lost data.

Step 3. Once the scan is completed, all deleted files, recycle bins and other missing files will be displayed. Please select the file you would like to recover and then click "Recover".

Step 4. Then, select a folder path to save your recovered files.

Step 5. Wait patiently for this process of recovering ends.

How to fix access to Documents and Settings denied issue?

After saving your data, it is time to fix access to Documents and Settings denied issue. In this part, you can learn 2 easy ways to solve the problem.

Way 1. Cancel the Encryption Protection of the Documents folder and Settings

It's a good idea to check if encryption protection has been enabled to the folder. If it has, the Documents folder and its contents will not be readable. This is done to protect sensitive or private information, especially when sending it over the Internet. If you want to turn off the encryption safety, please follow these steps.

Step 1. Press Win + E to open File Explorer > right-click on the Documents folder > select Properties > click General > Advanced.

Step 2. In the Advanced Attributes interface, don’t tick “Encrypt contents to secure data” and click “OK” to save changes.

Way 2. Change system permissions to access Documents folder and Settings

What to do if the above changes still don't let you get into path C:\Documents and Settings. If you don't have enough permissions to reach the Documents folder, you can't get to the Documents and Settings folder in Windows 10. These steps will show you how to get back control of the Documents folder.

Step 1. Right-click on your Documents folder in File Explorer> select Properties > click Security > tap Advanced.

Step 2. Click the “Change” button beside the Owner.

Step 3. In the Select Users or Groups window, type your username to replace Everyone. Then click Check Names > OK.

Step 4. Go back to the Advanced Security Settings window, and click the “Replace all child object permission entries with inheritable permission entries from this project” and “OK” buttons.

Final words

This article explain why is my Documents folder and Settings access denied and how to fix it. Before fixing the issue, please run AOMEI FastRecovery to save your data and back up it.