Change permissions only if you really have to
- Some of our readers are having trouble when changing some user permissions in Windows 11.
- Their systems became unstable and they were unable to change permissions due to access restrictions.
- Here’s how to reset permissions to default in Windows 11 using simple commands and a dedicated tool.
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Some users prefer to change NTFS permissions for certain folders in Windows 11 to access them better.
However, changing permission settings can cause problems. One of our readers said he accidentally stopped the Change task permission of a user and his system became unstable.
Also, he couldn’t change the permission because he was denied access to some folders.
Did something similar happen on your PC? If so, you are in the same boat as the user quoted above. You can reset all NTFS permissions to default with the methods described in this guide below.
What are NTFS permissions?
NTFS stands for New Technology File System and is a type of file system for Windows PCs. However, NTFS is not new as it replaced the FAT file system for older platforms in ’93.
NTFS permissions control (manage) folder and file access for its file system. You can select multiple permission options for folders from their Security tabs.
What is the icacls tool?
Icacls is a command line utility with which you can change folder and file permissions. You can enter icacls commands to reset NTFS permissions for specific folders or all directories.
The icacls.exe command specified in the first method resets permissions for all subfolders and files in a directory.
This Microsoft page provides more details on the icacls command syntax and parameters.
How to Reset Permissions in Windows 11?
1. Use the icacls.exe command
1. press the Look for button on the Taskbartype command, and select Execute as administrator.
2. Then open a folder for which you want to reset all permissions in Windows 11 with Cd\(folder path) command from command prompt. You can open the root directory by running this command:Cd\
3. To take ownership of an open directory tree, type the following text and hit Walk in:takeown /R /F *
4. Enter this command and press Come back:icacls * /t /q /c /reset
5. You can also reset the permissions of a default folder tree by including its directory path in the command. Run this command with an actual folder location included in the brackets:icacls [full folder path] /reset /t /c /l
In order to reset all default permissions on Windows 11 using the icals command, you need to use the built-in command line tool Command Prompt.
Cmd lets you take ownership of an open directory tree and then reset it with the icals.exe command.
2. Reset permissions with a dedicated tool
- Download Microsoft’s SubInACL tool.
- Double-click the downloaded file to install it in the following path (If your system is installed on a drive other than C:, change the letter accordingly):
C:\Windows\System32
- Now open Notepad and type or paste the following commands:
subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE /grant=administrators=f
subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CURRENT_USER /grant=administrators=f
subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT /grant=administrators=f
subinacl /subdirectories %SystemDrive% /grant=administrators=f
subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE /grant=system=f
subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CURRENT_USER /grant=system=f
subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT /grant=system=f
subinacl /subdirectories %SystemDrive% /grant=system=f
- Click on Case in the menu, select Save asthen name the file reset.cmd.
- Click on save as typethen select All the files (*.*)save the file to a location of your choice and close Notepad.
- Navigate to the file location and double-click it to reset permissions. The procedure will take a few minutes so be patient.
How can I backup and restore NTFS permissions in Windows 11/10?
It’s a good idea to back up NTFS permissions before playing around with folder and file permission settings. Then you can easily restore the backed up permissions if needed.
You can backup and restore NTFS permissions with the same icacls command line tool needed to reset them. Here’s how to backup and restore folder and file permissions with two commands:
- Open Command Prompt with admin user rights as specified in steps 1-4 for the first method.
- Navigate to a folder tree to back up permissions to in the Command Prompt.
- To save permissions type and run this icacls ordered:
icacls c:data /save ntfs-permissions-folder.txt /t /c
- You can restore permissions by running this icacls ordered:
icacls c: /restore ntfs-permissions-folder.txt
To avoid problems in the first place, don’t bother with folder and file permissions unless you have to. However, you can reset the default permissions when problems occur with icacls and Windows Repair.
You can discuss resetting NTFS permissions in the comments section of this page. If you know another good way to reset NTFS permissions in Windows 11, let us know below.
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