Windows 10: Access Denied - moving Pictures folder to default or other locations

I changed the location the of my Pictures folder from the default C:\users\myname\Pictures to D:\onedrive\pictures, Worked great until I decided to use new Google Photo on Google Drive. Using File Explorer, I moved all photos from D:\one drive\pictures to E:\Google Drive\Google Photos. Then went to library/Pictures/properties/location/move and selected my new folder E:\Google Drive\Google Photos, hit apply, responded no to 'do you want to move all the files' and got pop up 'Folder cant be moved here - Access Denied.

I've tried restore to original, created other test folders on drive D and E - it wont save to any other location or restore to default location - get the Access denied.

:)

 

Cannot change default storage options in Windows 10.

Sadly I think we are just out of luck, until Microsoft gets enough bad responses and pushes an update. Found this same topic on another forum...

Access Denied - moving Pictures folder to default or other locations - Windows 10 Forums

And found this image...



I don't remember seeing this and clicking yes, but must have. Microsoft really needs to send out an update to fix this. Having settings like this that cannot be changed is completely unacceptable.

 

Cannot change default save location to local drive.

The Pictures folder's location is already set to the default.

On the Documents folder, when I try to "Restore Default" location, it first asks me if I would like to move the contents. Regardless of what option I choose at this message box I'm greeted with "Access Denied."

Windows 10 Pro, the user is an Administrator.

Thanks for the reply!

 

Sorry, I'm not at my Win 10 installation atm, but can you right-click the default Pictures folder and select properties? If you can, try adding a new folder(Include a Folder) from that menu and it will make links to the folder, rather than physically moving the folder(s). I had similar permissions issues trying to move my music folder in Win 7 and this was how I got around it.

 

Steveo - nope. Added new folder, asked if I wanted to create, said yes, tried to apply - access denied.

 

Are you logged on with an administrator account?

I'll try to recreate this error on my Win 10 shortly.

 

The frequency of getting "Access Denied" can be minimized if you....
1. Reduce the slider on UAC settings to its lowest setting. (almost like turning it OFF)
2. Install "Grant Admin Full Control" so you can take ownership of any file or folder on the PC.

Doing those two things can take much of the sting out of working with files and folders on Windows (all versions)

Cheers mates!
*Cool

 

OK, it seems Win 10 has changed the functionality. When you click the properties of the Picture folder, there is a location tab, you can select to move the directory anywhere from there. You can even select OneDrive in the new menu. I was able to move my Picture folder to my data drive, and back to default with no issues. Moving it to OneDrive seems like more of a permanent feature, so I opted not to test that.

I'm not sure why you are getting the error. Perhaps you could revert to an earlier restore point, and try again?

 

Yes, It seems to have something to do with OneDrive - ounce you point it there, I don't think there is any going back, Matter of fact, I recall a popup that loosely 'may' have stated - do you want to do this? I can't be undone'. I'll keep looking for the solution and try TechnoMage suggestions.

 

Here's a picture of that popup, but there's not any restore info there...
~

 

From your screen shot - "ff you proceed... will not be able to ....restore default location." That's the message I saw - that's my problem - want to go back to default and then assign to Google Drive / Photos. Other thoughts?

 

Sorry for replying on an old post. I was passing by, and I have a solution for this.
Basically the reason why you couldn't change the directory is because your Pictures folder is now merged with another system folder, the OneDrive Pictures folder. There's no way to separate them.
But what you can do is to make the folder no longer an OneDrive folder. What I mean is you can unlink your PC from your OneDrive using OneDrive settings on the taskbar, then logging in to your OneDrive account, and pointing your OneDrive folder to another place. You don't need to sync anything really, just complete the login process, and your Pictures folder will no longer be a part of the OneDrive Pictures folder, which you can then move freely.
Hope it helps.

 

This solved my problem, unlinking onedrive tells the system that your picture folder is not the onedrive/picture folder anymore, so you can move it again.

SOLVED!! THANKS!! *cake

 

So, I hope this thread isn't too old for me to post here, but I'm trying to do the opposite almost. I originally moved my Pictures folder to my D:\ drive, just to get it off of my SSD. But now that I also have a laptop, I want to keep all my wallpapers in sync, so I'm trying to move my Pictures folder to my OneDrive and I'm getting the same "Access Denied" error.

Any thoughts?

 

• copy Documents folder somewhere else
• unlink my OneDrive account
• log in again
• select different OneDrive folder
• don't sync anythin (untick all)
• restore default location
• copy previously copied Documents to default location (it was empty for me, when I did it)
• unlink OneDrive
• log in and select previous location
• (optional) go to OneDrive settings, 2nd tab (automatic saving or something), select that you want your documents to be saved on OneDrive instead of your computer.