Windows 10: All the sudden, I have no access to any of my graphic/picture files - Solved

What happened? I have no idea. I have not done anything. The files say that I own them - I as the user and the admin - I own them as the user, but I am locked out of opening them. Told that I do not have permission!!! The only thing I can think of is the latest Windows update. I restored my system to the last restore point, which was June 3rd, 2025. That did not help. I tried adding the SMB 1.0/CIFS Client. That did not resolve the problem. I refuse to create a backdoor into my computer by adding "Everyone" and giving anyone and everyone unlimited access to my data. Now, here's the weird thing

:)

 

Quick Access not searching Pictures folder

Summary, that last suggestion didn't work.

• I moved the pictures to another folder temporarily.

• Then I tried to remove the Pictures folder with option one at Add or Remove Folders from This PC in Windows 10 | Windows 10 Tutorials. Even after rebooting, the Pictures folder remained.
• So I tried using option two. Same thing: reboot >> Pictures folder still there.

• Since there were no troubleshooting steps for this scenario, just for the heck of it, I ran through the restore steps. Copied some pictures into the Pictures folder, ran a Quick Access search and initial problem remains: Searching all of QA doesn't find any files in Pictures folder, running search on just the Pictures folder does. I want to run a global search and find matching files in any/all of the Documents, Music, Videos, and Pictures folders.

That article dates from 2015 and I'm guessing is out of date. I hope it didn't create potential future problems in my registry.

Bottom line: I'm still looking for a fix.

 

Graphics or Pictures missing

To assist you better, we would suggest that you try to follow the steps below:

For Internet Explorer

• Click on Tools.
• Select Internet Options.
• Choose Advanced.
• In the Multimedia section of the list, make sure that the option Show Pictures
  is checked.

Thank you.

 

File Explorer W11; Restore Pictures Folder to Quick Access

To restore the Pictures folder to Quick Access in Windows 11 File Explorer, you can follow these steps:

1. Open File Explorer by clicking on the folder icon in the taskbar or by pressing Windows + E on your keyboard.
   
2. In the left pane of File Explorer, right-click on Quick Access and select Options.
   
3. In the Folder Options window, select the General tab.
   
4. Under Privacy, make sure that "Show recently used files in Quick access" and "Show frequently used folders in Quick access" are both checked.
   
5. Click on the Clear button next to "Clear File Explorer history" to remove any history that might be preventing the Pictures folder from appearing in Quick Access.
   
6. Click on the Restore Defaults button to restore the default settings for Quick Access.
   
7. Click on Apply and then on OK to save the changes.
   
8. If the Pictures folder still does not appear in Quick Access, you can manually add it by navigating to the folder in File Explorer, right-clicking on it, and selecting Pin to Quick Access.
   

If these steps do not work, you can try creating a new user account and see if the Pictures folder appears in Quick Access for the new user. If it does, you can copy the contents of your old user account's Pictures folder to the new user account's Pictures folder and continue using the new account.

Let me know if it helps.