Windows 10: Backup and Restore Permissions of File, Folder, or Drive in Windows

How to: Backup and Restore Permissions of File, Folder, or Drive in Windows

How to Backup and Restore Permissions of Files, Folders, or Drives in Windows


On ReFS volumes, you can set security permissions on files and folders. These permissions grant or deny access to the files and folders.

Every container (ex: folder) and object (ex: file) on the PC has a set of access control information attached to it. Known as a users and groups. The security descriptor is automatically created along with the container or object that is created.

When you are a member of a own, you have full control.

Permissions are defined within an object's security descriptor. Permissions are associated with, or assigned to, specific users and groups. For example, for the file Temp.dat, the built-in Administrators group might be assigned Read, Write, and Delete permissions, while the Backup Operators group might be assigned Read and Write permissions only.

Each assignment of permissions to a user or group is represented in the system as an access control entry (ACE). The entire set of permission entries in a security descriptor is known as a permission set or access control list (ACL). Thus, for a file named Temp.dat, the permission set includes two permission entries, one for the built-in Administrators group and one for the Backup Operators group.

There are two types of permissions: explicit permissions and inherited permissions.

• Explicit permissions are those that are set by default on non-child objects when the object is created, or by user action on non-child, parent, or child objects.See also: Change Permissions of File, Folder, Drive, or Registry Key for Users and Groups in Windows 10
• Inherited permissions are those that are propagated to an object from a parent object. Inherited permissions ease the task of managing permissions and ensure consistency of permissions among all objects within a given container.
  • Inherited Deny permissions do not prevent access to an object if the object has an explicit Allow permission entry.
  • Explicit permissions take precedence over inherited permissions, even inherited Deny permissions.

By default, objects within a container inherit the permissions from that container when the objects are created. For example, when you create a folder called MyFolder, all subfolders and files created within MyFolder automatically inherit the permissions from that folder. Therefore, MyFolder has explicit permissions, while all subfolders and files within it have inherited permissions.

In Windows, you can back up the current permissions of a file, folder, or drive to a .txt file, and be able to restore the permissions later if needed.

This tutorial will show you how to backup and restore permissions for files, folders, and drives in Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.

While you must be signed in as an administrator to backup and restore permissions.


CONTENTS:

• Option One: To Backup Permissions of File, Folder, or Drive in Command Prompt
• Option Two: To Restore Permissions of File, Folder, or Drive in Command Prompt

OPTION ONE [/i] To Backup Permissions of File, Folder, or Drive in Command Prompt
1. Open an elevated command prompt.

2. Go the step below you want to do:

• Step 3: Backup permissions of a file
• Step 4: Backup permissions of a folder
• Step 5: Backup permissions of a folder, subfolder and files
• Step 6: Backup permissions of a drive, subfolder and files

3. Backup permissions of a file
A) Type the command below into the elevated command prompt, press Enter, and go to Step 7.

*Arrow icacls "Full path of file" /save "%UserProfile%\Desktop\MyPermissions.txt"



Note Substitute Full path of file in the command above with the actual full path of the file with extension you want to back up the permissions of this file only.

If you like, you can substitute MyPermissions in the command above with the name you want for the text file instead. This can make it easier to know what the .txt file is the backup for.

For example: icacls "F:\MyFolder\Lock.png" /save "%UserProfile%\Desktop\MyPermissions.txt"





4. Backup permissions of a folder
A) Type the command below into the elevated command prompt, press Enter, and go to Step 7.

*Arrow icacls "Full path of folder" /save "%UserProfile%\Desktop\MyPermissions.txt"



Note Substitute Full path of folder in the command above with the actual full path of the folder you want to back up the permissions of this folder only.

If you like, you can substitute MyPermissions in the command above with the name you want for the text file instead. This can make it easier to know what the .txt file is the backup for.

For example: icacls "F:\MyFolder" /save "%UserProfile%\Desktop\MyPermissions.txt"





5. Backup permissions of a folder, subfolder and files
A) Type the command below into the elevated command prompt, press Enter, and go to Step 7.

*Arrow icacls "Full path of folder" /save "%UserProfile%\Desktop\MyPermissions.txt" ,t ,c



Note Substitute Full path of folder in the command above with the actual full path of the folder you want to back up the permissions of this folder, subfolders and files.

If you like, you can substitute MyPermissions in the command above with the name you want for the text file instead. This can make it easier to know what the .txt file is the backup for.

For example: icacls "F:\MyFolder" /save "%UserProfile%\Desktop\MyPermissions.txt" /t /c





6. Backup permissions of a drive, subfolder and files
A) Type the command below into the elevated command prompt, press Enter, and go to Step 7.

*Arrow icacls "Drive letter:\*" /save "%UserProfile%\Desktop\MyPermissions.txt" ,t ,c



Note Substitute Drive letter in the command above with the actual drive letter you want to back up the permissions of this drive, subfolders and files.

If you like, you can substitute MyPermissions in the command above with the name you want for the text file instead. This can make it easier to know what the .txt file is the backup for.

For example: icacls "F:\*" /save "%UserProfile%\Desktop\MyPermissions.txt" /t /c





7. You will now have a MyPermissions.txt file saved to your desktop that is the permissions backup of the file, folder, or drive. You can move this text file to where you would like to keep it saved at.

8. When finished, you can close the elevated command prompt if you like.





OPTION TWO [/i] To Restore Permissions of File, Folder, or Drive in Command Prompt
1. Open an elevated command prompt.

2. Go the step below you want to do:

• Step 3: Restore permissions of a file from backup
• Step 4: Restore permissions of a folder from backup
• Step 5: Restore permissions of a drive from backup

3. Restore permissions of a file from backup
A) Type the command below into the elevated command prompt, press Enter, and go to Step 6.

*Arrow icacls "Back one path from full path of file" /restore "Full path of MyPermissions.txt file"



Note Substitute Back one path from full path of file in the command above with the actual same full path of the file from the backup (ex: "F:\MyFolder\Lock.png"), but back one path (ex: "F:\MyFolder").

Substitute Full path of MyPermissions.txt file in the command above with the actual full path of the text file with file extension created from step 3 in Option One.

For example: icacls "F:\MyFolder" /restore "%UserProfile%\Desktop\MyPermissions.txt"





4. Restore permissions of a folder from backup
A) Type the command below into the elevated command prompt, press Enter, and go to Step 6.

*Arrow icacls "Back one path from full path of folder" /restore "Full path of MyPermissions.txt file"



Note Substitute Back one path from full path of folder in the command above with the actual same full path of the folder from the backup (ex: "F:\MyFolder"), but back one path (ex: "F:").

Substitute Full path of MyPermissions.txt file in the command above with the actual full path of the text file with file extension created from step 4 in Option One or step 5 in Option One.

For example: icacls "F:" /restore "%UserProfile%\Desktop\MyPermissions.txt"





5. Restore permissions of a drive from backup
A) Type the command below into the elevated command prompt, press Enter, and go to Step 6.

*Arrow icacls "Back one path from full path of drive" /restore "Full path of MyPermissions.txt file"



Note Substitute Back one path from full path of drive in the command above with the actual same full path of the folder from the backup (ex: "F:\*"), but back one path (ex: "F:").

Substitute Full path of MyPermissions.txt file in the command above with the actual full path of the text file with file extension created from step 6 in Option One.

For example: icacls "F:" /restore "%UserProfile%\Desktop\MyPermissions.txt"




6. When finished, you can close the elevated command prompt if you like.

That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

• Change Permissions of File, Folder, Drive, or Registry Key for Users and Groups in Windows 10
• Enable or Disable Inherited Permissions for Files and Folders in Windows
• How to Add Inherited Permissions Context Menu in Windows
• How to Add List Permissions Context Menu in Windows
• How to Add Reset Permissions to Context Menu in Windows
• How to Add View Owner to Context Menu in Windows
• How to Add Take Ownership to Context Menu in Windows 10
• How to Change Owner of File, Folder, Drive, or Registry Key in Windows 10
• How to Add Advanced security to context menu in Windows 8 and Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Users from Groups in Windows 10
• How to Remove Security tab from Drives, Files, and Folders Properties in Windows 10
• How to Backup and Restore Network Shares and Permissions in Windows

:)

 

Denied Permission Access to Restored Files from Backup

After buying a new computer installed with Windows 10, I restored my backup files from a Western Digital backup drive to my new hard drive in the Documents folder.

Most of these documents are not accessible to me, and I have to go into the Properties/Security/Advanced/Permissions to add my User name to the list.

This has worked for the small number of files that I have tried this on, but now I need a fix for the thousands of files in the backup.

I read in an online forum that saving the backup to the Desktop and then moving the files to other folders would work to establish the permissions, but am concerned about the impact on the Desktop folder handling all of this file management.

is there a best practice solution for establishing a mass permission change to a large number of files?

 

Denied Permission Access to Restored Files from Backup

I think that you have exceeded my limited IT knowledge with that question (it wouldn't take much to do that!)

Suffice it to say that the only thing that I have done is 1) bought a new PC, 2) restored files from a Western Digital backup drive, and 3) found that I could not open files that I had restored due to lack of permission rights.

I can get permission to each file individually by using a method similar to what you suggested: Properties/Security/Advanced and adding my name as a Principal in the list along with System and Administrators.

But I cannot do this for a group of files or a folder.

When I open the Security tab, it says that I "must have Read permissions to view the properties of this object"

It also lists "Owner: Unable to display current owner"

Does that imply that there is an ownership problem, and that I need to globally take ownership of the files somehow?

 

Free hard drive backup/restore program?

I am looking for a free (freeware) program that will back up and restore a hard drive. I'm looking to clone a few external hard drives. If the program will backup the used space instead of the whole drive this will be awesome! Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Restore Security Permissions

Hello Deepak,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community.

I understand that you have cancelled the security permissions while setting it to folders and you are trying to restore back. We will help you.

• Which folder are you trying to set the permissions?
• What are you referring to " files is affected "?

I suggest you to follow the below steps and check if it helps.

• Open the file explorer and select the destination folder
  for which you wanted to revert back the permission changes.
• Right click on the folder. Select the Previous versions
  tab.
• Select the previous version in the below list and click
  apply.
• Check if the issue persists.

Keep us posted to help you better.

 

?? How do I PW protect Folders in windows

hmmm?
Sharing files and folders overview You can share the files and folders stored on your computer, on a network, and on the Web. The method you choose depends on whom you want to share files with, and what computer they will use to access the files.

When you share files or folders, they are not as protected as they are when you do not share them. People with access to your computer or your network might be able to read, copy, or change files that are in a shared folder. You should always be aware that the files and folders that you share are available to other people and be sure to monitor your shared files and folders on a regular basis.

Important

If your computer is not joined to a domain, you can use the Network Setup Wizard to automatically turn file and printer sharing on or off. To start the Network Setup Wizard, click Start, click Control Panel, click Network and Internet Connections, and then click Network Setup Wizard.
If you both use the same computer

You can put the files you want to share in the Shared Documents folder. Files stored in the Shared Documents folder or its subfolders are always available to other users on your computer.

Step-by-step procedure
Note

If you are connected to a network domain, the Shared Documents, Shared Pictures, and Shared Music folders are not available.
If both computers are on the same network

You can share a folder or drive on your computer with others on the network. You can also control whether the files in the shared folder can be modified by other users.

If your computer is connected to a network domain, use this procedure:

Step-by-step procedure
If your computer is connected to a workgroup, use this procedure:

Step-by-step procedure
Note

If you are connected to a network domain, you will need to set the Access control for the folder or drive after sharing it. For more information, go to To set, view, change, or remove file and folder permissions.
If you want to share your files online

You can publish pictures and documents on the Web using the Web Publishing Wizard. The files will be stored in a private, online folder that you manage.

Step-by-step procedure

If you don't want others to access your files

You can prevent other users from accessing your folders and the files they contain. When your computer is connected to a domain, this is called setting permissions for your file or folder. When your computer is connected to a workgroup, this is called making your folders private.

If your computer is connected to a network domain, use this procedure:

Step-by-step procedure
If your computer is connected to a workgroup, use this procedure:

Step-by-step procedure

'HELP' it can be your friend *Smile