Windows 10: How to restore files without losing permissions

I am restoring files from a backup external hard drive after resetting my PC. I have Windows 10 Home. First, let me be very clear about what I am NOT asking for:I do not seek advice on how to revert permissions back to me.Rather, my question is, how do I import/restore files from an external hard drive so that I do not lose permissions in the first place. I have thousands of folders and tens of thousands of files. It is not feasible for me to change permissions one at a time. I am also uninterested in any kind of "volume" or "mass" permission change function. I want these files to be restored

:)

 

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.

 

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?

 

No permissions

Hi,

I would suggest you to right click on the user's folder for your profile and check if the permissions shows as "read only'. If this is the case, it might be causing the issue. In this case, I would suggest you to go to C:\User folder, right click on the
folder with your username and follow these steps:

• Open the properties of the main user profile folder where the files are located (such as Documents, Pictures, etc).
  
• Go to the Security tab and click Advanced.
• Check the box at the bottom of this window. It is labeled "Replace all child object permissions with inheritable permissions from this object" and then click Ok.
  

This does a one-time action that replaces the security on all the files/subfolders. It’s one-time, so you won’t find that box checked if you peek at it later. Try these steps and let us know the results for further assistance.