Windows 10: Repeatedly losing permissions over files (ie. Steam, System files)

Hello,

I am new to this so please excuse my lack of forum knowledge.

A few weeks ago I noticed that I could no longer enter my PIN to log into my account. I immediately tried adding a new PIN from the "Sign-in Options" tab of "Settings" and was unable to do so. It would prompt me to verify my old PIN, after which the dialog window would close, my cursor would spin, followed by nothing happening. I found the most common solution was to delete the contents of the "Ngc" folder found in my Program Files. I was prompted to first gain Administrator privileges, which is odd because I am the only user and thus an administrator. But even after gaining permissions to the folder (which I knew exactly how to do in every way possible) it says I need permission from myself to make changes to the folder.

I will provide another example. After finding a few in-game bugs, I tried to delete a mod I had installed in The Witcher 3 - Wild Hunt but was unable to do so. Lo and behold I needed permission from myself to make changes to the folder.

This all literally happened overnight. I have tried rolling back updates, taking ownership, replacing inheritances, even factory resets will not work (it tells me that my computer was not able to be reset and that nothing was changed). I have dealt with this once before by creating a bootable USB, formatting my C: drive and reinstalling my OS, but apparently it was a short term fix because the exact same thing has happened once more.

Any advice would be much appreciated, but I consider myself pretty Windows savvy so I have probably tried most or all of the obvious fixes.

Many thanks.

:)

 

Random folders denying my permission.

If opening a file or folder gives you an error saying that you don't have the permission to view or edit this file, it could be that the file is encrypted, or you don't have the appropriate permission to open or edit it. Try to open or run the file as an
administrator and check if it will help. Keep in mind that the file you're accessing is from Steam app. In case the step that I provided didn't work, try to uninstall and reinstall the Steam application.

Important: Make sure that you are logged on as an administrator to change the permission on files and folders.

Let us know if this helps.

 

access permission problems with steam cilent





i always get this window whenever i try to move a folder that has been uninstalled with steam, but isn't actually uninstalled. this doesn't allow the steam client to do anything with it (etc. game updates, file verification)

the moment i uninstall any game file, i lose accessibility permissions to said file. i can delete it from the steamapps common folder directly, and it'll be gone. but the same issue as the problem i stated earlier would happen again.

using the secret administrator account doesn't help delete this ether, it doesn't have permission to it also, like the only user account i am using.

ive tried steam support, and they told me to ask for help here.

 

When you check - netplwiz - are you the only user and with admin rights?

You can also check "C:\Users" folder, for additional user accounts.

It is also possible, that your account has been corrupted.

 

Thank you for your response.

I have verified that I am the only user and also an administrator. If my account is corrupted, I might have some idea as to why. I have a school (.edu) email that by default is connected to a Microsoft account. I have used this to gain access to Microsoft Office and other complimentary services, namely OneDrive.

Anyway since my last band-aid fix (ie. format C: drive, then factory reset from USB) the same thing has happened again. If I reinstall the OS and only sign in using my school account, do you believe the problem might go away?