Documents is not accessible. Access is denied

My Computer
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents is not accessible.
Access is denied.
OK

This error appears when attempting to access the Shared Documents folder (which appears to be renamed to “Documents”)

I recently had this problem on the main computer here at my home. This same problem prevented Adobe Acrobat 6.0 from working, and prevented a reinstall (or uninstall and install), as well.

I’ve finally found a fix. And it’s quite a simple one. Follow these steps.

1. Choose Start > Run, type %allusersprofile% in the Open box, and then click OK.

2. Right-click the Documents folder, and choose Properties.

3. Click the Sharing tab, and then unselect “Share This Folder on network” if it is selected. If it’s not selected, select it.

4. Apply. If you had to unselect the box in step 3, now select it again and Apply.

This causes the name of the folder to change to Shared Folder. This also allows Adobe Acrobat 6.0 to install.

Other helpful resources
support.microsoft.com
www.adobe.com

64 Responses to “Documents is not accessible. Access is denied”

  1. Collin says:

    Worked!!!!
    Thank you very much

  2. SETH ASANTE says:

    my problem is. i had a problem with my ntdetect file so i repaired the windows dy deleting the previous version of windows and copied new windows files. after that i cant access the previous windows documents even though i didnt format the drive. The issue is i same space for the files is occupied on the system meaning it is still on it. when i try to open from the document and settings folder it tells me that access denied.

    Can you please help me out. i need those files

  3. SETH ASANTE says:

    In any case if i scan with avg i see the files being scanned

  4. SETH ASANTE says:

    When i run the cursor on the folder too it tells me that folder empty

  5. Amit says:

    Many Thanks. I had the exact problem and your steps solved it in seconds.

  6. Angie says:

    Thank you very much. I have been fighting a week with this problem. Who would think something as simple as unchecking/checking the box again would fix the trouble. Much appreciated!

  7. Karen says:

    I would get the following when trying to save an .xls ssheet through our Open Office.org 3.0 which is on our network.,
    Error saving the document BP2009; Access to \\dhc399\c\bp\bp2009.xls was denied.
    Then
    Error saving the document BP2009: General Error. General input/output error.
    When I opened the doc at the offending pc it told me it was Read Only because it was being used by Calc.
    I searched the net, Google, Open Office support…there were lots of things similiar, but nothing exact and most much too advanced for me.
    So in a fit of frustration I shut the offending pc down, disconnected the power, waiting about 30 seconds, plugged it back in, started it up and waalaa! Everything was honkey dorey..
    Just had to share.

  8. Darshan says:

    Thank You indeed… your solution worked like a charm… Wonder what are the guys at adobe doing about this…

  9. liko says:

    Thank you it worked !!!

  10. Celia says:

    Thank you so much….

  11. flareplay says:

    You rock. Thanks!

  12. karthik says:

    wow super tips

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