I cannot save on my Desktop

Hello,

I've started facing an issue very recently without any reason, as I've not made any changes.

I cannot save a file on my Desktop.

So, for example, I open Notepad and type something. Then I go to File/Save and select to save it on my Desktop. I am getting a message saying:
"You don't have permission to save in this location. Contact the Administrator to obtain permission. Would you like to save in the Documents folder instead?"

Similarly, if I take a screenshot and try to save it on my Desktop, I am getting the same message, saying: "Would you like to save in the Pictures folder instead?"

- Why is it happening and how can I fix it?

I am the only person using this laptop.

Thank you

Hello again,

I think I've resolved the issue by doing the following:

Allow Full Control:
Right-click on the folder where you’re trying to save the file.
Go to “Properties.”
Under the “Security” tab, click on “Edit” to change permissions.
Select the administrator user from the “Group or user names” section.
Put a tick mark on “Allow” for “Full Control.”
Apply the changes and click "OK"

Another way is to run each application as Administrator.

Thank you

Other custom folders - Music, Pictures, etc. are available ?
Windows Terminal as Admin
Get-Acl C:\Users\<your_name> | FL

Hi, yes, I've just saved a Word document on my Pictures Folder, it seems to work now

What does the command you suggest do? :)

You should run scan sfc/now to fix permissions and repair corrupted files and then reboot when when done.

Does the issue reoccur on login? If not, considered it solved.

If it hasn't been fixed, you'll need to reset your PC and do an in place upgrade. Good luck!

NormanF said:

You should run scan sfc/now to fix permissions and repair corrupted files

Click to expand...

Just to be clear for anyone reading this, SFC deals strictly with system files/folders. It does absolutely nothing to user files/folders.

In my experience, SFC has not fixed any messed up permissions on system files/folders either, though it can fix file corruption in system files. If somehow one's system file permissions get screwed up to the point one can not easily manually change to the correct permissions , I suggest a repair install which will fix all system permissions to what they should be.

If a user has permission issues on his personal files/folders, one has to do as the OP did and manually change those permissions. Dependent on how badly user permissions get messed up, many times I've found it is much easier to create a new user account to straighten them out completely.

@Glasskutter
I have on occasion tweaked a few permissions hoping to either allow or correct an issue. I have used it sparingly and was careful.
One question I have is this: Assuming mistakes are made while tweaking permissions, is it possible to look at an unaltered profile of the same type you are tweaking and then set the changed ones to be the same as the unaltered profile? Just curious. Thank you.,

Follow this tutorial to add the reset permissions context menu and then use it on your desktop folder under c:\users\yourusername\

MachineLanguage said:

Assuming mistakes are made while tweaking permissions, is it possible to look at an unaltered profile of the same type you are tweaking and then set the changed ones to be the same as the unaltered profile? Just curious.

Click to expand...

I don't think there is a cut and dried answer to that question. IMO Possibly but not necessarily. It would depend on the circumstances and exactly what was tweaked. We've seen cases here where a user attempted to take control of one of Windows folders (and even Windows itself) and ended up royally screwed up as not all the files have the same permissions or ownership.

My opinion is based on what I have encountered in the past and not by any great knowledge of ownership and permissions. There are users here that know a lot more than me about it. Regarding user files, I am much freer to use the "take ownership" option I've added to my context menu.
But when it comes to system files, I'm a "better safe than sorry" user. While I have on a very rare occasion TEMPORARILY changed ownership on a Trusted Installer file before, my general rule of thumb is to not mess where I shouldn't be messin'. But that's just me. If I'm gonna mess with permissions in any way, I make darn sure I have a current image to restore if I mess up.

andrew129260 said:

tutorial to add the reset permissions context menu

Click to expand...

Good to know about that tutorial. Thanks. But Brink says in the remarks it does not apply when one has taken ownership (which is what we see most about in the threads here where one has taken ownership where he shouldn't have.) So the tutorial wouldn't help in those cases.
If I'm wrong in my understanding of that, someone please let me know.

Hello again,

I think I've resolved the issue by doing the following:

Allow Full Control:
Right-click on the folder where you’re trying to save the file.
Go to “Properties.”
Under the “Security” tab, click on “Edit” to change permissions.
Select the administrator user from the “Group or user names” section.
Put a tick mark on “Allow” for “Full Control.”
Apply the changes and click "OK"

Another way is to run each application as Administrator.

Thank you

Click to expand...

True, the wrong folder permission was the reason for this problem. Have you run any Apps or commands prior you see the problem that changed the default folder permission?

@andrew129260 Though this is a 2022 tutorial, look what Brink just put in the latest tutorial section.

@glasscuter
Thank you. I usually try to err on the safe side. Not a big fan of haviong to repair errors of my own doing.