windows 11 admin problems on external drive


B

badgerdiddy

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11:15 PM
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6
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windows 11
I have admin rights on my PC, but I have a 2Tb external drive connected, with hundreds of films on it which I want to delete.

But although I have admin rights, and the parent directory is fully accessible, I am finding I have to go into the specific sub directory, (of which there are 100's), and add 'full control' to separately, and it is hit and miss if it is allowed.
So even if I am allowed to change the rights to full control, I can then delete, but most of them this option is greyed out with the error, I have no admin rights to make changes.
I would have thought that if I have admin rights in the parent directory, this would be enough. It is very frustrating having to do about 5 mouse clicks to delete one directory/file, when there are so many.
Can anyone suggest something I can try, that I haven't already, thanks in advance.
 

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windows 11
OS
windows 11
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Dell Latitude 7480
Could you just format it and get rid of everything? If there are files you wish to keep move them to another disk and then format.
 

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I did think about doing this but I have other files that I want to keep, and hiving them off I get the same admin issue.
I even tried to move the folders to my local drive, but it said I needed admin rights to move them.
Basically, my own PC, is telling me I cannot move, delete or copy my own files, because I am not allowed
very frustrating
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

windows 11
OS
windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell Latitude 7480
badgerdiddy said:
I did think about doing this but I have other files that I want to keep, and hiving them off I get the same admin issue.
I even tried to move the folders to my local drive, but it said I needed admin rights to move them.
Basically, my own PC, is telling me I cannot move, delete or copy my own files, because I am not allowed
very frustrating
Click to expand...
Just take ownership of folders & files.
Use the .reg and merge it or use the command within the .reg file.
www.elevenforum.com

Add Take Ownership to Context Menu in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to add Take Ownership to the context menu of all files, folders, and drives for all users in Windows 10 and Windows 11. This will allow you to be able to instantly take ownership of a file, folder (and all contents), or drive (and all contents) by changing the...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
 

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    Seagate 1 TB
if you right-click on the drive in File Explorer and select properties......security see which users have full control.

1741357791463.webp

Then edit and give users or admins full control
 

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    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.8655AMD Ryzen 7 5825U with Radeon Graphics16GB
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    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.8655
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    Acemagic LX15PRO
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5825U with Radeon Graphics
    Memory
    16GB
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    1920 x 1080
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    SSD 2TB
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    30 Mbps
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    Brave
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    System 3

    Acer Swift SF114-34 laptop
    OS Windows 11 Pro 26200.8524
    CPU Pentium Silver N6000
    RAM 4GB
    SSD Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD 2TB (an upgrade)

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.2506Atom N450 1.66GHz2GB
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    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.2506
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    HP Mini 210-1090NR PC (bought in late 2009!)
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    Atom N450 1.66GHz
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this is the problem
I already have full control on the parent directory, so I would have thought this would be enough

1741358431357.webp
 

My Computer My Computer

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windows 11
OS
windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell Latitude 7480
Remove full control, click OK then add it back and click OK. Or try OAT's method in post # 4.
 

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System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.8655AMD Ryzen 7 5825U with Radeon Graphics16GB
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.8655
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acemagic LX15PRO
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5825U with Radeon Graphics
    Memory
    16GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD 2TB
    Internet Speed
    30 Mbps
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot Secure Anywhere
    Other Info
    System 3

    Acer Swift SF114-34 laptop
    OS Windows 11 Pro 26200.8524
    CPU Pentium Silver N6000
    RAM 4GB
    SSD Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD 2TB (an upgrade)

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.2506Atom N450 1.66GHz2GB
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.2506
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Mini 210-1090NR PC (bought in late 2009!)
    CPU
    Atom N450 1.66GHz
    Memory
    2GB
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot
I tried that, and it didn't work, and gives me an admin error for every sub folder underneath the parent.
 

My Computer My Computer

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windows 11
OS
windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell Latitude 7480
Well, who has full control for the sub-folders?
 

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    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.8655AMD Ryzen 7 5825U with Radeon Graphics16GB
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    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 26200.8655
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acemagic LX15PRO
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5825U with Radeon Graphics
    Memory
    16GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD 2TB
    Internet Speed
    30 Mbps
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot Secure Anywhere
    Other Info
    System 3

    Acer Swift SF114-34 laptop
    OS Windows 11 Pro 26200.8524
    CPU Pentium Silver N6000
    RAM 4GB
    SSD Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD 2TB (an upgrade)

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.2506Atom N450 1.66GHz2GB
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.2506
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Mini 210-1090NR PC (bought in late 2009!)
    CPU
    Atom N450 1.66GHz
    Memory
    2GB
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot
I thought I did, by having control of the parent, but maybe not
I have been called away, I will have to get back to this later
but thanks for all your help so far
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

windows 11
OS
windows 11
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Dell Latitude 7480
badgerdiddy said:
I tried that, and it didn't work, and gives me an admin error for every sub folder underneath the parent.
Click to expand...
In the Properties for the external drive click the Advanced button.

1741363743430.webp

Click 'Change Permissions', tick the box for 'Replace all child object permission entries with inheritable permission entries from this object' and apply.

1741363798106.webp
 

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    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
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    Windows 11 Home
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    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
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    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
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    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
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    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
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    0T6M8G
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    8GB
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    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
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