How to Reset NTFS Permissions, Files, and Folders to Default in Windows 11

Permissions that are incorrectly granted to user accounts can cause programs to be unable to access files or folders. And vice versa, this can lead to unauthorized people having access. Have you ever made a mistake when changing NTFS permissions for a file or folder and wanted to restore it to its defaults?

The standard file system of the Windows NT family of operating systems is NTFS. NTFS supports the concept of configurable permissions to allow or restrict access to files, folders, and other objects locally and over the network.

You don’t need to think about file and folder permissions in Windows because Windows will automatically set its permissions to prevent illegal access to files and folders. Access Control Lists (ACLs) are lists of users with rights that can be used to categorize permissions.

In windows, each file or folder gets permission from the parent folder.  You can set permissions for any file or folder. However, changing access permissions can cause problems, such as when you accidentally disable authorization on a file which can cause the system to become unstable.  This article will help you to Reset File and Folder Permissions to default.

NTFS permissions

NTFS (New Technology File System) permissions are permissions granted to files or folders in the Windows operating system that use the NTFS file system. These permissions define what a user or group of users can do on a specific file or folder, such as read, write, modify, or delete a file.

Each file or folder in NTFS has configurable permissions for a specific user or group of users. By setting permissions correctly, system administrators can ensure that only authorized users can access, read, or edit specific files or folders, and prevent unauthorized users from accessing or modifying sensitive or important data.

Examples of setting NTFS permissions on a file or folder include granting full permissions to the file owner, restricting specific user or group user permissions to read only the file or folder, or allowing multiple users to modify or delete specific files or folders.

NTFS Permission Types

How many types of NTFS permissions can be configured on a file or folder in the Windows operating system:

1. “Read”: This permission allows a user or group of users to read the contents of a file or folder, but cannot modify or delete it.
2. “Write”: This permission allows a user or group of users to write or modify the contents of a file or folder, but cannot delete it.
3. “Modify”: This permission allows a user or group of users to read, write, and modify the contents of a file or folder, but cannot delete it.
4. “Full Control”: This permission grants full access to a file or folder, including the rights to read, write, modify, and delete it.
5. Read & Execute”: This permission allows a user or group of users to read the contents of a file or folder and execute any program or script contained therein.
6. “List Folder Contents”: This permission allows a user or group of users to view a list of files and folders contained in a folder, but cannot open or read the contents of the file or folder.
7. “Traverse Folder/Execute File”: This permission allows a user or group of users to browse the folder and execute the files or programs contained within it.
8. “Delete”: This permission allows a user or group of users to delete files or folders.

How to change file permissions and folders in Windows 11

Changing file and folder permissions in Windows 11 is a sensitive action and needs to be done carefully. Make sure you only provide the necessary permissions to avoid unwanted data damage or loss.

1. In File Explorer, Right-click on the file or folder you want to change permissions for, then select “Properties”.
2. Select the “Security” tab.
3. Click the “Advanced” button located at the bottom of the window.

4. At the top of the “Advanced Security Settings” window, make sure that the user or group of users for whom you want to change permissions is listed in the list.
5. Click the “Add” button to add a new user or user group if it is not already registered.

6. In the new dialog box that appears, click “Select a principal” and enter the name of the user or group of users you want to add.  Then click “Check Names” to make sure that the name is correct and can be found by the system.
7. After the user or user group is added to the list, click “OK” to return to the “Advanced Security Settings” window.

8. As for changing user permissions, select the user or user group for which you want to change permissions, then click the “Edit” button.

9. In the “Permission Entry for…” window, click the dropdown button on the permission type to select the option “Allow” to grant permission, or “Deny” to deny permission.
10. Select the type of permission you want to grant or change, for example, “Read & Execute”, “Modify”, or “Full Control” by checking it.
11. Click “OK” to save the new permission settings.

12. When finished, click “Apply” and “OK” to close the “Properties” window.

How to Reset File and Folder Permissions to Default in Windows 11

To reset NTFS permissions, files, and folders, you can use built-in Windows tools such as “icacls” and “secedit”. This tool also has a feature where you can reset file permissions in folders and sub-folders, recursively.

With the tool, you can reset to default permissions or inherit from the parent folder if NTFS permissions fall apart. To use it, you need admin permissions to run commands.

How to Reset File and Folder Permissions with “icacls”

1. Open “Command Prompt (CMD)” and run it as administrator.
2. Type the following command and press Enter to take ownership of the folder tree before rearranging it. Otherwise, you will receive an “access is denied” error.

To take ownership of the file, run the command:

takeown /F “path_filename”

To take ownership of the folder, run the command:

takeown /F “path_foldername” /R

3. Click Yes, if you are prompted to replace directory permissions with permissions that give you Full Control.
4. Then to reset the permissions of the file or folder, type the following command and press Enter.

To reset a file or folder:

icacls “path_filename or_ foldername” /reset

Examples for resetting individual files or folders:

icacls d:\bardimin /reset 
icacls d:\bardimin\myfile.txt /reset

Example to reset all files in a folder:

icacls d:\bardimin\* /reset

5. As for resetting NTFS permissions for a folder, its subfolders, and all files recursively, use the following command:

icacls “path_ foldername” /t /q /c /reset
icacls d:\bardimin /t /q /c /reset

How to Reset File and Folder Permissions with  “secedit”

1. Open “Command Prompt (CMD)” and run it as administrator.
2. Type the following command to reset Windows security policies to the default configuration:

secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\inf\defltbase.inf /db defltbase.sdb /verbose

3. Wait until the process is complete, this can take a few minutes.  You may get some warnings, but you can safely ignore them.

Once the process is complete, file and folder permissions should have been reset to the default configuration. Be sure to back up important files and folders before performing the permission reset process, as this process can remove permissions that may have been previously assigned.