Microsoft KB Archive/298345

= Error message when you try to delete a file in Windows XP: &quot;Access is denied&quot; =

Article ID: 298345

Article Last Modified on 12/18/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows XP Professional
 * Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

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This article was previously published under Q298345





SYMPTOMS
When you try to delete a file, you may receive the following error message:

Cannot delete : Access is denied.

Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.

However, the disk is neither full nor write-protected, and no one else is using the file.



CAUSE
This behavior can occur if you do not have the permissions that are required to delete the file under the NTFS file system.



RESOLUTION
To resolve this behavior, select from the following methods.

Method 1: Make sure that you are using an administrator account to perform this task
For information about how to add an administrator account and to give administrator access to non-administrator accounts at a stand-alone computer, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/winxp/accounts.mspx

Method 2: Ask the administrator to grant the necessary permissions
For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

308419 How to set, view, change, or remove special permissions for files and folders in Windows XP

Note If the problem persists, you might want to ask someone for help or contact support. For information about how to contact support, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/

