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Solve File Move, Delete, or Copy Errors

Fix File Permissions and Access Denied Errors

Below you will find the most common reasons for file move, delete, or copy issues.

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IMPORTANT:

1. Please bear in mind that our tools are used by millions of users and many large corporations. The delete, copy and move features are tested and 100% working. If files can not be deleted - that does not mean that the tool doesn't work. You will find the reason for that and the solution in the list below.

2. Our support is highly qualified and will provide proper advice for your issue. Do not ignore what the support suggests and follow the instructions strictly - they have solved millions of cases like yours.

If the application has reported a file operation error you can check the code here: File move, delete, and copy operation error codes

Common Move, Delete, Copy ISSUES

Common Move, Delete, Copy Solutions


DE_ACCESSDENIEDSRC 0x78 Security settings denied access to the source.

This error denotes that the files can not be manipulated because access is denied. The reasons for that could be several:

  1. Access Denied Because of Antivirus Applications


    In 99.99% of the cases when customers report such a problem it is caused by a poor antivirus application. We have seen examples of AVG, F-Secure, Bit Defender, Trend Micro, and other poor antivirus applications blocking access to files without even displaying a notification. A nonsense RANSOMWARE PROTECTION is more likely to kick in and block access to your files if you are trying to organize cloud storage folders like ONEDRIVE, Google Drive, or Dropbox.

    It does not matter if other applications can move the files or not. Those antivirus tools perform poorly and may block ONLY certain tools. Do not email our support with claims that if other applications are working then the issue is in our tools. That is not a correct statement - antivirus tools may block applications selectively based on poor detection logic. PLEASE CHECK THE ANTIVIRUS APPLICATION LOGS FIRST.

    Recommended solution:

    Check your antivirus application logs. Try to disable the antivirus application and retry the file move, copy, or delete action. Please note that in many cases it is not easy to disable your antivirus application. Those install services on your system - even if you close the antivirus tool or kill the user interface from task manager, it is still running in the background. You have to go into the antivirus application settings and explicitly DISABLE PROTECTION.

    If the copy, move, or delete operation succeeds you should report FALSE POSITIVE - INCORRECT DETECTION to your antivirus vendor, or just completely stop using it and switch to a better antivirus solution like NOD32.

    Most antivirus tools provide SAFE LIST or WHITE LIST where you can add our tool so that your antivirus application no longer prevents its normal operation.

  2. Access Denied Because of User Account Permissions


    Another reason for an ACCESS DENIED message could be that the user account which you use to start the tool does not have sufficient privileges to read, write, or delete the files. To fix this you should either start the tool with a user account that has sufficient privileges or provide such privileges to your current account. Try running the tool as Administrator - right-click the application and select "Run as Administrator". Please note that using an ADMINISTRATOR account does not mean that it has access to all files. For example, a local ADMINISTRATOR account may not have access to many network locations or access to files on an external hard drive.

    Recommended solution:

    What you have to do is go to the folder that contains the files that can not be modified, right-click that folder and switch to the SECURITY tab. There you will find the users and their permissions for the currently selected folder. Please note that if you want to apply changes you have to use the ADVANCED button in order to apply them to ALL SUBFOLDERS AND FILES. Modifying the security settings just for the top-level folder is not enough.

  3. Access Denied Because of Locked Files


    Access to a file may be blocked by other applications too. For example, if an application has opened a file for editing or viewing it may apply a FILE LOCK preventing other applications from accessing it.  Such an example is opening a file in Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop will lock the file and no other application can move, delete, or modify it until you close the file in Photoshop.

    Recommended solution:

    1. Close all running applications and retry the file operation in our tool.
    2. If the above does not help, save your results to a project file. Restart your computer, load the project file and retry the delete operation.
    3. If step 2. does not help then the cause may be a startup application. Some applications start when your computer starts. Such applications may have locked your files. Restart your computer in SAFE MODE, load the project and retry the file operation in our tool. In SAFE MODE only the system files are loaded and the system prevents non-essential applications from starting when the system starts.

  4. Access Denied Because of Read Only Media or Write Lock


    Access to a file may be blocked because it is located on a READ-ONLY media like a CD ROM or on a media which is locked for writing. For example, some SD cards have a WRITE lock switch that prevents writing/deleting files. Check if that is not the case.

    Recommended solution:

    Disable the write protection for the device if it has such. If the media is READ-ONLY like a CD-ROM (ROM is an abbreviation for Read Only Media) then you can not do anything about it. Such media can not be deleted or modified.

  5. Access Denied Because of File System Errors


    Check your file system for errors.

    Recommended solution:

    Run ScanDisk on the problematic location to check the drive for errors. Open Windows Explorer (File Explorer), go to My Computer and right-click the drive that you want to check. From the popup menu select Properties and switch to the Tolls tab and clock Check Now...

Why the copy, move, or delete operation freezes or is slow?

Such issues are usually caused by third party applications that have modified your system or have installed "copy hooks". Such problems may also be caused by poor antivirus applications. Please be informed that all our tools use native Windows file manipulation functions that are used by Windows Explorer. If you experience any issues they are definitely caused by third-party applications.

  1. Please make sure that a poor antivirus tool is not causing this problem. Stop (disable) the antivirus application and retry the delete operation. Make sure to check your antivirus application log files as it may silently block access to your files.
  2. If that is not the case most likely a poor tool has installed "copy hook" on your system that does not function properly or does not support multi-threading.
    Download and run this tool:
    http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shexview.zip
    http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shexview.html
    Sort the list by TYPE and find the Copy Hook Handler types in the list. Disable ALL non-Microsoft entries and retry the delete operation.
  3. If the above does not help make sure to check the startup applications in your system. Disable all startup applications and restart your computer and retry the delete operation.
  4. Try to restart in "Safe Mode" and retry the delete.