I have a Windows Server 2008 R2 box, which is set up as a very basic file server in a Workgroup environment. We have a single Shared folder, with subfolders for each department. For some reason all the file and folders permissions are messed up.
I get Access Denied messages all the time, even as Administrator, and several programs can't get to their files any more. Backups are also starting to fail due this.
I know the problem is permission related but don't know the best way to restore them to a default state. Attempting to grant Administtrator permissions also fails.
What do I do? Are there any tools available that can help to assist? Ideally, I'd like to wipe the slate clean, remove all permissions, and grant only Administrator full permissions. Then grant permissions on a per folder basis, one at a time.
Take ownership as administrator of the root of the share. Check the box that applies the ownership change to all subcontainers as well. After you're owner, you can set the permissions to whatever you want.
If you want a default set of permissions, just figure out whatever those are. Then tick the boxes that replaces all permissions on the child objects with inheritable permissions from the top-level folder, like this:
The files may be locked for editing.
to fix, either: