You do not have access to folders or to files after you upgrade the computer to Windows Vista

Consider the following scenario:

• In a version of a Microsoft operating system that is earlier than Windows Vista, you create two users, User A and User B.
• You add the two users to the local Administrators group.
• You use the User A account to log on to the computer, and then you create a new folder. For example, you create Folder F. Then, you add files or subfolders to Folder F.
• You grant Read access to Folder F only to the User A account.
• You log off the computer, and then you use the User B account to log on to the computer.
• You upgrade the computer to Windows Vista.
• You use the User A account to log on to the computer.

In this scenario, the User A account no longer has Read access to Folder F.

This problem occurs because the user account that you use to log on to the computer and to upgrade the computer to Windows Vista has credentials with insufficient access. This prevents the installation process from reading the access control entries (ACEs) of certain objects. Therefore, these ACEs are not migrated to Windows Vista. Additionally, the ACEs appear to be reset in Windows Vista. Therefore, the user no longer has access to these folders and files.

To resolve this problem, add the ACEs back to the folders and to the files after you upgrade the computer to Windows Vista. To do this, follow these steps.

Note To perform this procedure, you must use a user account that has administrator rights to log on to the computer.

1. In Windows Vista, right-click the folder for which you want to reset the Read permission, and then click Properties.
2. Click the Security tab, and then click Edit.
   
   
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   If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.
3. Click Add to add the user account for which you want to set permissions.
4. In the Groups or user names list, click the user account for which you want to set permissions.
5. Click to select the appropriate check boxes for the permissions that you want to grant, and then click OK two times.