An error occurred applying attributes to the file

Do you get an error message that says, “An error occurred applying attributes to this file?” This error usually appears when a user tries to access a file or folder on your PC or a shared domain. In this guide, we will provide you with effective solutions to overcome this issue. Keep

What’s Triggering the ‘Error Applying Attributes’ Restriction on My Computer?

Several factors can lead to this error. They include:

• You Don’t Have the Permission to Modify the File: You might not have full control of the file or folder, and that is why the error message pops up. You can modify your permissions to take full control and be able to access the file without further setback.
• The File is Encrypted: The file you are trying to open or make changes to might be protected with an encryption certificate. Now, the only way to access it is to get the certificate from the user that initiated the encryption.
• You Don’t Have Ownership of the File: This can be remedied via the file’s properties. You can easily take ownership and be able to modify the file.
• Your System Files are Corrupt: System file corruption can cause a myriad of issues on Windows, including the error you are currently facing. You can try using the System File Checker (SFC) and Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) command-line tools to verify the integrity of your system files. When all else fails, consider performing a repair install or a clean install of the OS.

Let’s go ahead and learn how to correct the ‘An Error occurred while applying attributes to a file’ issue.

How to Fix Windows 10 Error Applying Attributes

These are the solutions you need to apply:

1. Modify the file’s permissions and take full control
2. Take ownership of the file
3. Check whether the file was encrypted by another user
4. Copy the file from the old location
5. Create a new user account
6. Run the System File Checker and Deployment Image Servicing and Management utilities
7. Repair install Windows 10

Let’s get started.

Fix 1: Modify the File’s Permissions and Take Full Control

Even as an administrator, you might not have the permission to modify certain files and folders on Windows. But you can get around that by taking full control. Here’s how:

1. Go to the file you are having trouble accessing. Right-click on it and click on Properties in the context menu.
2. When the Properties box opens, switch to the Security tab.
3. Select ‘Administrators’ in the ‘Group or user names’ field.

Note: If your user account is not an admin account, then select your username in the ‘Group or user names’ field instead.

1. Click the Edit button to change the permissions.
2. When the Permissions box opens, mark the ‘Allow’ checkbox associated with Full Control.
3. Click the Apply button.
4. You might be prompted by User Account Control to confirm the action. Click Yes to proceed.

Once you’ve completed the steps, you will now be able to access the file without the error popping up again. However, if the issue reoccurs, proceed to the next solution below.

Fix 2: Take Ownership of the File

Some users reported that they encountered this error after upgrading their OS. The reason is because some files got migrated from the previous version of Windows and the system denies access to them. However, it can be easily fixed. Follow the steps below to get it done:

1. Go to the file that’s triggering the error message. Right-click on it and click on Properties in the context menu.
2. When the Properties box opens, switch to the Security tab.
3. Click the Advanced button at the bottom of the box. Doing so will bring up the Advanced Security Settings box.
4. Click the Change link on Owner.
5. When the ‘Select User or Group’ box opens, type “Everyone” (no quotes) in the ‘Enter the object name to select’ field. Then, click the Check Names button. Once the entry is validated, you will now have ownership of the file.

Note: If you don’t want to give every user on your PC ownership, then type your account name into the ‘Enter the object name to select’ field instead and then click Check Names to validate it.

1. Click the Apply button to save the modification.

After you’ve completed the procedure shown above, try performing the action that triggered the ‘An error occurred while applying attributes to the file’ error. See if the issue will come up again.

Fix 3: Check Whether the File Was Encrypted by Another User

It’s possible that the file you are seeing the error message on was encrypted by another user to protect it from unauthorized access. You can check to confirm if this is the case. Follow the steps below:

1. Go to the problematic file and right-click on it. Then, click on Properties in the context menu.
2. Under the General tab of the Properties box, click the Advanced button.
3. Once the Advanced Attributes box opens, direct your attention to the ‘Compress or Encrypt attributes’ section and see if the ‘Encrypt contents to secure data’ checkbox is marked.

If ‘Encrypt contents to secure data’ is enabled, that means that the file is encrypted. The only way you can access the file is to get the encryption certificate from the person who encrypted it.

Fix 4: Copy the File from the Old Location

After a Windows upgrade, the files that survive the previous version of Windows are stored in the Windows.old directory. So, in order to get past the ‘An error occurred applying attributes to the file’ error, here’s what you have to do:

1. Open File Explorer. You can do this by pressing the Windows + E keyboard combination.
2. Open your Local Disk (C :).
3. Locate Windows.old and open it.
4. Open the Users folder.
5. Double-click on the folder that bears your username.
6. Go to the file that’s triggering the ‘Error occurred applying attributes’ error message. Right-click on the file and copy it.
7. Paste the file in any other location on your computer. You can now try accessing it.

Fix 5: Create a New User Account

A corrupt user profile can cause Windows to deny you access to your files and folders. You can create a new account to confirm whether that is the case in your situation. Follow the steps below to get it done:

1. Press the Windows + I combination on your keyboard to open Settings.
2. Click on Accounts when the Settings app opens.
3. Click on Family & Others in the left pane.
4. Click the ‘Add someone else to this PC’ option on the right-hand side of the page.
5. Select the option that says, ‘I don’t have this person’s sign-in information.
6. Click on the ‘Add a user without a Microsoft account’ option.
7. Enter a username and password for the new account.
8. Click Next.

After creating the new account, switch to it and see if the error will occur again. If it doesn’t, consider migrating to the new user account.

Fix 6: Run the System File Checker and Deployment Image Servicing and Management Utilities

To check whether your system files are healthy, and to repair them if they are not, run the following command-line tools:

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Type “Command Prompt” (no quotes) into the search box and right-click on the option from the search results.
3. Click on Run as Administrator.
4. Click Yes when the User Account Control prompt pops up.
5. When the Command Prompt (Admin) window opens, copy and paste the following command and press Enter to run it:

DISM.exe  /Online  /Cleanup-image  /Restorehealth

1. Wait for the scan to complete. It might take a while to do so.
2. After the DISM command is done, it’s time to run System File Checker:

Sfc /scannow

1. When the SFC scan is done, close the Command Prompt (Admin) window and restart your computer.

After you’ve completed the SFC and DISM scans, try accessing the problematic file again. See if the ‘An error occurred applying attributes to the file’ message will appear again.

Pro Tip: It is ideal to run a deep scan for malware, spyware, and viruses before proceeding to repairing your system files. If some malicious items have invaded your system, then it’s likely that they are responsible for the corruption of your system files. Failing to remove those threats will leave your system open to further damage.

We suggest you use Auslogics Anti-Malware to detect and eliminate stubborn threats from your PC. The program is designed not to conflict with any existing security program you may already have on your system. It is easy to use and is capable of arresting and safely removing malicious items that are deeply hidden in your system.

Fix 7: Repair Install Windows 10

Is the ‘An error occurred applying attributes to the file’ message still popping up? If so, consider doing an in-place upgrade of Windows or a clean install.

If you decide to do a clean install, you may want to back up your personal data first. An in-place upgrade, on the other hand, will repair Windows components without removing your apps, files, media, documents, and other personal items on your PC.

Conclusion

In this guide, we discussed how to fix the ‘An error occurred applying attributes to the file’ message that pops up when you try accessing a file on your PC. We talked about the various reasons why this issue might occur and provided effective solutions to resolve them.

If you have any questions or further suggestions, please feel free to share them with us in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you.  Let us know the solutions that worked for you.

Don’t forget to check out our blog for more informative posts.

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1. Download and install the repair tool here.
2. Let it scan your computer.
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If you encounter an error when applying attributes to a file, don’t panic. Solving this problem is not difficult. This error can occur because the file or folder does not belong to the active user, the file is encrypted, etc.

When you try to open some files hosted locally or on a shared domain, you may get an error message “An error occurred while applying attributes to the file”. Regardless of which action you choose in this prompt, it will return the next time you try to open the file again.

You can read this article to find out the cause and get effective methods to solve this problem.

Not enough permissions: It turns out that the problem can also occur in a situation where the user needs to change some attributes, but the currently configured permissions are not enough. If this scenario applies, you can easily solve the problem by opening the Properties window and adjusting the permissions.

The file or folder does not belong to the active user: In most cases, this error message appears because the active user is not authorized to manage the file. This usually happens after migrating to Windows 10, when the user wants to back up old files. In this case, the problem can be solved by assigning a folder.

Damaged system files: Damaged files are another likely culprit for this error. In this case, the problem can be solved by resetting all operating system components. You can either perform a clean installation or save your personal data by performing a restore installation (in-place update).

The file was encrypted: If you received the file as an email attachment or downloaded it from the Internet, you may receive an error message because the file is encrypted.

In this case, you can solve the problem by asking the owner of the file to issue an encryption certificate so that you can open the file.

How to solve the “Error Applying Attributes to the File” problem in Windows

Check if the file or folder is encrypted

Encryption protects files and folders from unwanted access. You cannot open an encrypted file/folder without an encryption certificate, but you can check if it is encrypted as follows:

1. Right-click on the file or folder.
2. Click Properties.
3. Click the General tab.
4. Click the Advanced button.
5. Make sure the Encrypt content to save data check box is selected.
6. If so, you must obtain the certificate that was used for encryption to open the file or folder.
7. If you do not have a certificate, obtain one from the person who created or encrypted the file or folder, or ask them to decrypt the file or folder.

Launch the Microsoft Safety Scanner

Microsoft Safety Scanner is a tool to find and remove malware on Windows computers. It only scans when you run it manually and then you can use it for 10 days after you download it.

However, it does not replace your malware protection program. It removes the malware causing the problem from your Windows 10 computer.

1. Download and open the tool.
2. Select the type of scan you want to run
3. Start scanning
4. Check the scan results on the screen that lists all the malware detected on your computer.

Make sure you have the proper permissions

File and folder access issues, such as Windows 10 attribute application errors, may be related to permissions that determine whether you can access or modify files and folders.

1. Right-click a file or folder, and then select Properties.
2. Click on the Security option
3. Under Group or user names, click on your name to see what permissions you have.

To open a file, you must have read permission. To change the permissions of a file or folder, follow these steps (to change file and folder permissions, log in as an administrator):

1. Right-click the file or folder, and then select Properties.
2. Click the Security button.
3. Under Group or username, click your name to see the permissions you have.
4. Click Change, select your name, check the boxes for the permissions you want, and then click OK.

Create a new account

If your user profile is corrupt, Windows may deny you access to files or folders. So you must use a new user profile by first creating a local user account, which in turn creates a user profile.

1. Click Start and select Settings.
2. Select Accounts.
3. Click on Family and Others.
4. Click on Add another person to this PC
5. Fill out the form with your username and password.
6. Your new user account will be created.
7. Click on Change Account Type
8. Click on the drop-down arrow to set the account to the local user level.
9. Restart your computer.
10. Log in to the newly created account and see if you can access the file or folder.

If the problem disappears, it could mean that your other user profile is corrupt. If your user profile is corrupt, you can try the following:

1. On the new account, switch to your regular account.
2. Click Apply or OK.
3. Reset the old account to the default administrator level
4. Rinse and repeat the process several times to remove the corruption.
5. Leave your account as an administrator

Capturing a file or folder

Usually, the Windows 10 “Attribute Capture” error message appears because you don’t have proper permissions or the file is encrypted. When you update Windows 10 from previous versions, some account information may change, which will result in denial of access or ownership because you may no longer own certain files or folders.

1. Right-click the folder you want to take ownership of.
2. Select Properties.
3. Click the Security tab.
4. Click the Advanced button.
5. Click the Edit button. When prompted to enter or confirm the administrator password, enter or confirm the password.
6. Enter the name of the person to whom you want to transfer the asset.
7. Click Verify Names.
8. The name of the account of the person to whom you are assigning the property is displayed.
9. Click OK.
10. If you want this person to be the owner of the files and subfolders contained in this folder, select the Replace owner in the subfolders and items check box.
11. Click OK.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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The “Failed to apply attributes to file” problem occurs to some Windows users when they try to open certain files hosted locally or in a shared domain. Whatever action you choose in this request, the error message will be returned the next time you try to open the file again.

Become the owner of the file

First, you can try to become the owner of the file to eliminate the “An error occurred while applying attributes to the file” error. You can find a quick tutorial here.

Step 1: Open explorer and find the folder or file where this error occurs.

Step 2: Right-click the folder or file and select Properties.

Step 3: Click the “Security” tab, click the “Advanced” button, and then click “Change”.

Step 4: When the “Select User or Group” window appears, go to “Enter object name” to select and enter “All”. Click “Verify Names” to view the “All” category.

Step 5: Click OK to save your new changes.

After that, reopen the folder or file that is causing the error and see if the same problem persists.

Configure permissions

To solve this problem, you can adjust the permissions for the file or folder that is not working with this particular error. You can find a quick guide here.

Step 1: Open explorer and find the file or folder where the error occurred.

Step 2: Right-click the folder or file and select Properties.

Step 3: Click the “Security” tab, click the “Advanced” button, then click “Change…”.

Step 4: Check the “Allow full access” checkbox and click “Apply” to save your changes.



Check if the file is encrypted

1. You need to right-click the file again and select “Properties”.
2. Click the “General” tab.
3. Then click “Advanced”.
4. In the “Advanced Attributes” window, uncheck the “Encrypt content to save data” box. *
5. Then click “OK”.

If the “Encrypt content to back up data” checkbox is checked but you cannot uncheck it, ask the original owner of the file to release the encryption certificates. Once the encryption certificates are installed, you can access the files.

Create a new user account

If your user profile is corrupt, Windows may prevent you from accessing files or folders. Thus, you need to use a new user profile by first creating a local user account, which in turn creates a user profile.

To create a local user account:

• Click Start and select Settings.
• Select Accounts.
• Click Family & Others.
• Click Add this computer to another
• Fill out the form with your username and password. Your new user account will be created.
• Click Change Account Type.
• Click the drop-down list arrow to set the account to local user level.
• Restart your computer.

Log in to the new account you just created and see if you can access the file or folder.

If the problem is resolved, it could mean that your other user profile is corrupt. If your user profile is corrupt, you can try the following:

• Use it in your new account to downgrade your regular account
• Click Apply or OK.
• Restore your old account to the default administrator level
• Rinse and repeat several times, as this will help repair any damage.
• Leave your account activated as administrator

Let us know if any of these solutions helped solve the file permissions problem on your computer by leaving a comment below.

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