All of a sudden I have locked folders and files on my system. How do I unlock folders?

Hi,

·          How did you lock the folders?

·          Did the issue happen with all the files and folders?

Step 1: Here is how you can take the ownership of files/folders

a.     Right-click the file or folder, and then click Properties.

b.     Click the Security tab.

c.     Click a user name or group under Group or user names.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/What-are-permissions

Step 2: Run the Fix it from http://support.microsoft.com/mats/windows_file_and_folder_diag/

 

Diana

Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

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Hey aniyunwiya,

It sounds like you do not have ownership over your folders. Follow this link here, the topic is a different one in this thread but refer to Samhrutha G's post and follow those steps.

 If you continue to have issues I suggest starting your own thread, this will help the community to better help you. Remember to include all the details on your system, any errors you are getting, and any steps you have tried already. 

Thanks!

New Thread Link

I actually found the problem, I did have ownership, but what had happened was my profile became corrupt some how.  Not only did I have the locks on my files and folders, but programs weren't responding the correct way or wouldn't load right. 
I created two new user accounts, one standard and one admin, then I copied all everything from my old user profile documents into my new one accept for the profile settings.  After I did that I went into my new profile and deleted the old profile.  Everything is working great now, no more locks and all the programs work again. With Windows 7 if you go to delete the old profile it will actually copy documents from your old profile to the desktop of the new profile if you allow it.  I did this manually however, just to ensure I didn't lose any pictures or music or projects I have or had been working on.  It takes longer doing it manually, but I did it that way just to ensure I didn't lose anything.