Backup and restore NTFS files permission with the ResetPermission utility

This is a follow up article to the popular article Resetting NTFS files permission in Windows – Graphical Utility.

In this article, I document the new feature in the ResetPermissions utility v1.1.5, where you can now backup and restore the NTFS files permissions.

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To access the Backup / Restore functionality, first, make sure you press on the “Advanced button”:

reset-permissions-backup-restore

After that, click “Backup permissions” and choose where you want to save the permissions file:

reset-permissions-backup-perms-dialog

After you select the location, press “Save”.

Wait! You are not done yet!

Like most of the options that are presented to you from the “Advanced” menu, you still have to press the “GO” button for the command to take effect:

reset-permissions-backup-command

 

Press “GO” and the files permissions will be backed up.

Note:

Only the files permissions are backed up. If you checked the “Take files ownership” when resetting the permissions, you cannot restore ownership information with “Restore permissions”

Now you may safely proceed to reset the files permissions and in case you have some errors, you can come back and choose the “Restore permissions” functionality instead and you are back to square one!

Click the download icon to download the utility:

Enjoy!

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8 Replies to “Backup and restore NTFS files permission with the ResetPermission utility”

  1. It’s only possible to download the utility from a link in another article. However, you don’t say that here. Rather than do that, however, it would help lots of people (probably) if you’d just post the link and password on this page as well, since (based on the page title) this is its rightful “home.”

  2. I’ve messed up my windows 10, when I was trying to gain access to some system files.
    (used commnds: takeown , icacls)
    Now when windows start: Taskbar hangs for ever before loading any tray or desktop icons.
    Nothing works but Alt+ctrl+del.
    Is there a way to fix my windows from recovery command prompt?

  3. What isn’t being said here is that the description ‘Reset Permissions’ is being used in the VERY TECHNICAL sense of Set/Reset.
    What this ResetPermissions appears to be doing is resetting permissions TO ZERO.
    ‘Set’ is technical term in this context for applying, invoking, adding, whereas ‘Reset’ is a term for removing, blanking, zeroing.
    Using ‘Reset’ with this tool REMOVES ANY RESTRICTIVE PERMISSIONS, apparently, putting our disks in a completely open state, nothing is governed by permission limitations – it certainly isn’t, I believe, putting permissions back to the way they were configured when created by Microsoft’s Windows installer.
    To a certain extent, therefore, the description of this tool is misleading.
    Searches brought me here when I asked how to reset permissions to their defaults. This tool doesn’t appear to do that. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
    It would be nice to have a ‘reference dictionary’ of original permissions that this program could use so that all permissions were returned to their ‘proper’ state.
    ZERO AWAY, if you will, but take care.

  4. I’m trying to reset the permissions on a hard drive connected to my router. Using RESET FILE PERMISSION 1.2.0, I check only Take File Ownership and Don’t Follow Links, and press GO.
    My computer give me an error, “Failed to get Command Text.”
    Can you help me regain control of my external hard drive?

    1. Hi Steve,

      I really don’t know why this error happens sometimes. What operating system you are using?

      Are you successfully running this program as an administrator?

      Workaround:
      1. Use the tool to formulate the command text
      2. Copy the command text by yourself
      3. Open an administrator command prompt
      4. Paste and execute the commands manually

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