Cannot Rename Folders Or Files In Windows 10? Here’s What Can Do

To sort the contents of folders and folders themselves, we rename them. It is something that we do quite often and a task that we cannot do without. But, what if you can’t rename files and folders in Windows 10, something that many users have reported after trying to rename files and folders ever since they freshly installed Windows 10 or users who tried to upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 8.1.

In this blog, we will look at all the possible ways you can fix the issue.

1. Delete Autorun.inf

Some users have reported that they were not able to rename files and folders because of autorun.inf files. These are files which interfere with the functionalities of your system and cause issues; one such issue is not being able to rename folders and files. If that’s the case here are the steps using which you will be able to delete autorun.inf –

1. Open File Explorer and locate the folder that you want to rename
2. Head to the View tab and check Hidden items
3. If after checking Hidden items, you see autorun.inf files, delete them

2. Take The Ownership Of The Folder

If you can’t rename folders or files chances are you don’t have administrative privileges. For any action that you want to perform on a folder – rename, move, delete, etc., you should have the ownership of that particular folder. So to take ownership, follow the steps below –

1. Choose a folder that you want to gain access to
2. Right-click on your chosen folder and choose properties
3. Click on the Security tab. Under Groups or user names, you will be able to see groups and users on your computer who can access your chosen folder
4. Click on the Advanced button which you will be able to see at the bottom
5. When the Advanced Security Settings for your chosen folder opens, click on Change next to the Owner
6. In “Enter the object name to select” box, enter your desired group or username. Just to be sure that you are entering the correct group or username, you can type in the initials and then, click on Check Names

7. Press OK to save the changes
8. Make sure you check the Replace owner on subcontainers and objects after you have changed the owner name
9. Click OK

3. Fixing Corrupt/ Broken Registries

Broken or corrupt registry entries can interfere with the system functionalities. This could be one of the reasons why you are unable to rename folders and files in Windows 10.

You can either fix broken registry items manually or here’s an even easier and safer way to deal with registries and fix corrupt or broken registries. You can use a registry cleanup tool that can help you get rid of erroneous registries in Windows Registry in one click. One such tool is Super PC Care. Apart from helping remove junk files, malware and unwanted startup programs, it also helps scan and removes invalid registry items –

• It scans PC for invalid registries.

• Lists all invalid/ erroneous registries and fixes them with one click.

• For safety purposes, it even takes a backup of old registries which can be stored in the time of emergency too.

4. Check If You Are Logged In As An Administrator

Another way of checking if you have administrator privileges is by trying to log in as an administrator. If you have a single account on your system, you would have administrative privileges for most folders, but in case there are multiple accounts you may have to check if you are logged in as an administrator or not –

1. Open Settings by pressing Windows + I key together
2. Click on Accounts
3. In the search box on the left-hand panel, type Manage your account
4. A new window will open which will show your account info

5. Check If The File Or Folder Is In Use By Some Other Program Or Application –

Here’s something fundamental that you can check. If you can’t rename folders or files, quite possibly it is already in use. If that’s the case, make sure you close all the applications for once and then check if you can rename files and folders.

6. Fix The Issue Using The Taskmanager

Many users who have upgraded their Windows from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 have reported that they could not rename folders and files in Windows 10. Moreover, they even had issues in renaming multiple files as well. If a scenario like that persists with you can try the following fix –

1. Open the Task Manager by pressing ctrl + shift + ESC
2. Click on File and then click on Run New Task. Make sure that you have checked the option,” Create this task with administrative privileges.”
3. Type Powershell
4. In The prompt type the following command –

$manifest = (Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.WindowsStore).InstallLocation + '\AppxManifest.xml' ; Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $manifest

5. Close the Powershell window
6. Restart your PC

Wrapping Up

We hope we have been able to resolve the issue and you will now be able to rename files and folders without any hassles. If the blog has helped you, do share it with others who might be facing the same issues and give this blog a thumbs up. For more such content keep reading WeTheGeek blogs. Also, follow us on Facebook and YouTube.