How to Copy and Backup Files without Admin Rights

"You'll need to provide administrator permission to copy this file/folder" error has occurred to many people in Windows 10/8/7. Most ordinary users may do not know what's going on with their computer or devices when this error message pops on.

Effective methods are available here to help:

Workable Solutions	Step-by-step Troubleshooting
Method 1. Copy Files Without Admin Rights in 3 steps	You can copy or backup files and folders without administrator permission by using Qiling Backup...Full steps
Method 2. Fix Error and Copy Files	Fix "Need administrator permission to copy this file/folder" error in three steps and copy files...Full steps

Windows 10 asks me for administrator permission when I tried to copy files, help!

"'You'll need to provide administrator permission to copy this file/folder' error message kept popping up when I tried to copy and backup files from my Windows 10 computer to an external hard drive.

I thought that I might have connected the external hard drive to the computer in a wrong way that caused the file copying failure. So I reconnect the external hard drive to the computer via a new USB port and retry to copy files again, still get the same notice for asking admin rights. So how can I backup and copy files without admin rights? And is it possible to fix the Windows keeps asking admin rights issue on my own?"

Method 1. Copy Files Without Admin Rights

If you are urgent, and you want to copy or backup files and folders right now on your computer. But the system won't allow you to do so, keeping asking you for administrator permission.

Install and use the best Windows backup and recovery software as a quick fix to copy and backup your files to the target storage device in only three steps:

Free Download

Step 1: Open Qiling Backup and select "File" as the backup mode.

You may have a large amount of vital data to be protected as time goes on, such as documents, pictures, music, and videos, etc. It is always a good habit to have a backup on a regular basis. File Backup is one of the best choices for you to get over unexpected data loss.

Step 2: Select the files that you want to back up.

Tick the option at the top left corner named User Defined, you can browse to back up one or some specific file types on your computer or external storage device.

Step 3: Select a destination to save your backup file.

You'd better create the backup file in some other storage media or in some other drive. If not, there may be a risk of the backup file getting corrupted or destroyed.

Step 4: Click "Proceed" to execute your operation.

Then all you need is to wait for the process to complete and then you'll get all wanted files backed up and copied to target storage device.

Further Information: If you need to use the backed up files, you can use the Browse to Recover feature in Qiling Backup to recover the file image to a secure location and make use of them again.

Method 2. Fix "Need administrator permission to copy this file/folder" error and copy files

Mostly, when you are asked to provide the administrator permission or admin rights, you'll need to take the ownership of the folder or file to access or open it with below tips:

Step 1. Take the Ownership of a File or Folder

1. Open "Windows Explorer" and locate the file/folder, right-click on it and select "Properties".

2. Go to Security and click "Advanced", go to "Owner" tab.

3. If you want to change the owner to a user or group that is not listed: Click "Change" > "Other user and groups", and type the name of the user or group in "Enter the object name to select", then click "Check Names" > "OK".

4. If you want to change a user or a group that is listed:

Click new owner in the "Change" to box and make changes.

5. If you want to change the owner of all sub containers and objects within the tree: Select "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects" box.

Step 2. Turn off UAC or User Account Control

1. Right-click on the Windows icon and select "Search", type: control panel, and then click "Control Panel".

2. Select "Large icons" that are on the right panel under "View".

3. Locate and click on "User Account", click "Change User Accounts Control Settings".

4. Change to "Never notify" and click "OK".

5. Once you complete the process, change the slider to "Notify me only when programs try to make changes to my computer", click "OK" to keep all changes.

Step 3. Enable the Built-in Administrator Account

1. Right-click on the Windows icon and select "Search", type: command prompt and right-click on it, select "Run as administrator".

2. Click "Yes" to allow Command Prompt run on your PC.

3. Type: net user administrator /active:yes in command prompt and hit Enter.

After this, you can continue to try copy files without admin permission or admin rights without any problems by then.

Final Word

If you are an urgent user who wants to copy files to other storage devices but Windows doesn't allow you to do so without admin right, relax.

You can follow both Method 1 and Method 2 to quickly and thoroughly resolve this error with ease now.