Fix: Failed To Enumerate Objects In The Container Access IS Denied

The error message “Failed to Enumerate Objects in the Container” occurs while trying to change the permissions of a specific folder/file. Most of the time, it happens when there is a conflict within the files or due to misconfiguration. 

Users encounter this error when they are trying to change the permissions of a folder/file that is already shared by several users or obtained externally. Here, we are about to discuss the effective hacks through which you will be able to get rid of the problem. 

Easy Hacks to Fix ‘Failed To Enumerate Objects In The Container’ Error

There is a quick workaround to solve the ‘Failed to Enumerate Objects in the Container. Access is Denied’ error. You can perform the steps as follows: 

Change the Ownership of the Folder/File 

You can solve this error by changing the ownership of the folder/file. In order to do that, you can follow the steps stated below: 

Step 1: 

First of all, right-click on the folder/file. Then, choose the ‘Properties’ option from the list. Navigate to the Security tab. Go to the bottom of the screen and tap on the Advanced button. You will see that there is no proper permission for the account. 

Step 2: 

Tap on the Change button from the preceding screen. Now, change the ownership of this folder from TrustedInstaller to the computer account.

But, before that make sure that you are logged in with the admin privilege.

Step 3:

Afterward, type the name of the user account in an empty space and then tap on the ‘Check Names’ button. Now, it will start to list all the accounts automatically. 

But, if you are unable to locate the account name, then you can select it from the list of the user group manually. To do that, tap on the Advanced button. Afterward, click on the ‘Find Now’ button from the next screen. 

It will open the list of all the user groups of the system at the bottom of the window. Locate your account name by scrolling down the list. Select that and click on the OK button. After that, tap on the OK button once again from the pop-up box. 

Step 4: 

Now, tick the box that prompts ‘Replace owner on sub containers and objects’. It will make sure that all the folder/files inside the folder also change their ownership. By doing so, you won’t have to follow the same process for all the subcategories. 

Afterward, tick the ‘Replace all child object permission entries with inheritable permission entries from this object’ box. Then, tap on the Apply button and exit from the Properties window.

Step 5: 

Now, you have to open the Properties window once again. Next, tap on the Advanced button by going to the Security tab. Tap on the Add button located at the bottom of the next window. 

Tap on the ‘Select a principal’ option. A similar screen will open as specified in Step 3. So, you can repeat Step 3 again. Thereafter, check all the permission and give them full control. Tap on the OK button and go to the next step.

Step 6: 

Next, check the ‘Replace all child object permission entries with inheritable permission entries from this object’ box once again and close all the folders. Wait for a few seconds and open them once again. Now, you can check if the problem is solved. 

What if you are Unable to Change the Ownership of the Folder/File? 

Usually, you can change the ownership of the folder/file by performing the steps mentioned earlier. But if not or if you encounter a UAC error while performing the above steps, then you can disable the UAC settings and set it to ‘Never Notify’. 

As a result, the warning will be suppressed and you will be able to change the ownership of the folder successfully. To do this, it is required to log in with the admin privilege. Here are the steps you can follow to do that: 

• In the beginning, press the S and Win keys both at the same time from the keyboard. 
• Then, type “change user account control settings’ in the search bar. 
• Hit the Enter key. It will navigate you to the ‘User Account Control Settings window. 
• Now, drag the slider down to ‘Never notify.’ 
• Afterward, tap on the OK button to apply the changes and close the window. 

Now, you can restart the system and check if the issue is resolved. 

After trying the above steps, if you are still unable to fix the “Failed to Enumerate Objects in the Container” error, then you can perform the below solution to solve it. 

Solution 1: Using Command Prompt

According to some users, they have solved this error by using the Command Prompt. Here’s how to do this: 

• Go to the Start menu and type “command prompt” in the search bar.
• Right-click on the ‘Command Prompt’ option showing as the search result. 
• Afterward, choose the ‘Run as administrator’ option from the list. 
• Now, type the commands given below: 
• 1. 1st: takeown /F X:\FULL_PATH_TO_FOLDER
  2. 2nd: takeown /F X:\FULL_PATH_TO_FOLDER /r /d y
  3. 3rd: icacls X:\FULL_PATH_TO_FOLDER /grant Administrators:F
  4. 4th: icacls X:\FULL_PATH_TO_FOLDER /grant Administrators:F /t
• Execute the commands one by one by pressing the Enter key from the keyboard. 

Note: Confirm that you have changed the FULL_PATH_TO_FOLDER with the path of the folder. 

Solution 2: Boot the Computer into the Safe Mode

You can boot the system into the Safe Mode to solve the error message “Failed to Enumerate Objects in the Container”. To do this, first, open the Start menu and tap on the Power button from the bottom left pane. 

Choose the Restart option by holding the Shift key from the keyboard. It will start the computer normally by displaying a list of options. From there, tap on the Troubleshoot button. 

Afterward, click on ‘Advanced Options’ from the next screen. Next, click on the ‘Startup Settings’ button. Then, reboot the system by clicking on the Restart button. 

Once the computer gets restarted, you will get some options to choose from a list. For that, you can use the function keys (F1 to F9) of the keyboard. 

To boot the system into the Safe Mode, you can press the F6, F5, or F4 key depending on your specific needs. Now, the system will boot into Safe Mode. 

So, these are the probable ways to fix the error ‘Failed to Enumerate Objects in the Container’. Hopefully, after applying the above ways you will be able to solve this error on your own.