How to Make a Folder or File Undeletable in Windows 10
Windows 10 has a Recycle Bin to protect against accidental data erasure. However, users can still erase folders and files they don’t know they’ve accidentally selected for deletion by emptying that bin. Thus, the Recycle Bin isn’t an entirely full-proof safeguard for accidental data loss.
However, you may make a folder or file undeletable in Windows so that it will never end up in the Recycle Bin in the first place. Then Explorer’s standardDeleteoption won’t work for your protected folders or files. This is how you can make a folder or file undeletable in Windows 10.
How to Make a Folder or File Undeletable by Modifying its Permissions
This first method enables you to make both folders and single files undeletable. It involves denying all permissions for a folder or file so that users cannot delete it. These are the steps for making a folder or file undeletable by modifying permissions:
Now try deleting the folder or file you’ve just made undeletable. Right-click on the folder or file and selectDelete. A Folder Access Denied window with aContinueoption on it will pop up. ClickingContinuewill bring up another window with aTry Againbutton. SelectingTry Againwill never delete the file or folder.
However, you can’t open or edit any folder or file that’s made undeletable in this manner. If you ever want to open or edit the undeletable folder or file, you’ll need to undo all the permission changes you made. Bring up the permissions window for the file or folder, as outlined in steps one to four above, and then deselect all theDenycheckboxes to make it accessible again.
How to Make a Folder Undeletable With the Command Prompt
you may set up a new undeletable folder with a reserved Windows keyword by executing a CMD command. As that folder will have a reserved keyword name, you won’t be able to delete that directory within File Explorer. This is how you can create an undeletable folder with a reserved con name within the Command Prompt app:
Nowopen File Explorerand the Users folder or other directory you created the new con folder in. Right-clicking that con folder and selectingDeletewill not erase the directory. A “Location is not available” error message will also pop up if you try to open the folder.
Of course, a folder you cannot open isn’t much use. However, you can still move files to and from that folder with CMD commands. For example, let’s suppose you wanted to move an image.png file stored in the C: Users folder to the con subfolder in the same directory. Then you would need to execute this move command:
That command moves the image.png file into the con folder. Then you would also need to utilize the same command to move the file out of the con folder. The reverse command for moving the same file out of that folder back into the Users directory is:
The con folder is one of the numerous reserved keyword names you could utilize for an undeletable folder. PRN, NUL, COM1, LPT1, AUX, and CLOCK$ are other reserved keywords you can make undeletable folders with.
This con folder is undeletable in File Explorer, but you can still erase it with Command Prompt. To do so, open the directory including the con folder within Command Prompt. Then execute the following deletion command:
How to Make a Folder Undeletable With NH Folder Hider and Locker
If you would prefer a more automated method for making a folder undeletable, check out the freeware NH Folder Hider and Locker. NH Folder Hider and Locker is software with which you can lock folders to make them undeletable. Then you can unlock a folder with the program whenever you need to access it. You can make a folder undeletable with that software as follows:
Go to whatever directory includes the folder you’ve just made undeletable. Right-click on your newly locked folder to selectDelete. Or select the folder and press theDelkey. An access denied message will pop up either way. You can also try erasing the folder with other methods in our guide onselectively deleting files in Windows.
If you ever want to access the folder, you’ll need to unlock it. To do so, open the NH Folder Hider and Locker software again; clickBrowsein the window to select the locked folder. Then press theUnlockbutton to make the folder accessible and deletable.
Protect Your Folders and Files from Accidental Erasure in Windows 10
You can ensure you never accidentally delete important folders or files in Windows 10 Explorer by making them undeletable with the methods above. Making your folders and files undeletable with those methods will also make them inaccessible to other users. So, they’ll protect your most important folders and files in two ways. Then you’ll never need to utilize Windows data recovery software.
Have you lost important files or documents from your computer? Then you need data recovery software to get it back.
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