This is not actually my own code and I don't have a way to change and compile it, but I'm trying to debug a program and all it does is download a file and store it locally. It's literally something like:
try {
using var client = new WebClient();
client.DownloadFile( URL, filename );
log("File successfully downloaded");
}
catch (Exception e) {
log("Download failed.");
}
URL and filename are passed as arguments so I can actually change those. If filename is a local path, like for instance "/home/myusername/test.dat", it works fine. So I know the code works. But if filename resides on a mounted NAS (ie "/mnt/NetworkDrive/test.dat"), it gives the "Download failed" error.
It looks like the user the code runs under, does not have write permission to the mounted network share. But I mounted the network share with the noperm option, and creating files manually always succeeds, no matter what user I try it as.
The network share is mounted through /etc/fstab:
//192.168.1.131/sharedfolder /mnt/NetworkDrive cifs guest,_netdev,vers=1.0,noperm 0 0
Where 192.168.1.131 is ofcourse the IP address of the NAS. It's an older NAS which uses SMBv1 which is why I mount it with "vers=1.0" And like I said, I can access the NAS just fine. I can create files and delete files from the command prompt without problems. As any user. But the above code fails to write to it.
What could be causing this?
Again, this is not my code so I can't change anything. But I'm sure the code is fine and something else is at play here.
UPDATE #1 (Mar 31)
So it turns out writing to the NAS is denied, which is weird because if I test it (from the command prompt), I can create and write to a file on the NAS without problems. As root or any other user.
UPDATE #2 (Mar 31)
I've been troubleshooting all day and I'm at a loss. Any user has full access to the NAS and can read/write/delete/create/modify files. I can create a new user on the system and it too has full access. But WebClient.DownloadFile always fails with a "Permission Denied" as soon as it tries to write the downloaded file to the NAS. If I write it to a local path, it works fine.
I have created a .msi by using VS2008 setup project. My application frequently writes some value in a .txt file in the application directory (C:\Program Files\MyApp\MyFile.txt). After insalling it in Win7, it raises an exception "Access to the path .... is denied."
But whenever I run it as administrator, no such exception occurs. Here is my sscce
string FilePath=Application.StartupPath + #"\AppSettings\CurrentUserName.inf";
using (StreamWriter writer=new StreamWriter(FilePath,false))
{
writer.Write(txtLoginName.Text.Trim());
}
MainForm.ProcessLogIn();
this.DialogResult = DialogResult.OK;
I don't know how to solve this problem. Any suggestion?
Move your file out of Program Files directory. In Win7 is readonly for normal users.
You could move the file in the ProgramData directory.
Your installer should create a directory for your application there.
Then inside your code you could retrieve the correct full pathname using these lines of code
string dataPath = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.CommonApplicationData));
string appFile = Path.Combine(dataPath, "MyAppDir", "MyFile.txt");
usually (on Win7) this result in a path like this
c:\programdata\MyAppDir\MyFile.txt
but using the SpecialFolder enum you are guaranteed to use a folder available in readwrite to your application not depending on the current operating system.
The only way to solve this problem is to not write to that folder. You are not allowed to write to that folder by convention, unfortunately, older versions of Windows did not hold you to this.
Instead, you can use Environment.SpecialFolder to help you find where you need to go:
// your application data for just that User running the app
var perUserAppData = Environment.GetFolderPath(
Environment.SpecialFolder.ApplicationData);
// your application data for ALL users running the app
var allUsersAppData = Environment.GetFolderPath(
Environment.SpecialFolder.CommonApplicationData);
// better!
var path = Path.Combine(perUserAppData, #"MyApp\MyFile.txt");
Basically, Windows 7 is telling you that you're going to have to stop driving on the sidewalks and use the street as was intended.
As a short-term fix, you can use ICACLS to grant write access to the file. Note: NOT the whole directory.
As a longer term fix, you should NOT write to the program directory if you are running as unprivileged users, but instead somewhere like %LOCALAPPDATA% or %APPDATA%.
I am having a problem where I am trying to delete my file but I get an exception.
if (result == "Success")
{
if (FileUpload.HasFile)
{
try
{
File.Delete(Request.PhysicalApplicationPath + app_settings.login_images + txtUploadStatus.Text);
string filename = Path.GetFileName(btnFileUpload.FileName);
btnFileUpload.SaveAs(Request.PhysicalApplicationPath + app_settings.login_images + filename);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
Message(ex.ToString());
}
}
}
Also I should note that the folder I am trying to delete from has full control to network services.
The full exception message is:
System.UnauthorizedAccessException: Access to the path 'C:\Users\gowdyn\Documents\Visual Studio 2008\Projects\hybrid\hybrid\temp_loginimages\enviromental.jpg' is denied. at System.IO.__Error.WinIOError(Int32 errorCode, String maybeFullPath) at System.IO.File.Delete(String path) at hybrid.User_Controls.Imgloader_Add_Edit_Tbl.btnUpdate_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e) in C:\Users\gowdyn\Documents\Visual Studio 2008\Projects\hybrid\hybrid\User_Controls\Imgloader_Add_Edit_Tbl.ascx.cs:line 242
Any ideas?
According to File.Delete Method...
An UnauthorizedAccessException means one of 4 things:
The caller does not have the required permission.
The file is an executable file that is in use.
Path is a directory.
Path specified a read-only file.
I also had the problem, hence me stumbling on this post. I added the following line of code before and after a Copy / Delete.
Delete
File.SetAttributes(file, FileAttributes.Normal);
File.Delete(file);
Copy
File.Copy(file, dest, true);
File.SetAttributes(dest, FileAttributes.Normal);
This is an old issue, but I ran into it while searching. Turns out that I was missing the actual filename component in the save path for SaveAs...
string uploadPath = Server.MapPath("~/uploads");
file.SaveAs(uploadPath); // BAD
file.SaveAs(Path.Combine(uploadPath, file.FileName)); // GOOD
When a user tries to connect to your Web site, IIS assigns the connection to the IUSER_ComputerName account, where ComputerName is the name of the server on which IIS is running. By default, the IUSER_ComputerName account is a member of the Guests group. This group has security restrictions. Try to grand access to IUSER_ComputerName to that folder
Here is very good described answer about IIS security
Hope this helps
I got the error because I didn't realize that the destination should be a file. I had a folder as the second parameter (which works in cmd). and I got Unhandled Exception: System.UnauthorizedAccessException: Access to the path is denied. because C# File.Move wants a file there, not just for the first parameter, but for the second too, and so if you put a directory as second parameter, it's trying to write a file like c:\crp when you have a directory called c:\crp.
this would be incorrect File.Move(args[0],"c:\\crp");
So, this would be correct File.Move(args[0],"c:\\crp\\a.a");
The same goes for File.Copy
Right-click on Visual studio and click Run as Administrator
Thanks for +1
If this is an IIS website that is having the problem, check the Identity property of the advanced settings for the application pool that the site or application uses. You may find that it is set to ApplicationPoolIdentity, and in that case then this is the user that will have to have access to the path.
Or you can go old style and simply set the Identity to Network Service, and give the Network Service user access to the path.
You need to modify the privileges of the folder you're trying to delete from/save to. Right-click on the containing folder and use the Security tab to permit modify rights for the user your application runs under.
An UnauthorizedAccessException exception is thrown when the operating system denies access because of an I/O error or a security error.
If you are attempting to access a file or registry key, make sure it is not read-only.
I have also faced this issue when my window service started throwing the exception
System.UnauthorizedAccessException: Access to the path "C:\\Order\\Media
44aa4857-3bac-4a18-a307-820450361662.mp4" is denied.
So as a solution, I checked the user account associated with my service, as shown in below screen capture
So in my case it was NETWORK SERVICE
And then went to the folder properties to check if the associated user account also exists under their permission tab. It was missing in my case and when I added it and it fixed my issue.
For more information please check the below screen capture
same issue for me too,
I was pointing the folder instead of file.
so make sure in path, give path+filename
System.IO.File.WriteAllBytes("path", bytearray);
The exception that is thrown when the operating system denies access
because of an I/O error or a specific type of security error.
I hit the same thing. Check to ensure that the file is NOT HIDDEN.
Check your files properties. If the read-only is checked, uncheck it. This was my personal issue with the UnauthorizedAccessException.
I got this error and solved it in just a moment. Don't know why all of my folders are read-only，I cancelled the read-only and apply it. However, it is still read-only. So I moved the file into the root folder, it works - so weird.
I was facing this error because
Sometimes when I Combine the path with File Name and FileName = ""
It become Path Directory not a file which is a problem as mentioned above
so you must check for FileName like this
if(itemUri!="")
File.Delete(Path.Combine(RemoteDirectoryPath, itemUri));
I was trying to use System.IO.File.OpenWrite(path)
and it did not work because I was only passing OpenWrite() a path to a directory, but it requires a path all the way to the file you want to write. So a full path including the filename.extension at the end needs to be passed into OpenWrite to avoid UnauthorizedAccessException
In my case the problem was Norton. My in-house program doesn't have the proper digital signature and when it tried to delete a file it gave the UnauthorizedAccessException.
If it give you a notification, you can handle it from there. In my case it didn't give a notification that I noticed. So here's how to keep Norton from blocking the program.
Open Norton
Click the down arrow
Click History
Find activity by program
Click More Options
Click Exclude Process
To solve this problem, I follow the Scot Hanselman approach at Debugging System.UnauthorizedAccessException (often followed by: Access to the path is denied) article, the code with example is bellow:
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var path = "c:\\temp\\notfound.txt";
try
{
File.Delete(path);
}
catch (UnauthorizedAccessException)
{
FileAttributes attributes = File.GetAttributes(path);
if ((attributes & FileAttributes.ReadOnly) == FileAttributes.ReadOnly)
{
attributes &= ~FileAttributes.ReadOnly;
File.SetAttributes(path, attributes);
File.Delete(path);
}
else
{
throw;
}
}
}
}
I had the same problem on a newly moved website on a shared server. Solved through the web host panel (DotNetPanel) setting true the "allow write permissions". So if you are in a shared server before reviewing all code worth taking a look at the server configuration and could save you a lot of time.
Be aware that if you are trying to reach a shared folder path from your code, you dont only need to give the proper permissions to the physicial folder thru the security tab. You also need to "share" the folder with the corresponding app pool user thru the Share Tab
I had the exact error when deleting a file. It was a Windows Service running under a Service Account which was unable to delete a .pdf document from a Shared Folder even though it had Full Control of the folder.
What worked for me was navigating to the Security tab of the Shared Folder > Advanced > Share > Add.
I then added the service account to the administrators group, applied the changes and the service account was then able to perform all operations on all files within that folder.
For those trying to make a UWP (Universal Windows) application, file permissions are much more restricted, and in general is deny by default. It also supersedes the system user permissions. You will basically only have access to files in either
Your install location
Your AppData location
Files selected through the File or Folder picker
Locations requested in your App Manifest
You can read more here for details => https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/files/file-access-permissions
If you're using BitDefender there's a good chance its Safe Files feature blocked your operation. This is a form of Ransomware protection that comes with some of its more advanced versions.
Make sure to grant your application access in BitDefender and try again.
Some more details can be found in this BitDefender support page.
In my case it was my AVG anti-virus that triggered the exception.
I added my VS Projects directory to the "Allowed" list. And I had to add the executable to the AVG exceptions list after I copied the .exe to my App directory.
I've had the same problem and I've managed to get it working by changing the partition on which the file will be saved. So, on line 5 I've changed #"C:\" to be #"D:\" and that resolved the problem.
static void SaveVideoToDisk(string link)
{
var youTube = YouTube.Default; // starting point for YouTube actions
var video = youTube.GetVideo(link); // gets a Video object with info about the video
File.WriteAllBytes(#"D:\" + video.FullName, video.GetBytes());
}
After migrating from Visual Studio 2017 to Visual Studio 2019 I faced two exceptions with two of my applications which run properly under Visual Studio 2017:
System.UnauthorizedAccessException
System.ArgumentException
It turned out that I had to add the executables of the two applications to the allowed apps of Avast Antivirus.
I too faced the same problem when trying to do this after deployment at server:
dirPath = Server.MapPath(".") + "\\website\\" + strUserName;
if (!Directory.Exists(dirPath))
{
DirectoryInfo DI = Directory.CreateDirectory(dirPath);
}
string filePath = Server.MapPath(".") + "\\Website\\default.aspx";
File.Copy(filePath, dirPath + "\\default.aspx", true);
File.SetAttributes(dirPath + "\\default.aspx", FileAttributes.Normal);
I granted permission in IIS to other group including administrator and my problem got solved.
In my particular case I was repeatedly creating and deleting 10000 folders. It seems to me that the problem was in that although the method Directory.Delete(path, true) returns, the underling OS mechanism may still be deleting the files from the disk. And when I am starting to create new folders immediately after deletion of old ones, some of them are still locked because they are not completely deleted yet. And I am getting System.UnauthorizedAccessException: "Access to the path is denied".
Using Thread.Sleep(5000) after Directory.Delete(path, true) solves that problem. I absolutely agree that this is not safe, and I am not encouraging anyone to use it. I would love to here a better approach to solve this problem to improve my answer. Now I am just giving an idea why this exception may happen.
class Program
{
private static int numFolders = 10000;
private static string rootDirectory = "C:\\1";
static void Main(string[] args)
{
if (Directory.Exists(rootDirectory))
{
Directory.Delete(rootDirectory, true);
Thread.Sleep(5000);
}
Stopwatch sw = Stopwatch.StartNew();
CreateFolder();
long time = sw.ElapsedMilliseconds;
Console.WriteLine(time);
Console.ReadLine();
}
private static void CreateFolder()
{
var one = Directory.CreateDirectory(rootDirectory);
for (int i = 1; i <= numFolders; i++)
{
one.CreateSubdirectory(i.ToString());
}
}
}
First just check the path if the colon(:) character is missing or not after the drive letter. If colon is not missing then you can check if access/write permission is granted for that path.
I had the same issue and i was only missing the colon, permission and everything else was fine.
C:\folderpath
will work fine but,
C\folderpath .........(missing colon)
will give you access denial error.
I also ran into this post as dealing with the same issue. Looks like the file is in use and hence not able to write to it.
Though not able to figure it out, which process is using it. Signed out the other user who was logged in in that box, dont see any users who is holding it.
Any quick tips regarding on how to find the same.
Thanks,
Lakshay (developer)
I am new to Silverlight and I am trying to do a directory listing of the contents of a directory. However when the first list of this code runs, it throws an exception:
The application itself runs inside of a Browser.
File operation not permitted. Access
to path 'C:\Program Files\AppName' is
denied.
I checked permissions and they are readable so I'm not sure why it's not working.
DirectoryInfo di = new DirectoryInfo(#"C:\Program Files\AppName");
try
{
if (di.Exists)
{
Console.WriteLine("That path exists already.");
}
}
catch (Exception e)
{
Console.WriteLine("The process failed: {0}", e.ToString());
}
finally { }
Silverlight doesn't let you just access any old directory you want. Silverlight 4 added the ability to access certain well-known paths under the user profile but only in out-of-browser elevated trust applications.
Silverlight is probably not the technology you want to use for this purpose. Look into WPF instead.
If you want to save/load files in silverlight and your app owns the files, you can use isolated storage.
silverlight isolated storage example
Generally, this is useful to store cross-session data locally, or store user settings. Like Josh's answer says, there is no solution to your problem if you need to access other app's files.