Why would you want to bypass this restriction? For one, there is a lot of reusable space inside the WindowsApps folder, and you should get rid of the unnecessary junk. Even if you don’t delete anything, you will find relevant information on apps like Mail, Photos, and games installed through Xbox Game Pass for PC. If you’re the Administrator or system user of your computer, follow the methods below to access the WindowsApps folder.
How to Access WindowsApps Folder
All the steps and screenshots shown below are for Windows 11 but the methods will work exactly the same with Windows 10.
The Faster Method: Take Ownership Registry Hack
To use the fast context-menu method, you can download this Take Ownership registry hack. It allows you to take full ownership of your files and folders context menu, and access the WindowsApps folder. Note: There is another file, “Remove Take Ownership from Context Menu.reg,” which does the complete opposite by restoring ownership to TrustedInstaller. We’ll discuss its role toward the end of this exercise. There’s so much to do in WindowsApps. You can view Netflix .exe files, DPI scaling permissions for Microsoft Flight Simulator, and more such interesting data that was out of bounds until now. You can further choose to delete unnecessary files from WindowsApps if you want. This will bring back a lot of reusable space on C drive. Don’t delete anything really important though.
Second Method: Get Access to WindowsApps Folder in Windows 11/10 Manually
If you don’t want to have a “Take Ownership” command in your context menu for security purposes or other reasons (or it’s just missing,) you can access the WindowsApps folder manually as well. This action will automatically fill in the object name. If it’s your own PC, you’re the administrator, meaning you can simply type administrator and click “Check Names.” This is really the fastest approach to get the correct access. Now you should be able to access the WindowsApps folder without any problems, either in administrator mode or as an approved system user.
Third Method: Using Auditing tab
If you’ve exhausted the options, you can try an alternative method using the “Auditing” tab. It is located right next to the “Permissions” tab in “Advanced Security Settings for WindowsApps.”
Remove/Withdraw Administrator Access to WindowsApps Folder in Windows 10/11
Just as you can change permissions to transfer the ownership of WindowsApps from TrustedInstaller to your Administrator account, you can do vice versa. This is useful to know so you don’t forget the original device settings. Our objective is to withdraw Administrator privileges and restore TrustedInstaller as the owner of your WindowsApps account.
1. How to fix the “failed to enumerate objects in the container access is denied” error in WindowsApps folder?
If you accidentally modify the permissions of your PC or laptop in such a way that the original Administrator has been removed from privileged WindowsApps access, then you may see the “failed to enumerate objects” error. It’s not really as scary as it sounds though. You only need to try the first method covered in our solutions: downloading the “Take full ownership of Files – Folders Context Menus” ZIP file. This will override the blocked permissions to give you back the access to WindowsApps.
2. How to fix “You do not have privileges to view this object’s auditing properties even as an administrative user” in WindowsApps?
If you simply cannot view WindowsApps folder’s Security permissions as an administrator, that means your access was deleted. Use the first method covered in our solutions with ZIP file to override the blocked permissions.
3. Is it safe to delete WindowsApps contents?
As long as it’s not a System Drive, it’s safe to delete WindowsApps contents. One way to find out whether it is safe or not is to go to Microsoft Defender summary for that event. If it says no threats were found, you’re good to go. Learn to find out why Windows Defender is the only Antivirus you need. Whichever method you use in our solutions, you should now have access to the WindowsApps folder. You can also use the same method to take control of any folder on your hard drive. For further tips and hacks for Windows 10, read our guide on how to check CPU temperatures on your PC. And in a bit of a throwback guide, we’ve curated a list of great screensavers for Windows 10, too. Image credit: Windows 10 main screen with all apps running by DepositPhotos
