How to Reset the TEMP folder Permissions to Default

Almost every classic Windows app creates files in the TEMP folders. Incorrect permissions for the user or system TEMP folders can cause errors when installing or running programs.

User temp folder: C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Temp
System Temp folder: C:\Windows\TEMP

This post explains how to reset the TEMP folder permissions to their defaults.

Reset Temp Folder Permissions

Before proceeding, please close all Programs that are currently running. If possible, start Windows in Safe Mode and carry out the steps below.

From Command Prompt (admin), rRun the following commands:

takeown /f "%temp%"
icacls "%temp%" /reset
icacls "%temp%" /inheritance:r
icacls "%temp%" /grant Administrators:(OI)(CI)(F)
icacls "%temp%" /grant SYSTEM:(OI)(CI)(F)
icacls "%temp%" /grant "%username%":(OI)(CI)(F)
md "%temp%\Low"
icacls "%temp%\Low" /setintegritylevel (OI)(CI)low


takeown /f c:\windows\temp
icacls c:\windows\temp /reset
icacls c:\windows\temp /inheritance:r
icacls c:\windows\temp /grant Administrators:(OI)(CI)(F)
icacls c:\windows\temp /grant SYSTEM:(OI)(CI)(F)
icacls c:\windows\temp /grant "%username%":(OI)(CI)(F)

That’s it. The above commands should have restored the per-system TEMP (C:\Windows\Temp) and per-user TEMP folder permissions to Windows defaults.