If you configured a new GPO which redirects User folders to a new network share, or you click on Reset default location under Windows File Explorer or Folder Options, you receive a message – Folder Redirection Failed, Failed to build the list of regular subfolders, Access is Denied, then this post will help you.
Folder Redirection Failed
1] Take Ownership of the folder
Not having permission to access the folder here could be one of the reasons for this error. To take ownership, make sure your account is an admin account.
- Right-click on the folder and select Properties.
- Click on Edit button in Properties windows. If you get a UAC elevation request, click ok to confirm.
- Select user/group from permission windows or click Add to add other user or group. (Best is to add ‘Everyone’ to give permission)
- Now under Permission, check “Full Control” under the “Allow” column to assign full access rights control permissions.
- Edit the permission to Full Control for ‘Everyone’.
- Click OK for changes, and exit
2] Add Authenticated Users or Domain Computers
You need to make sure that when using Folder Redirection, the Folder Redirection group policy removal option is set to “Redirect the folder back to the user profile location when the policy is removed,” then you need to add Authenticated Users” group with the “Read” permissions on the Group Policy Objects (GPOs).
If Domain Computers are part of the “Authenticated Users” group. “Authenticated Users” have these permissions on any new Group Policy Objects (GPOs) by default. Again, the guidance is to add just “Read” permissions and not “Apply Group Policy” for “Authenticated Users”.
Fix Failed to build the list of regular subfolders
1] Clear disk space
If the disk is running out of space, it will fail to create a list abruptly. You can either try to free up disk space and see if that helps. I will highly recommend you to check on the files manually in case you have a habit to keep files at random places.
2] Try the Find Target route
If you are getting an error code, ‘Failed to build the list of regular subdirectories’, when trying to relocate the folder to the original location, then you need to restore it.
3] Change Ownership/Reset Defaults for all user folders
If you receive this error ” Failed to build the list of regular subfolder under “X:\System Volume Information”, when moving a large number of files from one place to another, you need to make sure to change the ownership which we had discussed above.
All the best!
What is Folder Redirection in Windows OS?
Windows improves first-time Folder Redirection performance by optimizing the behavior between Folder Redirection and Offline Files. This reduces logon time over slow network connections because the operating system synchronizes redirected folder data in the background.
Should I use folder redirection?
Using folder redirection separates user data from profile data, keeping personalized desktop shortcuts and documents separate from other configuration settings like display and application settings. This improves data organization and simplifies user management.
