What’s causing the ‘error occurred applying attributes to the file‘ issue?
Method 1: Taking ownership of the file
In the vast majority of cases, this problem will occur due to an ownership problem. As it turns out, it’s very likely that you’re seeing the ‘error occurred applying attributes to the file’ issue due to the fact that your OS doesn’t have the appropriate permissions to open the file. This is typically encountered with computers that have recently gone through an upgrading process to Windows 10 from an older windows version. Typically, during this upgrading process, some account information gets changed and access ownership is denied for certain files that survived the migration process. If this scenario is applicable, you can resolve the issue easily by taking ownership of the file or folder that’ triggering the ‘error occurred applying attributes to the file’. Here’s a quick guide on how to do this: Note: The instructions below should work on every recent version of Windows (Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10). After you do this, try to re-open the file that you just modified the permissions on and see if the same issue is still occurring.
Method 2: Adjusting the permissions
As it turns out, this particular issue can also occur due to a fairly common Windows 10 error that typically occurs when the system needs to apply certain attributes. When this happens, it’s possible that some files or folders don’t have Full control even in situations where the file is configured to be opened by the Administrators group. If this scenario is applicable, you should be able to resolve the issue by modifying the permissions for administrators. Several affected users have confirmed that this operation was successful in allowing them to open the file or folder without encountering the ‘error occurred applying attributes to the file’ issue. Here’s a quick guide on how to adjust the permissions of the file or folder that is failing with this particular error:
Method 3: Checking if the file is encrypted
According to several different user reports, this issue can also occur due to the fact that the file or folder that’s triggering the ‘error occurred applying attributes to the file’ issue is actually encrypted. Several companies encrypt all files by default, and some even configure their email clients to encrypt files automatically upon sending. If you received the file via an email attachment or you downloaded it via the internet, it’s possible that it was encrypted to protect it from unwanted access. Although you will need to get the appropriate security certificate if you want to open an encrypted file, you can still check fairly easily if the file is encrypted or not. Here’s a quick guide on checking to see if the file is encrypted or not: In case this fix was not applicable to your current situation, move down to the final potential fix below.
Method 4: Performing a repair install / clean install
As it turns out, the ‘error occurred applying attributes to the file’ issue can also appear in an instance where the affected machine is dealing with an underlying cause of system file corruption that ends up affecting the file management function. If you’ve come this far without a viable fix, chances are you will need to reset every Windows component (including BCD data) in order to ensure that the problem gets resolved. When it comes to doing this, you have two ways forward:
Doing a Clean install – This operation is quick, efficient, and it will reset every Windows component without requiring a compatible installation media. But the major downside is that unless you back up the data in advance, every bit of personal information (including games, applications, personal media) will be lost.Doing a Repair install (in-place upgrade) – This is a more tedious operation that requires you to insert a viable installation media. But the major advantage is that it will only touch Windows components. So personal media, games, applications, and even some user preferences will remain intact after the operation is complete.
Feel free to follow whichever route is more convenient for your particular scenario.
Fix: The Extended Attributes Are Inconsistent error in Windows 10Fix: An Error Occurred while Applying Security InformationFix: Diskpart failed to clear disk attributes[FIX] Fatal Error C0000034 when Applying Windows Update
