Access is denied

Windows was refused access to a file, folder or registry key needed by the update.

TRY THIS FIRST

Find what Windows could not access

Open PowerShell as administrator and paste this command.

Reads the servicing log · Administrator access may be needed

PowerShell

Get-Content "$env:windir\Logs\CBS\CBS.log" -Tail 500 | Select-String -Pattern '0x80070005|Access is denied' -Context 2,2

Result: Look for an entry at the time the update failed. No output means no matching entry in the last 500 lines; it does not rule out the error.

Still not working?

Note the named file or key and the failed update. On a work PC, give these details to IT. Do not reset permissions across Windows folders: the correct fix depends on the object and its intended owner.

Check the result: Retry that update after the specific access problem is corrected.

More detail →

Sources & page details

Microsoft documentation ↗

Hanki's detailed guide · Reviewed 2026-09-26

Choose the entry that matches where the error appeared. A code alone does not identify every cause. Commands are copied for you to review; this page does not run them.