[Powerpoint 2021] - "Access Denied. Contact Your Administrator." Error Message.

Question

We have a computer here that is unable to open .pptx files on our share drive by double-clicking on them

Powerpoint opens with an error "Access Denied. Contact Your Administrator.", and as such, the powerpoint file fails to load in.

Fact A. If you choose "Right-click > open-with > Powerpoint", they open without a problem.

Fact B. If you open PowerPoints and then do "File > Open > {*.pptx file}", they open without a problem.

Things I've tried:

1. Adjusted settings in Trust Center
2. Added \<share>\ and subfolders as a trusted location
3. Ensured no Add-ins were enabled
4. Deleted MS Office Cache
5. Deleted %temp%
6. Deleted C:\Windows\Temp
7. Deleted %appdata%\Microsoft\Template\Normal.dotm
8. Repaired Office Installation and re-entered license key for Office Pro 2021
9. Running sfc /scannow
10. Changed Group Policy settings to not preserve zone information on internet files
11. Double-checked AVG firewall settings
12. Tried a copy of the .pptx in the same directory without metadata
13. Changed default application to notepad.exe and back to Powerpnt.exe
14. Running the {full path to}POWERPNT.EXE /REGSERVER command

And no, this is not a share permissions thing on the file or share. User has Read access to the entire folder and all files, especially these .pptx file, and that can be proven by the FACT A and FACT B above, aside from the obvious. It's Powerpoint that is refusing to cooperate when the file is opened normally (i.e. double-clicking).

My guess is there is a bug in either Windows or Powerpoint that should be addressed by Microsoft. Has anyone encountered and resolve this problem before?

COMPUTER: GMKtec M5 pro

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro - 22H2/19045 (64-bit)

Software: Microsoft Office LTSC Professional Plus 2021 - en-us

Answer 1

Hi,

Did this problem only appear with PowerPoint files? How about other Office products?

Can it be saved normally?

It is recommended that you login Administrator profile in PC and check if you can open by double click file and check if the issue is caused by Group Policy.

There is an article about Access denied, I suggest you refer to this article and check if it will help you:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/you-receive-an-access-denied-error-message-and-the-program-unexpectedly-quits-when-you-try-to-open-or-save-a-file-in-an-office-program-540b6fad-2c8e-5d1e-fe96-7e05aece0e96

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Answer 2

All is working now.

Having user try some other office documents in the same location, such as a .docx file, he received a new error which stated Word could not create the work file. Check the temp environment variable

I applied the following fixes to get all .xlsx, .pptx, an .docx working without problem.

Renamed the following Registry keys

  HKCR\CLSID{84F66100-FF7C-4fb4-B0C0-02CD7FB668FE}
  HKCR\CLSID{65235197-874B-4A07-BDC5-E65EA825B718}
  HKCR\CLSID{00020827-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}

Replaced the file:

%appdata%\Microsoft\Templates\Normal.dotm

In command prompt as an administrator:

1. attrib -s -h C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\iNetCache
2. attrib +h C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\iNetCache
3. attrib -s -h C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\iNetCache\Content.Word
4. attrib +h C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\iNetCache\Content.Word
5. attrib -s -h C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\iNetCache\Content.Office
6. attrib +h C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\iNetCache\Content.Office