Can't open files I could always before open. Where do I get help?

Windows 10 Pro, 21H2, 19044.1706. I had always been able to open dot js files in vscode. I was doing it all day yesterday. I went to open one today and got this popup.


MS sent me on the usual irrelevant, never-ending trail of article reading.

I am Administrator. I own the file. I have full access and permissions on it.

I suspect it is something MS changed in my security settings in a recent update.

Please help me fix this before I waste another day of hours trying to track this down.

Sorry, I tried to contact MS Support. Got a ticket number, gave them my phone #, and got a reply saying an agent would call me in about 28 minutes. That was two hours ago.

I also tried the Microsoft Community Forums. It has become impossible to even ask a question there. I got sent on a long trail of closed threads from 2011 and 2013 telling me to fix this in Internet Explorer options or in my permissions settings. Nothing worked.

Maybe direct me to the right precise forum?

Thanks, Samuria. The file in question is a dot js (JavaScript file). I open them all the time with vscode editor. I have also opened them with Sublime and Notepad++, even WordPad and Notepad from MS. I've never had any problems before now, or have I ever seen this dialog. I tried all of the other software to open the file with the same result - that dialog.

dalchina said:

What does 'Show details' say? Anything useful?

In general given this message, see (ignore the strange name allocated to the link):

Attention Required! | Cloudflare

- very specific, detailed options which might help.

Dalchina, wishful thinking on that very specific detail. Here is what it says in "details."



I went searching on those "Internet security settings," and got sent to Internet Explorer Options. I don't use IE at all, and the settings there are hard to figure out if you want to really change them.

Did you scanned the file and folder for malware?

dalchina said:

Ok, do see the link I posted..

Yeah, I did. I mentioned that first one. The 1990s version of the IE control options that are pre-set to medium, medium, high, and paranoid. You can go to the advanced custom settings and then you see silly things like this.



Who decides what files are unsafe? Maybe downloading script files from somewhere you don't know or trust, but if you're writing those files yourself? Really, they've taken being our Nanny to the extreme. I got no prompt warning me of unsafe file at all, just the spanking.

I had already gone through all the access and permissions settings on the file's properties. Why in the world would I reset the IE? I don't use it, and the reset just puts it back in its default paranoid settings. When you don't have permission to open the file, you also don't have permission to change its name. I set allow unsafe files a long time ago. I don't want Microsoft deciding for me what is safe or unsafe. I've gone the create new user account, even a new Administrator account. That fixes some things, but not this, and I shouldn't have to go that far when I have Admin privileges and have taken ownership of the file. I don't understand why I have full access, but no effective access, and I can't change that. Of course one of the very first things I try is running the application as an administrator. But here I wasn't even trying to run an app. I was just trying to open the file for editing. Something I have always done, and could do up until today! What an enormous waste of time.

I always love when Microsoft offers registry edits to fix something, when they won't support any registry editing.

And I roll in laughter when they reach for the system restore point. Of course, I've had to do that plenty of times, believe me, so I do know it is there as the penultimate resort. The next step is a complete clean reinstallation of Windows. Good God! Or throw the computer out of a second story window.

Thanks a lot for trying anyway.

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Samuria said:

If you copy it to another folder will it open?

Thanks, I did try that, copying it to a completely new created folder. That worked and I was able to open it in vscode, but I still can't go back to the original folder and open it from there. That folder doesn't have any special restrictions. It holds a template into which I pull source files to test them on a development server. I've been doing that for years -- on that same template folder.