Troubleshooting

Solving problems with Folder Guard failing to start or operate properly

If you run Folder Guard but it reports that is cannot load its driver, or if Windows 7 reports that Folder Guard driver does not have a proper digital signature, it most probably means that your computer does not have the latest updates installed. (Without such updates, Windows 7 may not recognize the digital signature of the Folder Guard driver and refuse to load it.) If your computer is not configured to install updates automatically, use Windows Update to check for the available updates (including the service packs) and install them. (The same solution applies to Windows Server 2008 R2, as well. )

If you use Windows Vista 64-bit (or Windows Server 2008) and it reports that the Folder Guard driver does not contain a valid digital signature, you are unfortunately out of luck, because Microsoft has chosen not to update Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 to enable them to recognize the new SHA256 digital signatures, and that's what is causing them to mistrust Folder Guard and other programs with drivers signed with the SHA256 algorithm. Consider upgrading to a newer version of Windows, such as Windows 7, 8.1, or 10, which have been properly updated by Microsoft to recognize such digital signatures.

If the above does not solve the problem, there could be several other possibilities:

- You have installed Folder Guard into a folder that has restricted NTFS access permissions. To solve this, please install it into a folder located under the C:/Program Files folder, and make sure that the SYSTEM account has the full access rights to that folder.

- Your local security policy prevents you from loading device drivers. You could solve this by running the Local Security Policy tool (located in the Administrative Tools menu of Windows), navigate to Local policies - User Rights Assignment, and enable the "Load and unload device drivers" policy for your user account.

- Your anti-virus or anti-spyware software may prevent other programs from running properly. Please try to temporarily disable such software and see if it makes a difference.

- If you use some software that controls which programs may start automatically at Windows startup, such software may interfere with Folder Guard, too. (Folder Guard needs to be able to start automatically when Windows starts, to be able to perform the protection).

Solving problems with Folder Guard not applying the restrictions properly

For example, you've restricted a folder with the no access attribute, but you are still able to access the folder. Or, you've protected a folder with a password, but there is no Unlock button when you open the folder. If it appears that Folder Guard is not operating properly, check the following:

- Verify that your user name does not appear in the Trusted Users list. Folder Guard does not apply any of its restrictions to the users listed there.

- Verify that the program you use is not in the Trusted Programs list. Folder Guard does not apply any of its restrictions to the programs listed there.

- Verify that you have not set up different restrictions for your user account that override the default restrictions.

- Verify that you have not set up a filter that overrides other restrictions.

Solving problems with applications failing to start or operate properly

If some application that you have on your computer started to display errors or does not start at all after you have enabled protection with Folder Guard, it could be because you have configured Folder Guard to restrict access to a file or folder that the applications uses during its operation. For example, many programs need to be able to save files into their installation folders, and if you assign the read-only or no-access attributes to such folders, it may cause such applications to fail. Other applications may need to be able to write information into the files located in the C:\Windows folder. Again, if you restrict access to the C:\Windows folder, such applications may start displaying errors. To solve such problems, review the folder restrictions you have set up with Folder Guard, and remove protection from the folders that you suspect may be causing the errors. You may also find the To protect or not to protect section of this guide of use.

Solving problems with Windows failing to start properly

If Windows cannot start properly after you have enabled protection with Folder Guard, it could be because you have configured Folder Guard to restrict access to some system file or folder that Windows uses during its work. For example, if you assign the no-access attribute to the C:\Windows folder, or to the C:\Users or C:\Documents and Settings folders, or to the whole C: drive, it will most probably cause Windows to fail. If that happens, reboot Windows in the safe mode, run Folder Guard in that mode, and remove protection from the folders in question, then restart your computer as usual.

Performing a clean test of Folder Guard

If you suspect that the error you see is caused by a restriction that you have configured with Folder Guard, try the following: completely uninstall Folder Guard from your computer (choose to erase its settings, when prompted), then install it back and configure it to protect just one test folder, such as C:\Test. Assign the No access attribute to the test folder, and do not set up any other restrictions. If the problem does not occur in this case, try to restrict other folders, as needed, one at a time, testing the condition that previously resulted in an error after each significant change. This could give you an idea of which restriction is causing the problem.

Solving problems caused by incompatibility between Folder Guard and some other program

If the problem persists even when you've protected just one test folder as described above, then another reason could be an incompatibility between Folder Guard and some other program you have (such as anti-virus, disk utilities, programs that install icons in the taskbar next to the system clock, etc.) You may want to try to temporarily disable such programs, one at a time, and see if that corrects the situation. If you discover which other program is causing the conflict, please let us know and we will investigate.

Using Event Viewer to monitor actions taken by Folder Guard

If you enable the option Report events to Windows Event Log, Folder Guard will to report some events, such as users pausing or resuming the protection, or unlocking and locking the password-protected folders, to Windows Event Log. You can view such events using the built-in Event Viewer tool of Windows. The events are recorded under the Windows Logs - Application log.

Using the File System Events log of Folder Guard

If you enable the option Log file system events, Folder Guard will record file system events into a file, that could provide insight into the factors that affect the protection of files and folders performed by Folder Guard.