Ask Jack: How do I get permission to copy files between Windows PCs?

Maurice gets a message saying he is not authorised to open files he has copied from one computer running Windows to another

I have tried to copy files from my old computer running Microsoft Windows 7 to my new one running Windows 8. When I try to open the files, I get a message telling me that I am not authorised to open them. Maurice

When you use a Windows PC, you do it via your user account. This "owns" all the files you create, and lets you set permissions for sharing them (or not). This is handy when the same PC is used by several different people. However, when you move the file to a different PC, it can no longer find the account used to create it. If this happens, Windows will tell you that "you don't currently have permission to access this file" or folder.