How can i replace Chrome bookmarks file with a different one.

Question

How can i replace Chrome bookmarks file with a different one.

Art L 60

I upgraded my system 2 years ago, cloning from a Hard Drive to SSD.

Recently, it failed (long story).

I was able to recover all the user files, including files in the AppData\Local folders.

I then booted the 2-year-old hard drive, and rebuild my system on there with the saved user files.

Thus the Chrome bookmarks file came from the 2 year old system, but I cannot replace it with the latest one which I do have.

It give me an error that I "need permission from my account" to do so...

... BUT that is the administrator account which am currently signed into !!!

So how can that file be replaced???

The AI answer was to run File Explorer as administrator, but there is NO option to run FE as admin.

The file's permissions show my account as owner, and with "Full Control" privileges.

Locked Question. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Answer accepted by question author

Chen1018 13,875 Independent Advisor

Hi Art,

Thanks for the follow-up.

Please try these suggestion Instead:

Restart in Safe Mode: Boot your PC into Safe Mode (Shift + Restart > Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart > choose Safe Mode).
Navigate to the folder: C:\Users<YourUsername>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
Rename or delete the current Bookmarks file.
Copy and paste your recovered file.

Safe Mode limits background processes that might lock the file and allowing you to bypass the access issue even with the same user account.

Warm regards,

Cherrelyn

Art L 60 Reputation points

2025-08-05T16:51:30.42+00:00

SAFE MODE is the answer.

Thanks
_AW_ 69,996 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-08-05T23:48:27.4166667+00:00

Any chance that you use ESET security?
Art L 60 Reputation points

2025-08-06T03:01:14.1566667+00:00

Yes, I do use ESET
_AW_ 69,996 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-08-06T03:07:07.1866667+00:00

That's what was locking the files in the browser profile. In future, you can go into ESET's Advanced setup > Browser protection and toggle off Enhanced data protection.

Re-enable when finished editing if you wish to protect against infostealers.
Steven 0 Reputation points

2026-10-13T07:11:13.08+00:00
Can't copy or rename your browser's folders even as the Administrator? Your antivirus may be the cause (ESET fix)

The problem:

You're the administrator of your Windows 11 computer, but you can't copy, rename, or change your browser's data folders (Firefox, Brave, Chrome, Edge). Windows says "You require permission from [your own name]" or "Access denied." Closing the browser doesn't help, and the usual fixes for permission problems don't work either.

The cause (in my case):

It wasn't Windows. My ESET antivirus (ESET Smart Security Premium) has a setting called "Enhanced data protection." It's meant to stop password-stealing programs from reading your browser's data, but it also blocks you from copying or renaming those folders. Starting your computer in Safe Mode may also let you get around the block, since antivirus programs don't fully load there.

The fix (ESET):

Open ESET and click "Setup" on the left.

Click "Advanced setup" at the bottom right.

On the left, click "Protections", then "Browser protection".

Find "Safe Banking & Browsing", then the section called "Secured browser".

Turn off "Enhanced data protection" and click OK.

Try copying or renaming your folder again. It worked for me right away.

Afterward, turn the setting back on to stay protected. If you'd rather leave it on, ESET has a "Browser protection allowlist" where you can add programs you trust.

Using a different antivirus?

Look in its settings for something about browser protection, banking protection, or protecting browser data. A similar feature may be doing the same thing, though I only confirmed this with ESET.

Technical note for those who want it: I confirmed ESET was active by running "fltmc" in an elevated Command Prompt, which listed ESET's file protection driver ("eamonm"). Another user on Microsoft's support forum found the same cause with a Chrome profile.

ESET owes me a headful of hair.

2 additional answers

Art L 60 Reputation points

2025-08-05T16:51:30.42+00:00

SAFE MODE is the answer.

Thanks
_AW_ 69,996 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-08-05T23:48:27.4166667+00:00

Any chance that you use ESET security?
Art L 60 Reputation points

2025-08-06T03:01:14.1566667+00:00

Yes, I do use ESET
_AW_ 69,996 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-08-06T03:07:07.1866667+00:00

That's what was locking the files in the browser profile. In future, you can go into ESET's Advanced setup > Browser protection and toggle off Enhanced data protection.

Re-enable when finished editing if you wish to protect against infostealers.
Steven 0 Reputation points

2026-10-13T07:11:13.08+00:00

Can't copy or rename your browser's folders even as the Administrator? Your antivirus may be the cause (ESET fix)

The problem:

You're the administrator of your Windows 11 computer, but you can't copy, rename, or change your browser's data folders (Firefox, Brave, Chrome, Edge). Windows says "You require permission from [your own name]" or "Access denied." Closing the browser doesn't help, and the usual fixes for permission problems don't work either.

The cause (in my case):

It wasn't Windows. My ESET antivirus (ESET Smart Security Premium) has a setting called "Enhanced data protection." It's meant to stop password-stealing programs from reading your browser's data, but it also blocks you from copying or renaming those folders. Starting your computer in Safe Mode may also let you get around the block, since antivirus programs don't fully load there.

The fix (ESET):

Open ESET and click "Setup" on the left.

Click "Advanced setup" at the bottom right.

On the left, click "Protections", then "Browser protection".

Find "Safe Banking & Browsing", then the section called "Secured browser".

Turn off "Enhanced data protection" and click OK.

Try copying or renaming your folder again. It worked for me right away.

Afterward, turn the setting back on to stay protected. If you'd rather leave it on, ESET has a "Browser protection allowlist" where you can add programs you trust.

Using a different antivirus?

Look in its settings for something about browser protection, banking protection, or protecting browser data. A similar feature may be doing the same thing, though I only confirmed this with ESET.

Technical note for those who want it: I confirmed ESET was active by running "fltmc" in an elevated Command Prompt, which listed ESET's file protection driver ("eamonm"). Another user on Microsoft's support forum found the same cause with a Chrome profile.

ESET owes me a headful of hair.

Answer 1

Craig Long 18,840

I would delete all the old bookmarks on the browser and import new bookmarks from an HTML file, then re-sync those new bookmarks to my account. That's what I did when importing my bookmarks from Chrome to Edge. If you don't have backups, then you can't do that.

0 comments

Answer 2

Chen1018 13,875 Independent Advisor

Hi there,

I'm Cherrelyn, and I'm here to help.

Please try these suggestion:

Open Notepad as Administrator – Right-click Notepad and choose Run as administrator.
In Notepad, go to File > Open, and navigate to the Chrome profile folder: C:\Users<YourUsername>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
Rename or delete the existing Bookmarks file from this window.
Then copy and paste your recovered Bookmarks file into that same folder.

This bypasses File Explorer’s permission restrictions by using an elevated process. Just make sure Chrome is completely closed before replacing the file.

I hope this helps, and if you have any questions, feel free to reply to this post.

Warm regards,

Cherrelyn

Art L 60 Reputation points

2025-08-05T13:48:12.92+00:00

This does not work.

Although I am in an admin account, and run Notepad (or any other file-searching app) in "run as administrator" mode, I cannot rename or replace bookmarks.

I get a dialog titled "File Access denied< with the Yellow warning triangle containing the exclamation point "!"... and the message.:

"You need permission to perform this action.

You require permission from <computer-name><account-name> to make changes to this file."

Follow by the name, type, size, and date-modified for the Bookmarks file.

EVEN THOUGH, that is the precise computer and account with which I am logged on,

AND, the account is shown as owner of the file.