windows command prompt dir /q returns "..." as owner - what is that?

I am executing dir /q on a Windows server 2008r2 and what I get back for one of the folders is ... What does it mean?

2014-06-11 16:32 <KAT> ... AFolder 2014-06-03 16:17 <KAT> MyDomain\AUser AnotherFolder 

My guess is that is somehow has to do with inheritance but can't find neither documentation nor a reason for this folder to have a different owner than any other.

2 Answers

"..." as an owner specifies that there is no owner. Either the user who was the owner has been deleted or the folders owner was never set (this can be done by programmatic creation of folders in some instances).

You will need to take ownership of the folder and then delegate it to which ever user group you want to give ownership to.

To take ownership, right click the folder > properties > security tab > advanced > ownership and then the edit button.

I am experiencing what appears to be the same issue with Windows server 2008r2. From the command prompt a dir /q show the owner as "...". However if I add the owner attribute in file explorer, file explorer will show the Owner header & the appropriate owner. Seems to be an issue with the CLI only.