[support] Why doesn't Drupal sees the "files" folder?

[dondi_2006]

Hello,

I have installed Drupal 4.7.1 and created the first (administrator) account
Now I am in the Home -> Administer -> Settings panel, to configure the website.
The first time I loaded this page, it showed this warning:

    * warning: mkdir(files): Permission denied in /var/www/html/includes/file.inc on line 91.
    * The directory files does not exist.



which was correct, I *had* indeed forgotten that step in the install instructions. However, the message remains even after:

* creating that directory, with the same owner and group as settings.php
* reloading that page

This is a virtual domain, I am working in /var/www/html/sites/mynewwebsite.net, where there is settings.php and, now,
also the files folder.
Why isn't it seen yet in the control panel? Note it still says the folder doesnt' exist.

Is drupal looking somewhere else? How can I fix this, and understand exacty what is happening?

TIA,
D.