Comments on: How to fix Drive is not Accessible “Access is Denied” Error in Windows 11/10/8

By: Preeti Seth

Preeti Seth — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 08:31:07 +0000

In reply to Chris.

Dear Chris,

Thank you for writing to us.

As you cannot run CMD as admin and cannot change the owner you can follow these steps to see if it help:

1. Restart your computer in Safe Mode

1. Hold the Shift key and click Restart.
2. You will now get a blue screen select Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → Startup Settings → Restart.
3. After restarting, select Enable Safe Mode with Networking using the number keys on your keyboard.

Now try accessing your C drive. If this helps some third party program might be causing the issue. If this doesn’t help then

2. Run a Disk Check from Recovery Mode

1. Restart your PC and press F8, F12, or Esc repeatedly while it boots up.
2. Choose Advanced Options → Command Prompt.

3. In the Command Prompt window to run Disk check, type:

chkdsk C: /f /r

Press Enter.
/f fixes errors on the disk.
/r repairs bad areas.
Wait for the PC to check for errors and fix them.

After this create a new admin account as there are chances that the one you have is corrupted.

To create admin account in safe mode follow these steps:

1. Press Windows + R > type cmd > and press Enter.

2. Type the following commands one at a time and press Enter after each:

net user AdminTemp /add
net localgroup administrators AdminTemp /add

3. Restart your computer and log in using the new AdminTemp account.

This should help. If this doesn’t work either try resetting drive permissions

1. Press Windows + R > type cmd in Run window.
2. Type icacls C:\ /reset /T /C /Q in the command prompt window to reset all permissions for the C: drive.

Next repair system files by using sfc /scannow command.

If this doesn’t help run DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

These commands will scan and repair missing or corrupted system files.

Take a backup of files as a safety measure.

If nothing works sadly you will have to reinstall Windows.

Hope this helps fix the issue.

Regards

Systweak Support

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 01:15:08 +0000

Hi please I really need your help.
I can’t access the local disk on my windows 11 Pro laptop. When I click on it it says “location is not available
C:\ is not accessible.
Access denied. ”
I can’t run cmd as administrator. When I try, it says ” Network Error
Windows cannot access C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe”
When I go into the properties of the local disk and click on the “Change” current owner, it says ” Can’t open access control editor. Access is denied.”
Please help me fix this.
I would want to take pictures of it and show it to you for better understanding of the problem.
Thank you 😔

By: Preeti Seth

Preeti Seth — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 06:07:51 +0000

In reply to Kenneth Shelton.

Hello Kenneth,

Thank you for contacting Systweak Support.

Regret the inconvenience you have experienced.

Can you please let us know if the drive is part of Internal or External Hard drive?

In the meantime we suggest you try the below mentioned steps and check if it helps you in fixing the issue.

* Restart you PC

* Open ThisPC > right-click on the drive > select Properties.

* Go to Tools tab > click Check

* When you are prompted to make a choice, select Scan drive and follow on screen instructions.

* When done try opening the drive.

This should fix the issue.

Thanks and Regards

Also try to access the drivers through Disk Management. Press Windows Key + X and select Disk Management. There try to double-click or right click on the E: drive to see if it allows you access the drive.

Keep us posted if you require further assistance.

By: Kenneth Shelton

Kenneth Shelton — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 07:23:06 +0000

when i right click and press properties, it wont open. drivew cannot be opened, and whole computer gets slower when drive is plugged in, also when task manager is open my disc % jumps from about 25 to 50. every action i try with the disk makes file explorer stop responding and need to be force closed

By: Rishabh Muley

Rishabh Muley — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 05:19:36 +0000

Thanks Ma’am changing the properties worked.

By: Preeti Seth

Preeti Seth — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 03:15:13 +0000

In reply to david tran.

Dear David,

Thank you for writing to us.

To change ownership of a file or folder on Windows 11 follow these steps:

Step 1: Right-click on the file or folder you want to change the ownership for.

Step 2: Select Properties from the context menu. Under Properties click on “Security” Tab.

Step 3: You will now be able to see permissions. If you cannot see any permissions to change, to Take Ownership of the file or folder, click on “Advanced”.

Step 4: Next, in the window that appears, you have to click on “Change” and enter the object name. Type on your Windows username to which you want to grant permission.

Step 5: Click on “Replace owner on subcontainers and object” and click Apply.

Step 6: Once you click on Apply, you’ll see this warning message. Click on Yes to proceed.

Step 7: Click “OK” twice click Advanced.

Step 8: Now under the Advanced permissions, you will see a change, and you will see the option to add Multiple Objects

Step 9. To add multiple objects and to inherit permission, you can click on “Change Permissions”.

Step 10. To inherit permissions, click on “Enable inheritance”. To add a new object, click on “Add” and click on “Select a Principal” and type in the Object name.

Now you can enable the Basic Permission. If you want to enable advanced permission, click on “Show advanced permissions”.

Once you have made all the changes, click Ok and exit the window.

Try these steps and see if it works.

Thanks and Regards