Drive access problem.

Hi Bob. I'm Greg, an installation specialist, 10 years awarded Windows MVP, and Volunteer Moderator, here to help you.

Right click Start button to open Disk Management, scroll down to try to find the drive on the map by size and label, right click on it to assign a drive letter so it's detected in File Explorer.

Make sure the drive is detected in UEFI/BIOS setup, usually under Storage or Disk Drives: https://www.mydigitallife.net/comprehensive-lis...
http://www.isunshare.com/windows-password/four-...

Go into Device Manager to look for the drive under Disk Drives. It may be listed by it's model or Serial which you can google to determine which is it. Click on the Device, then Driver tab, choose Roll Back if available. If not then choose Uninstall, restart PC to reinstall driver. If that fails choose Update Driver, first Automatically, then if that fails choose Browse > Let Me Pick to try all previous drivers.

If the drive still won't show up then see if you can Test the drive using diagnostics to know for sure it's condition: https://www.lifewire.com/free-hard-drive-testin...
Follow this up with a DIsk Check from the Command Prompt if necessary: https://www.groovypost.com/howto/check-hard-dri...

You can check which Updates were installed just before this happened, then uninstall them at Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Installed Update History - look first for installed drivers. Then you can hide these Updates using the Hide Updates tool: https://www.howtogeek.com/224471/how-to-prevent...

You can also try to System Restore to a point before this happened, then check for Updates using the Hide Updates Tool to block the Updates offered: http://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/computing/how-t...

Check if the drive is detected in another PC. If so back up the data to it's desktop.
Then plug it back into the PC which cannot detect it, wipe it with Diskpart Clean Command: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/85819-erase...
then reformat in Disk Management:
http://www.wikihow.com/Format-an-External-Hard-...


I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and let us know how it goes. I will keep working with you until it's resolved.


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Dear Bob,

 Just a (long term trouble avoidance) suggestion ...

As Admin MS Win allows you to _assign_ drive letters (Control panel - Hardware)

In desk-top computing standards (not MS/Windows ... IBM & NEC/NCR agreed late 1970s/early 1980s); Drive "D" is System drive #2 (old twin disk protocol - Amstrad), or Media Drive (IBM/NEC - 1980s); prior to the availablity of the first HDDs (whooping 3.2 megabyte! I still have one as a memento) around 1987-88 (Intel had just released the 'amazing' 286 chip/cpu); and external media = tape drives. CD drives* (public/consumer) arrived in the late 1990s, at which point removable disk media (CD's) were added to the tape-drive defaults listings; subsequently graduating to DVD ... then (theses days/last five years) gradually disappearing into history (USB's, SD and SSD technology make the old media redundant) ... That is just 'technology' - doing what you expect/want = improving at blinding speed.

 All history - except the fact "Drive D" is assigned in many programs/devices ... as the supporting media/booting drive.

 Has nothing to do with 'Windows", or Apple/OS10+, nor Unix/Linux ... rather a background industry architecture standard, which remains or applies (across the board) in most cases.

 To avoid long term problems - change the Drive assigned letter to something in the range: F, through L.

 Leave "E" (reserve removable media).

 "A" is the old reserve 1st 'floppy' (boot sequence) drive, while "B" is the old reserve 2nd 'floppy' program and temporary/working file drive (AMSTRAD 6128 standard/design).

 You can assign those (system reserved) Drive letters to HDDs or SSDs/whatever ... but you guarantee a fatal/terminal system crash - sooner or later - by doing it.

 A, B, C, D, E, M & Z drive letters are BIOS/OS resources. Do not use those (OK if during a session the Bios/OS allocate them - in session - because that is why they're reserved/available - _To The System_ not the USER.)

 Worlds a free place, so you can do what you like. Just making a suggestion and explaining why things are the way they are ...

Cheers,

Rick

[*: Seems like just yesterday - CD drives. I co-wrote/edited the first English/US language user/explanation/installation manuals for the original MET/Richo CD read-write drives. They could 'read' at 10x~12x and write at 2x~4x ... Really fast hey - but 2x was all that really worked (4x tended to write errors).]

The drive is seen by File Explorer but it won't let me access it.  I can see, copy, read the drive and it's contents using a command prompt as an admin.  My windows account is setup us as an administrator also. When I click on the drive icon in explorer it just says: Location is not available, D:\ is not accessible, Access is denied.  The drive can be accessed via dos but not windows.

May I ask why you rated my post unhelpful without trying any of the steps, or reporting back results so I know what to suggest next?

Please post a screenshot of Disk Management, which I read like a doctor reads X-rays. Follow the steps here so I can see everything needed to advise you: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/foru...

Try running a full Disk Check from Command Prompt:
https://www.raymond.cc/blog/running-a-check-dis...

For Access is Denied on a hard drive see here:
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/fix-access-denied...
http://www.eassos.com/how-to/how-to-fix-access-...
https://www.easeus.com/computer-instruction/ext...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxDcooJFy-g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUbYk-uv7zw

If nothing else helps, move the drive to another PC to see if it's detected and if so copy out the data.

If not copy out the data from Command prompt using one of these methods:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

Then wipe the drive with Diskpart Clean Command and reformat in Disk Mgmt:
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/85819-erase...
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-format-new-h...

Dear Bob,

 Very sorry for the long delay replying.

 If you are not already familiar with the required code (usually F9 or F10 ... but it goes by manufacturer/bios ROM supplier), go to your computer manufacturer's site to get the code for entering bios - during boot.

 Reboot, go into bios and look at the drive allocation table.

 It sounds like the drive is being assigned by the bios. If possible, change the drive letter/allocation to "F" or "G", save the bios (might be F10 or Tab - again ROM maker specific), which should exit and auto re-boot.

 If you can do it in the ROM/Bios, Windows will accept it.

 Cheers,

 Rick.

Dear Bob ... still thinking about this (possibilities) ...

 Can you see what files are on that drive (file explorer) ...

 If not, from Command Line Type:

 CD D:\

DIR

note down the files

CD C:\

once back to C: ... bail out of Command prompt

 Tell me what's there. Trying to work-out if it might be a portable back-up drive running something like WD Passport.

 If it is, the drive is locked until the user or unlocking program runs - then allows Windows/User access.

 Memory is a bit rusty, as its been quite a while since I used/saw a WD Passport (6 or 7 maybe).

 Might also be early-onset Dementia. I used to say: I caught it at 13 years of age and have been getting younger ever since! {laugh}.

Cheers,

Rick.

I solved the problem by right clicking on D:\ in file explorer. Then using the security tab and edit and adding my user even though it had me listed under Administrators.  I then checked all the boxes under Allow.  It took about a half hour but then file explorer could see and the folders and files.  Thank you all for your replies.

Dear Bob,

 That is great; however I still think you should force the machine (Bios) to allocate a different drive letter.

 Thing is - the result is what counts. You've won - much cheering from the crowds.

 Thinking on what you did (how you managed the fix), I was wondering if the right click option "take ownership" might not work too, as its basically a fast shortcut to do all you did, without having to go in and tick each box.

 Not sure it appears on all/general systems, because the systems here (SylvR) are loaded-up with tons of diagnostics stuff ... to check what we're doing/where we went wrong, etc. I do not know if that facility is associated with one of the many diagnostic suites - or if its in Pro/Enterprise.

 Other caution would be using it on a drive. Units here (not the laptops) all have SES/SAS/SFF/SFA 'hot-swap' drives/bays, mostly so you can pull one out - then walk down another office, plug it in ... then talk about it (was set-up for big files, when 2.5 72Gb or 300Gb drives were considered big/amazing). Lot faster than trying to send it down the LANs, and more secure (lot of our stuff - RADAR side - is pretty secret/not transmitted). Now with 64/128&256Gb USB drives, basically obsolete - technically. Thing is everyone's main working systems are set-up the same, as are the core project computers, and we have several hundred of those hot-swap drives = 'stuck with it'.

 Reason for my caution thought ('taking ownership') on drives from other machines, is if the same would work (old user/owner) once swapped back. I do not know - because I have not yet (never before) tried it on a full drive ... only used it on files, programs and folders.

 Just a thought/thinking out loud.

 Again - well done. When the movies reopen and I visit next - I expect one of the Fantale wrappers to feature "BobDee", with a brief summary of your life and staring rolls ...

 Keep well and keep smiling,

Rick.