QUESTION :
I’m in quite some trouble now. I’m a photographer and I store all of my important RAW files and processed photographs on my external hard drives and have been doing so for quite a while. A few months ago, I updated my OS to Windows 8.1 from Windows 8 and ever since then I’ve been having trouble accessing folders and files on my Ex-HDDs.
The two external hard disks are:
- Seagate Expansion Portable Disk (1 TB)
- Seagate Backup Plus Portable Disk (1 TB)
At first, I just used to get the occasional This area is restricted, press continue to enter with permission type dialogs, and I was fine with that. After a few more uses and tries, I’ve been getting the access is denied message for some folders.
Today, I plugged in my HDDs and none of them could be read. My Computer shows them as ‘Local Disks’ with 0 bytes. I’m not able to open them, then I get an error ‘Drive is not accessible. Access is Denied’.
I believe it’s a permissions problem, but I’m not quite sure. When I check the Security Tab, I see the old Administrator account of the old Windows 8 system (guessing because it has an X mark next to the icon).
When I try adding the Group ‘Everyone’ to the list, and granting Full Control, I’m encountered with yet another Access is Denied error.
What is causing this and how can I fix it?
ANSWER :
Have you tried taking ownership of the files using icacls? Here’s some instructions on how to do this for a whole drive (Option 3, No. 4): http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2808-take-ownership-file-folder-drive-registry-key-windows-8-a.html
If this fails, you may be able to change the permissions using a Linux Live bootable CD or USB, though that would require some extra preparation and research work, and a bit of confidence (or bravery?) using Linux if you have never used it before. You can download Ubuntu and a tool to create a bootable USB from the Ubuntu site.