How to fix Drive is not Accessible “Access is Denied” Error in Windows 11,10,8

While accessing the hard disk, if you get the message, “The drive is inaccessible. Access has been restricted,” no worries. You can try the following solution to fix the issue.

The error “Drive is not accessible – Access is denied” usually occurs when the drive does not have the required permissions.

In addition, when the drive is affected by a virus or is locked by BitLocker, you might also encounter the “drive not accessible” error. Therefore, before following the troubleshooting steps, ensure the drive is not locked.

How to unlock BitLocker encrypted drive?

To unlock the drive locked by BitLocker, right-click the drive > Unlock drive > type the password, and that’s it.

However, if the disk is affected by a virus or the disk is corrupt, reformatting the partition will help fix the issues. But doing so has a side effect, as the data stored on this partition will be erased, which is a more severe problem. That said, if you want to keep data safe and reformat the drive, try Advanced Disk Recovery, a data recovery tool that will help get back data even from a formatted drive. Click here to learn how to use the tool.

However, before that, if you want to check whether you have rights, follow these quick fixes.

How To Fix Inaccessible Hard Drive Partition?

Fix 1 –  External Hard Drive Not Accessible Corrupted Unreadable

When the external hard drive displays the “The drive is inaccessible. Access has been restricted ” message, you don’t have the correct privilege settings in Windows. To fix the issue, you need to take ownership. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Go to My PC
2. Right-click the inaccessible hard drive > Properties

3. Click the Security tab > Advanced > Edit > click Change > enter the user account name and click Check Name > modify the ownership.

Read Here- How To Recover Lost Files After Upgrading Windows

Fix 2- Run CHKDSK Command

If the “drive is not accessible” issue is followed by another message, “Access is Denied,” then the possible reasons for this problem are disk errors, bad sectors, or a corrupt file system. To fix this, you’ll need to run the CHKDSK command. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Connect the external hard drive.
2. Open the elevated Command Prompt. Type Command Promot > right-click > Run as administrator.
3. Type chkdsk D: /f /r in the Command Prompt window. (Here, D is the disk’s drive letter, which shows the “drive is not accessible” error.)
4. Click Yes to proceed.

Now try to access the drive; you should not face any problems. However, if you still face the problem, you must format the drive. In such a case, we recommend using Advanced Disk Recovery to get back the data that will be deleted.

Must Read- How to Recover Deleted PSD Files

How To Recover Files from a Drive that Shows Inaccessible Hard Drive Partition

With the help of Advanced Disk Recovery, the data recovery software for Windows PC, you can restore files from an inaccessible or formatted drive.

For the best outcomes, never store the retrieved data on the same drive you are scanning and avoid using it.

Here are the steps to use Advanced Disk Recovery.

1. Download, install, and launch Advanced Disk Recovery.

2. Select the storage type and drive letter from which you wish to recover data.

3. Next, choose from the two scanning modes – Quick Scan & Deep Scan

The quick scan identifies files from MFT, while Deep Scan performs sector-wide scanning.

4. Click Scan Now and wait for the drive to be examined.

5. Analyze the scan results. Select the files you want to recover > hit the ‘Recover’ button.

6. Pick a different location where you want to restore the file.

7. Advanced Disk Recovery will show a confirmation message after recovering the files.

This is how using Advanced Disk Recovery, you can get back deleted files from the drive that shows the Access is Denied error.

Also Read- How To Recover Unsaved Word Document On Windows 10

FAQs

Q1. Why is my hard drive detected but not accessible?

There could be several reasons for hard drives are detected but not accessible. Some of the common ones are:

1. Technical glitch on the operating system.
2. Drive’s internal hardware failure.
3. Bad sectors in the hard drive are caused due to inappropriate disconnection.
4. The drive is infected by malware or a virus.
5. Software glitch.

Q2. What to do if a drive is not accessible?

Quick Fix for Drive not accessible error.

1. Right-click the inaccessible drive > select Properties.

2. Click the Security tab > Advanced > Edit> Click the Owner tab and change the ownership.

Now try to access the drive. If you still face problems, use chkdsk D: /f /r. (Here, D is the disk’s drive letter, which shows the “drive is not accessible” error.) command.

For more steps and you can read the complete post.

Q4. How do I check hard drive access?

Press Windows + R and open the Run window.

Type Cmd to open the command prompt app.

Now type “CHKDSK” on the command prompt window and hit enter.

This will run a scan and show you the status of your HDD

Fixed – The drive is not accessible

The reason why you have lost the data makes no difference. You can easily retrieve deleted files if you have excellent data recovery software for Windows PC. Advanced Disk Recovery is one tool that helps restore data from any data loss situation. You can use it to recover deleted files from Windows 11 & 10. We hope you like the information we have shared.

Please share your feedback with us in the comments section. For any product-related questions, you can send an email to support@systweak.com.

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