Windows 7 - Denied external drive permission after factory reset

Lyrical MC · 12-27-2011

Hi there,

I recently backed up all my data onto an external drive before factory resetting my laptop. However now when I try and access the files on the external I get a message saying the following:

Now I have been able to remove this message for the initial folder, however all subfolders and files then give me the same message.

I have tried right clicking the folder > properties > security and then adding my new user to the permissions list and clicking all the check boxes below but however this only works the the current folder and no subfolders.

Looking for a way to avoid having to do this 1000 times.

Thanks

Slammer · 12-27-2011

Are you on an administrator account? If not, getting on one should probably fix that problem.

Also try disabling UAC. Go to Start and click on your user picture in the top right of the start menu. From that window, click on Change User Account Control settings.Drag the slider all the way down and restart your computer to get it to turn off.

If none of this helps, try accessing your hard drive with your computer in safe mode.

alphanumeric · 12-27-2011

Thats weird!

I just did a clean install and started getting that very message when I tried to access My Documents, Pictures, Music, and Videos folders that I keep on a separate partition. I did the same thing I always do and changed the location of the original folders to point to the folders on my second partition. I've done this before but this is the first time I can remember ever seeing that pop up message. I used the same Username and password for my user account that I always do too. I was only prompted the once though for each main folder. Once I clicked Continue I wasn't prompted again for any of the sub folders in that folder.
It was only the folders previously tied to my User account that did it too, clicking other folders on that partition didn't get that prompt.

Lyrical MC · 12-27-2011

Quote: Originally Posted by Slammer

Are you on an administrator account? If not, getting on one should probably fix that problem.

Also try disabling UAC. Go to Start and click on your user picture in the top right of the start menu. From that window, click on Change User Account Control settings.Drag the slider all the way down and restart your computer to get it to turn off.

If none of this helps, try accessing your hard drive with your computer in safe mode.

Yeah I'm using the administrator account, I'll give that other suggestion a shot and report back.

EDIT: Tried that and still getting the same problem (posted back earlier but must have errored)

Quote: Originally Posted by alphanumeric

Thats weird!

I just did a clean install and started getting that very message when I tried to access My Documents, Pictures, Music, and Videos folders that I keep on a separate partition. I did the same thing I always do and changed the location of the original folders to point to the folders on my second partition. I've done this before but this is the first time I can remember ever seeing that pop up message. I used the same Username and password for my user account that I always do too. I was only prompted the once though for each main folder. Once I clicked Continue I wasn't prompted again for any of the sub folders in that folder.
It was only the folders previously tied to my User account that did it too, clicking other folders on that partition didn't get that prompt.

Hmm sounds pretty much the exact same problem as I'm having, hopefully someone has a solution to it.

Lyrical MC · 12-28-2011

Bump

Slammer · 12-28-2011

Ok try this: Open command prompt as an administrator. Type in
takeown /f [external drive letter here]:\ /r

For example, if your drive is on D you would type takeown /f D:\ /r

If I remember correctly, that should give you permissions for every subdirectory and file on your drive. Just make sure you put the right drive letter in, because if you make a mistake and put in, say, the letter of the drive your OS is on right now, that might cause problems. If you do put the wrong letter in by mistake, you can always hit ctrl+c to cancel what it's doing.

Depending on how much stuff you have on your drive, this might take a while to complete. If this doesn't fix your problem, I have another, more powerful (and therefore more risky) command you can run. If it's really a permissions error, one of them should work.

Lyrical MC · 12-28-2011

I tried what you said above and got this message:

alphanumeric · 12-28-2011

Quote: Originally Posted by Lyrical MC;1717325[QUOTE=alphanumeric

Thats weird!

I just did a clean install and started getting that very message when I tried to access My Documents, Pictures, Music, and Videos folders that I keep on a separate partition. I did the same thing I always do and changed the location of the original folders to point to the folders on my second partition. I've done this before but this is the first time I can remember ever seeing that pop up message. I used the same Username and password for my user account that I always do too. I was only prompted the once though for each main folder. Once I clicked Continue I wasn't prompted again for any of the sub folders in that folder.
It was only the folders previously tied to my User account that did it too, clicking other folders on that partition didn't get that prompt.

Hmm sounds pretty much the exact same problem as I'm having, hopefully someone has a solution to it.[/QUOTE]

I only got that prompt once and only on first access to the initial folder. I didn't get prompted again when I accessed any sub folders in that folder. It was only select folders on that partition too. This is the first time I can remember seeing that prompt. If I had to guess I'd say a Windows security update tweaked something. Just a guess though, I'm not getting nagged any more so I haven't investigated it any further. I just wanted to let you know you aren't the only one getting that message.

Lyrical MC · 12-28-2011

Quote: Originally Posted by alphanumeric

Quote: Originally Posted by Lyrical MC;1717325[QUOTE=alphanumeric

Thats weird!

I just did a clean install and started getting that very message when I tried to access My Documents, Pictures, Music, and Videos folders that I keep on a separate partition. I did the same thing I always do and changed the location of the original folders to point to the folders on my second partition. I've done this before but this is the first time I can remember ever seeing that pop up message. I used the same Username and password for my user account that I always do too. I was only prompted the once though for each main folder. Once I clicked Continue I wasn't prompted again for any of the sub folders in that folder.
It was only the folders previously tied to my User account that did it too, clicking other folders on that partition didn't get that prompt.

Hmm sounds pretty much the exact same problem as I'm having, hopefully someone has a solution to it.

I only got that prompt once and only on first access to the initial folder. I didn't get prompted again when I accessed any sub folders in that folder. It was only select folders on that partition too. This is the first time I can remember seeing that prompt. If I had to guess I'd say a Windows security update tweaked something. Just a guess though, I'm not getting nagged any more so I haven't investigated it any further. I just wanted to let you know you aren't the only one getting that message.[/QUOTE]

As much as it's not great to know you are getting the same problem it is somewhat reassuring

Slammer · 12-28-2011

Quote: Originally Posted by Lyrical MC

I tried what you said above and got this message:

Oh you just didn't put spaces between the arguments. Here, copy this:
takeown /f g:\ /r
Then, in command prompt, right-click the the top bar and select Edit -> Paste. Then hit enter. That should do it.

Windows 7 - Denied external drive permission after factory reset

Denied external drive permission after factory reset problems?