Problems with Western Digital external hard drive


  1. Posts : 6
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
       #1

    Problems with Western Digital external hard drive


    Hello everyone, this is my first time posting here so please bear with me.

    Lately I seem to be having problems with my WD 1TB external hard drive. I noticed the problem about 2-3 weeks ago when I went to play some music from Windows Media Player. Windows Media Player took a very long time to open and when I went to play some music files it would freeze up and I would have to end the Windows Media Player process through the Task Manager. After that I tried going directly into my external hard drive to play the music, but Windows Media Player would not play any file I chose. I noticed as I was opening the external hard drive through Windows Explorer it took a very long time for all the files to load and there is only 48GB worth of data on the external hard drive. I then started looking around online and found that it may be some type of security issue or that I should run CHKDSK. I tried to change the security settings so I could gain access for my files, but it kept coming up as Access Denied. Then I decided to run CHKDSK, which was somewhat of a mistake/problem because it took about 4 or 5 days to finish (I checked both boxes in CHKDSK). After CHKDSK finished it said that some problems were found and fixed, but as of now I am still having problems trying to access my files.

    Regardless of what CHKDSK accomplished, I still think that there is a security issue and I cannot figure out how to fix it. The only way that I can get everything to work is to go file by file and add a permission of "Full Control" for the group "Everyone". If I try and add this permission to a folder it tells me that Access is Denied. Here is an example of one of the many folders and what happens when I try to open it.

    I double click on this folder to open it:
    Problems with Western Digital external hard drive-example-1.png


    Then this message pops up:
    Problems with Western Digital external hard drive-example-2.png


    I click Continue and this message pops up:
    Problems with Western Digital external hard drive-example-3.png


    I then go into the security tab:
    Problems with Western Digital external hard drive-example-4.png

    I click Continue and this pops up:
    Problems with Western Digital external hard drive-example-5.png

    After taking ownwership on the "Administrators (Josh-PC\Administrators)" I go back into the security tab and find that the "System" is the only one with permission to access these files:
    Problems with Western Digital external hard drive-example-6.png

    When I try to add the group "Everyone" and set the permissions to "Full Control" I get this message:
    Problems with Western Digital external hard drive-example-7.png

    When I click "Continue" it moves on to the next file and says the same thing as the picture above. The only way for me to gain access to all the files is to go through each one by one and add the group "Everyone" to each file.

    So my question is, how do I gain access to all of my files again? I don't want to sit here going through each file one by one. I have even tried to copy all of my files to my internal hard drive, but that does not even work. I have also tried plugging in the external hard drive to my HP laptop which runs Windows 7 64bit as well, but the same security stuff keeps popping up. I hope I have been clear with my explanation and if there is anything I have missed please let me know. If you need anymore information please let me know that as well. My system specs should be in my profile.

    Any help with this matter is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 7,055
    Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit
       #2

    Check to see whether Permissions Time Machine can help resolve your problem.

    Permissions Time Machine Free Download

    AMYD Projects - Official Blog: Permissions Time Machine v1.4.2

    Do create a System Restore point before using this software so that you can revert back if need be. ( In fact you should always do that before trying any new software you haven't used before..)
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 2
    Windows 7 ultimate x64
       #3

    Hey there, sorry to hear about your issue.

    First of all, could you please let me know which is the model of the external drive you are having these issues with. You could check this link for further info on how to change the ownership - "Access is Denied" error message when you try to open a folder
    I would also recommend that you run Data Lifeguard Diagnostics to check if everything with the hard drive is ok. You can download it here - WD Support / Downloads / Other Products / Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows

    Hope this helps!

    Cheers, Dorian_WD
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 6
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #4

    The model number is WDBAAU0010HBK
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 2
    Windows 7 ultimate x64
       #5

    Thanks for sharing this information. Have you tried replicating this issue on another computer?
    I would also suggest that you try another USB hub and cable to see if there is an issue with the electricity provided to the hard drive.

    Cheers, Dorian_WD
      My Computer


 

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 7 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 7" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:49.
Find Us