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

Are you worried about what to do with the “The drive is inaccessible. Access has been restricted” error? Reformatting the partition will help, but it will come at the cost of data loss.

To keep data safe and restore deleted data after formatting the drive, try Advanced Disk Recovery. This data recovery tool helps get back data even from a formatted drive.

Why Does the Error Say D:\ Drive is Not Accessible

Users usually think that the “Drive is not accessible – Access is denied” or D:\ Drive is not accessible, is encountered due to a hardware issue, or is because the drive is in use. They are not wrong as they are a potential cause. However, that is not always the case. There are several other reasons that cause the error. Here, we enlist the core factors -error occurs due to the following reasons –

• The drive does not have the required permissions.
• It is infected with a virus.
• It is locked by BitLocker.
• The hard drive is corrupt or damaged.
• Outdated Drivers
• User Permission Errors

Therefore, before following the troubleshooting steps, ensure the drive is not locked.

How do you unlock the BitLocker encrypted drive?

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

Once you are sure it is not locked, follow these steps to fix the issue.

How To Fix Inaccessible Hard Drive Partition?

Fix 1 – Fix Drive Is Not Accessible via Properties

When the external hard drive displays location is not available, access is denied, or “The drive is inaccessible. Access has been restricted, ” it means you don’t have the correct privilege settings. 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

When the “drive is not accessible” issue is followed by the “Access is Denied” message, 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

Fix 3 – Assign a Different Drive Letter

If changing properties and running the CHKDSK command on the disk does not work, you should probably try to reassign a drive letter.

To do so, follow these steps –

Step 1 – Press Win+X to bring up the quick access menu.

Step 2 – From the menu, click on Disk Management to open the tool.
Step 3 – In the Window, select the partition of the drive that you cannot open and right-click on it.

Step 4 – Find the Change Drive Letter option in the menu and click on it.

Step 5 – Click on Change to initiate the process and select the drive letter.
Step 6 – Select a letter from the dropdown that has not already been used.

Step 7 – Click OK to save the change. 

Restart your PC after changing the driver letter. This way, you can resolve the accessibility issue if it was due to the assigned drive letter. If not, do not worry, as we have one more fix left. 

Fix 4 – Format the Drive

After you have tried everything, you should save the drive and keep it usable. If the current data on it has gone corrupt and is not allowing the drive to open, you may not have a choice other than formatting it. Use the NTFS file system to format the drive; you should be able to use it again.

Step 1 – Press Win+X to bring up the quick access menu.
Step 2 – From the menu, click on Disk Management to open the tool.
Step 3 – In the Window, select the partition of the drive that you cannot open and right-click on it.
Step 4 – Find the Format option in the menu and click on it. Step 5 – Ensure that the NTFS file system is selected and click on OK to complete the process.

After successfully formatting it, you can find that the drive is now accessible. However, the data you had will be lost. To get the data back, you can try data recovery software, as it is possible to recover data from formatted hard drives. 

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 the 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 deleted files from the drive back, which 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 why 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 should you 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, 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 drive is not accessible. The error is caused by data corruption, malware infection, lack of permissions, and other reasons. Luckily, with the help of the fixes explained above, you can fix the issue. Using Advanced Disk Recovery, you can retrieve deleted files. 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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