How To Fix Cannot Open Volume For Direct Access in Windows

Storage is an imminent part of using your PC. It is grouped into two categories- internal and external. Although using a storage device is very easy, thanks to Plug N Play technology, there are times when you cannot do so. Storage errors are rare and often come with frightening messages. One such message is “Cannot open volume for direct access,” and this one arises especially when trying to use the Chkdsk utility to fix any storage device. In simpler words, you cannot use a storage device, and when you try to fix it using Chkdsk, you get an error message “the disk check could not be performed” or something like that. This article focuses on this error and will let you know different ways how to open volume for direct access.

Important: Recover Your Data Before Troubleshooting.

If you face the “Cannot open volume for direct access” error on your PC, try to recover your data from the drive. This way, if some of the data gets lost during troubleshooting, you need not worry, as you already have a backup of that data. We recommend using the Advanced Disk Recovery app to recover the data.

Step 1: Download and Install Advanced Disk Recovery using the download button below.

Step 2: Launch the software and choose the areas to be scanned.

Step 3: Click on the Start Scan Now Button.
Step 4: Choose the Deep scan option to recover files from the deepest sectors of your hard drive and click on Scan Now.

Step 5: A list of files that can be recovered will be displayed. Click on the check box next to the files you wish to recover and click on the Recover button.

Step 6: You will have to specify the location where you wish to save these recovered files and click on OK.
Step 7: Wait for some time, and you will have recovered all your important data.

Read Also: Advanced Disk Recovery Review

How To Fix Cannot Open Volume For Direct Access

Method 1: Turn Off The Third-Party App Services.

Some third-party apps have been known to lock the drives, making it inaccessible for other apps and the OS to access them. Disabling these services and completely checking or uninstalling the app from your system is advised in such cases.

Steps to disable the process/service.

Step 1: Press Win + X to open the Power menu and choose Task Manager.
Step 2: Click on the Processes tab in the Task Manager and look for third-party apps with high disk usage.
Step 3: Right-click on that process and choose “End Task”.

Step 4: Click on the Services tab and look for services related to your closed processes.

Step 5: Right-click on relevant services and choose Stop.

Now, run the chkdsk command to check if the issue persists.

Steps to uninstall the app.

Step 1: Press Win + R to open the RUN box.
Step 2: Type “Control” and click on the OK button.
Step 3: The Control Panel box will now open, and you must select View by Category in the top right corner.

Step 4: Locate Programs and click the “Uninstall A Program” link.
Step 5: A list of installed apps will appear on your screen. Locate the apps you wish to remove, right-click on them, and choose Uninstall.

Method 2: Launch Chkdsk In Safe Mode.

You can try running chkdsk in Safe mode or clean boot, which will minimize any third-party app interference. Here are the steps to boot your PC in safe mode.

Step 1: Press Win + R to open the RUN box.
Step 2: Type “msconfig” and press Enter.

Step 3: A new box will open click the Boot tab here.

Step 4: Check the box next to Safe Boot and click on Apply, followed by OK.
Step 5: Reboot your PC.

Method 3: Check For Bad Sectors

There are two bad sectors on your hard disk- logical and physical. Fixing the logical drive bad sectors is possible, but you cannot fix the physical bad sectors. Here is what you need to do:

Step 1: Download and install the Disk Speedup app.
Step 2: Launch the software, click the Disk Tools tab, and then click the Start Scan Now button.

Step 3: Next, choose the Thorough Analysis option to locate and fix bad sectors.

Step 4: Click on the Scan Now button.
Step 5: You will get a prompt asking you to restart your PC.

Method 4: Format The Storage Device

If you have tried all the above methods and are still facing the same error, then the only option is to format your drive. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Press Windows + X to open the Power Menu and choose Disk Management.
Step 2: A new window will open where you must right-click on your drive and choose Format from the context menu.

Step 3: Select the File System and click the OK button.

Have You Fixed Open Volume For Direct Access?

We hope you can fix the “cannot open volume for direct access using Chkdsk” error using the abovementioned steps. We would love to hear about your issue and how you fixed it in the comments section below.