Windows 8 Can not access C: Drive any longer

[yawa77]

Hello,

I recently became the proud owner of a Windows 8 BSOD. I did a refresh and afterwards I can not access my C: drive. I have gone in to the Properties Tab and tried to change the writes/ take ownership for Administrators and Administrator and applied them. While applying them I get a lot off pop up boxes from " File is in use" to " Object can not be parsed" etc. I need access to the entire C: drive. I had it before the refresh and now I can not do anything at all.

Thank You!

 

[patcooke]

Try booting into safemode and running a system restore.

 

[yawa77]

There isn't a Sfae Mode like in Windows 7 etc. Like I said I had to do a system refresh and it restored the factor settings on the laptop and then would not let me access anything on the C drive. I can pen things like the control panel but can not run any of the programs

 

[Medico]

How did you install Win 8 to start with? If this was an upgrade from the download, you might need to start over. Can you access the email receipt you received from MS? If so there is a link near the top to start over. I would follow this and choose the Install from Media you create option, burn a DVD or Flash drive and start over. Boot to the Media and do a Custom Install.

Many of these very strange failures are caused by the Upgrade Install going bad.

I always recommend 2 things:
1) Always create the installation media from the ISO download. This gives access to the Repair Console through Repair my computer on the DVD

2) Always do a Custom Install, not an Upgrade Install. In my case I use the Disk Options (Advanced) link and format the partition during the installation. This gives a very pristine installation and helps to eliminate these problems.

How To Geek tells use how to add Safe Mode to the Win 8 Boot Options in the MBR