Windows 10 Can't open up my Z drive. Please advise.

[nelsonkane]

I know this is a familiar problem, but the explanations I've seen for it are very lengthy, and they didn't seem to apply to my exact problem. Please advise.

I get this message: "You don't currently have permission to access this folder. Click continue to permanently get access to this folder. You have been denied permission to access this folder. To gain access to this folder you will need to use the security tab."

But clicking on the security tab accomplishes nothing. All it does is show me that there are 103 MB of used space, and 153 MB of free space.

I assume that the "folder" is a flash drive. I can think of no other words to describe it.

How do I unlock the 103 MB of used space, or is the flash drive just broken and nothing can be done? I was writing a book, and the book is on the flash drive, and now I'm screwed.

Thanks!

 

[Neemobeer]

If you don't eject flash drives probably they can become corrupted. I would start by running chkdsk /f /r on the drive.

 

[nelsonkane]

nm

 

[nelsonkane]

Where do I type that in? " chkdsk /f /r"?
I have an HP with Windows 10. Thanks!

Another problem is that when I put the USB device in, I get the error message: "USB device not recognized. The last USB device you connected to this computer malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it."

 

[Neemobeer]

You'll need to run it from an elevated command prompt.

• Click the Start button
• Type cmd
• Right click 'Command Prompt' and select 'Run as Administrator'
• Type chkdsk Z: /R

 

[nelsonkane]

nm

 

[Neemobeer]

Windows 10 has a start button it has the windows logo.

 

[nelsonkane]

Are you referring to the blue square at the bottom-left of my desktop that is divided up in to 4 smaller blue squares?

 

[Neemobeer]

Yes that is the Windows logo (start button)

 

[nelsonkane]

nm

 

[Neemobeer]

Click always means left click, right click only if specified.

 

[nelsonkane]

Okay, I opened up the black box that says "Administrator: Command Prompt" at the top. I typed in chkdsk Z: /R
I put a space between the "k" and the "Z," but no space between the ":" and the "/R"
Is that correct?

 

[nelsonkane]

nm

 

[Neemobeer]

Yes you'll need to dismount it.

 

[nelsonkane]

It says "Windows has scanned the file system and found no problems."
Then it lists a lot of info about bytes.

What's next? Thanks for your help.

When I take out the flash drive, it doesn't even remove it on the "This PC"

 

[Neemobeer]

Remove it and plug it back in and see if it works.

 

[nelsonkane]

No, I get the same error messages as before, like "To gain access to this folder you will need to use the security tab." Any more advice would be welcomed.

 

[nelsonkane]

Any more tips?

 

[Neemobeer]

You'll probably need to format it and try and recover the data. Sounds like it's corrupt.

 

[nelsonkane]

Yes, but if I format it, I get a warning sign that says that all data on the object will be deleted.

Okay, thanks, bye.