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

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nelsonkane

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Jun 6, 2017
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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!
 
Solution
Before I would do that; I would immediately turn off your computer by shutting it down from the W10 Start Menu as Neem illustrated.
Then remove your flash drive from that computer by physically unplugging it from the USB port. Then take it to a different computer preferably running W10 also. If not available, you can test the integrity of the flash drive on any other computer running Vista/W7/W8 by plugging it into it's USB port and see if you can read the file directory (see if your files and folders are there).

On your Post #13 you do not want to answer "Y" to that opened handles question, since dismounting the volume can corrupt the MFT (Master File Table) or index on that drive and it will be very near impossible to...
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If you don't eject flash drives probably they can become corrupted. I would start by running chkdsk /f /r on the drive.
 
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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."
 
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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
 
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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?
 
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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"
 
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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.
 
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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.
 
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