Windows 7 Flash Drive "You don't currently have permission to access this folder"

Brane Ded

New Member
I was able to access my flash drive last Friday, 2/28/14, and any day prior to that without any problems however Monday, 3/3/14, I get the following error when attempting to access my drive,

"You don't currently have permission to access this folder. Click Continue to permanently get access to this folder."

Upon clicking Continue, another error pops up,

"You have been denied permission to access this folder. To gain access to this folder you will need to use the security tab."

Security tab is an underlined link that opens the properties manager for the drive however there is no security tab, I assume because the flash drive is considered a virtual drive, which is typical, so I can't take ownership of the drive as suggested by all the Google searches I did.

This desktop runs Win 7 Pro, 32-bit, SP1 as does every other desktop in the office (minus the server). This is my work desktop and upon testing my flash drive in other desktops around the office, it works perfectly fine, it also works just fine on my desktop at home but not this one. The account on my desktop is also an admin however I am not the only user but I know the others who have access do not know how to change permissions that would cause this.

The company I work for tries to block all access to forums/video/picture/tech sites (which can be incredibly counter-productive when trying to solve tech issues around the office) and this is one of the few unblocked forum domains I could find. Hoping someone here may know what happened between last Friday and Monday to cause this issue.
 
I still have not yet found a fix for this. I have been temporarily using another office's desktop to load and unload my flash drive files to the office server where I can access them from my desktop but that is annoying to say the least.
 
  • Confirm that the flash drive does not work on any other USB port on that machine (try every one).
  • If you are using a USB port on a hub, plug the drive directly into the computer, instead, even if you have to temporarily unplug something else for the test.
  • Try another flash drive (different brand if you have one), and see if all flash drives are locked out.
  • If you have or can borrow an external hard disk, see if you can access that on the machine.
  • Windows 7 has generic drivers for flash drives. However, see if the drive manufacturer has a driver available. If so, install it and see if you regain access.
  • Open a command window (type cmd in the Run window from the start button). See if you can access the drive from there (enter the drive letter with a colon, hit enter and see if it goes there; type dir and hit enter and see if you get a directory of the contents). Close the window.
  • If that does not work, try it again in explicit administrator mode (type cmd in the Start menu search bar; cmd.exe should appear in a list; right click on it and pick Run as Administrator).
  • When you plug in the flash drive, do you get a menu of autoplay options?
  • If so, what happens when you select Open Folder to View Files?
  • If not, make sure it has something on it (not a blank drive). If necessary copy something to it on another computer.
  • If you don't get the autoplay menu, did you used to get it?
These checks will narrow down the problem. Let us know the results.
 
  • Confirm that the flash drive does not work on any other USB port on that machine (try every one). Tried all 7 open ports, all with the same error.
  • If you are using a USB port on a hub, plug the drive directly into the computer, instead, even if you have to temporarily unplug something else for the test. No hub.
  • Try another flash drive (different brand if you have one), and see if all flash drives are locked out. Same error with other flash drives.
  • If you have or can borrow an external hard disk, see if you can access that on the machine. Do not have access to an E-HDD.
  • Windows 7 has generic drivers for flash drives. However, see if the drive manufacturer has a driver available. If so, install it and see if you regain access. No manufacturer drivers found.
  • Open a command window (type cmd in the Run window from the start button). See if you can access the drive from there (enter the drive letter with a colon, hit enter and see if it goes there; type dir and hit enter and see if you get a directory of the contents). Close the window. It shows the flash drive serial number but then says "file not found" below it.
  • If that does not work, try it again in explicit administrator mode (type cmd in the Start menu search bar; cmd.exe should appear in a list; right click on it and pick Run as Administrator). Same results as above.
  • When you plug in the flash drive, do you get a menu of autoplay options? Autoplay does pop up with one option, "open folder and view files".
  • If so, what happens when you select Open Folder to View Files? Clicking that option from the pop up window results in the same error I wrote in the first post.
  • If not, make sure it has something on it (not a blank drive). If necessary copy something to it on another computer. Drive is loaded, I can see all the files from any other computer in the office.
  • If you don't get the autoplay menu, did you used to get it? Autoplay has always popped up. Accessing it through the My Computer window also produces the same error.
 
You've mentioned that you're running 7 pro, in an office, with a server, so....
Is this computer a domain member?
The reason I ask is that, there are any number of policy settings that can restrict access to "removable devices" which, in a domain, can be applied to an individual computer, or user, or OU container containing that individual computer or user.

Even if not a domain member, there may be a local policy setting or even more than one that can do the same thing, for instance check the local group policy editor for a setting here.
Hold the windows logo key and strike the "r" key and type
gpedit.msc
and hit enter.
Navigate to here
User Configuration->Administrative Template->System->Removable Storage Access
Check the right hand pane for any entries that might be "enabled". On a typical installation they should all show as "Not configured". There may be more else where that I am not familiar with.

Additionally you mentioned that "there is no security tab"....... that is likely due more to the fact that the USB thumb drive is formatted with something other than NTFS format, likely fat32 and nothing to concern yourself with.
 
You've mentioned that you're running 7 pro, in an office, with a server, so....
Is this computer a domain member?
The reason I ask is that, there are any number of policy settings that can restrict access to "removable devices" which, in a domain, can be applied to an individual computer, or user, or OU container containing that individual computer or user.

Even if not a domain member, there may be a local policy setting or even more than one that can do the same thing, for instance check the local group policy editor for a setting here.
Hold the windows logo key and strike the "r" key and type
gpedit.msc
and hit enter.
Navigate to here
User Configuration->Administrative Template->System->Removable Storage Access
Check the right hand pane for any entries that might be "enabled". On a typical installation they should all show as "Not configured". There may be more else where that I am not familiar with.

Additionally you mentioned that "there is no security tab"....... that is likely due more to the fact that the USB thumb drive is formatted with something other than NTFS format, likely fat32 and nothing to concern yourself with.

That is a possibility as my workstation is a domain member, I'll ask our network admin if there was a change to my workstation as far as removable access is concerned.

I checked the access restrictions in gpedit per your instructions and everything read "Not configured" in that specific folder as well as the All files option too. So no one modified those on my station specifically.

You are also correct about the drive being formatted in FAT32, not that it makes much of a difference, I didn't even think to look at the time.
 
I should have asked the network admin to start off, turns out they blocked all removable drive permissions to any workstation considered a POS, mine being one of them. Thank you for the help and sorry to waste your time.

- Joe
 
No problem Joe.
Always a learning experience. Glad the you've at least discovered what's going on.
And thanks for posting back and updating your thread with that information....... many do not and we're left hanging, wondering.
 
I'm having the exact same issue, on a brand new laptop which has never joined a domain; it's never touched the domain and still says "workgroup" in the domain.

I've checked everything mentioned here; no removable media restrictions have been configured in local policy.

No USB storage devices work; thumb drives, cameras, etc. They all work on all other laptops. Both current devices are running W7 Pro. The only difference I know of so far, is that this laptop is new.
Any ideas?
 
Do other kinds of devices work properly on the USB ports (other than a dumb device like a fan or light)?
Do you get identical symptoms as previously described (drive is recognized but you get a message that access is denied)?
When you say cameras don't work, you're referring to a cable connection to the camera, itself, not to a usb media reader and the camera's memory card?
In the Device Manager, are there any error flags in any of the categories dealing with USB, portable devices, or disk drives (particularly when a thumb drive is loaded)?
You said this is a brand new laptop. Did you get it yourself from a retailer or is this an employer-provided machine?
The "workgroup" reference in the domain--can I assume that is actually a local network named "workgroup", not a title or placeholder?
If there is a local network configured, can you access and use it?
 
Did a little digging into others with the same problem. Found a few things to try:
 
@Trouble

Hi,

Cant thank you enough....

This access denied error was a real pain for so long as I could not find any way out to rectify it.
Thanks to your sharing, I was able to resolve my problem.

Thanking you once again

Azhar
India
 
Hey Gregg


Go to Device manager and disable your usb driver and then uninstall it .
after that, take out your usb drive and then plug it to other port and install the driver and you will have the permission to acces the usb.


It works for me .
 
I thought I'd post a response even though this thread is getting old. I had this error message using a usb flash/thumb drive in my HP Elitebook. It turns out to be a HP security issue. I had to authenticate that I was the authorised person on this laptop to allow the drive to access the usb. An icon in the lower rh corner popped up prompting me to authenticate and it guided me through the authorisation process (it was quick). A message then came up saying I only had 15 minutes to access the drive data before it would shut down access again! Lol so I saved the document I needed on to my desktop to work on. Bloody annoying but that's security right? I hope this helps someone.
 
Hi Fixer1234

I have the same problem as Brane Ded, which i think the network administrator blocked all the removable drive permissions. Is there anyway to unblock this?


Appropriate your response.
 
Vannary,

I found that if you go into the HP client security, then device permissions there is a link you can click on that says "change" with a shield next to it. Then change removable storage to allow full access under both the administrator tab and users. It is grayed out but can still be changed. I found this fixed the problem for me. Hope this helps.
 
Hi @Ice Queen ! Welcome to the forum. Thank you for your reply. This thread is a little old, but it's always good when new members post their suggestions and the ways they have found to fix issues that other members are having!:up::worship:
 
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