Access denied!!!!!!!!!!

[slopat]

That’s what popped up when I attempted to get into my external drive!!!!!! It’s a Seagate, 1-GB, and it’s within warranty. As much as I can recall, the following is what occurred on February 1, when I was on the desktop, about to click on the internet button, when a message popped up, saying Windows had detected a problem regarding the F-drive and it needed to look for the problem. Then, in the same small box, numbers that I presumed to be files began clicking through.

While waiting on this operation, and impatient at this delay, I (foolishly?) opened a solitaire game that I keep on the desktop, and proceeded to play. In about five minutes the game began to lug, so I closed it.

After about five more minutes the same pop-up as above, appeared again, so I clicked on it, thinking it needed to start over. A message said Windows could not proceed. When I attempted to access the F-drive this message appeared: ACCESS DENIED.

I called my guru at Staples (where I have purchased my latest computer, printer, external, etc.), and he said he’d need to see it. That means I have to disconnect the computer awa as the external drive, so he can see what’s going on.

Before I do that and have more expense, which I can barely handle at the moment, I thought I’d see if anyone has experienced this, and what it might mean. My guru said that it sounds like something has locked the external drive. I am the only user, so I don’t mess with things like that. I’ve been around computers since the very first desktop came out, and know when NOT to mess with tech issues that I don’t understand. If there’s a way to check into the system to see if there is some kind of lock, I can follow instructions to do that.

Thanks for any help! I have a lot of stuff on the F-drive - it’s all my backup and lots of photos I’ve scanned that aren’t on the computer – she says as she wrings her hands.

[troush]

First common things to try:

1. Shut down your computer, turn of the external. Then unplug it (power and computer), then plug the cable in to the computer and then plug the power in. Stranger things have happened, but plugs can come loose. Then turn the computer back on. See what happens.

2. Second thing - do something "safe" - just open Windows Explorer and then try to open the "F:" drive.

3. If 2 works, I would want to run a "chkdsk" on it. But, that's not my area of expertise. I think you have to bring up a command prompt. (On Windows 7, from the start menu, you go All Programs, then Accessories, and choose "Command Prompt". Then type chkdsk F: would be my guess.)

You can also interrupt the "boot" process to bring up the BIOS (either F12 or F5 - you have to watch it boot and press the right key right then) and see if the BIOS can see it. But, that will depend on your computer model and such...

-Trish

[Jan]

Hi slopat,
I posted this on the class Forum too... and I'm glad Trish added her expertise to the thread! That's why she's our techno-WonderWoman...

Is there any way you can plug your EHD in to another computer to see if you can access it from there?

Have you changed any settings on your computer recently, in terms of permissions and who can view certain folders? It could be a simple setting that needs to be corrected. Please check out this thread before you spend any money!
http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/cr...203795&Hilite=

If that doesn't work, since it's still under warranty, call Seagate to see what they can do for you.

Advice to all: Just a reminder... please, please, DO NOT leave your EHD plugged in to your computer. Plug it in when you need to access your files from it, and unplug it when you're not using it. Trust me on this.

[JobaScraps]

Jan I had been doing that but I ran into another problem then. When I replugged my EHD my computer would give it different letter & then the organizer would say all those files/photos were missing.I never could fix that because I was afraid to assign a new letter to the ehd because i didn't know if that would affect others programs on my computer too. So now I am afraid to disconnect my EHD's Also I use my EHD's as extentions of main drive so I do leave them plugged in all the time.I suppose I I get 2 more EHD.s just for back up the EHD's. This is getting quite complicated, I do back up to DVD's.
Oh Slopat my heart goes out to you. Please keep us posted on your progress. I wish you good luck to get it resolved fast & without additional expense.

[Jan]

Yes.... each new operating system presents a new set of considerations when it comes to externals, and how and when to safely unplug them.

And yes, I back up my EHDs to another EHD.... better safe than sorry...

Pat, let us know how things turn out for you!

[JobaScraps]

I am emphasizing so much with Slopat cause I know that sickening feeling when something like this occurs.I hope Troush's suggestions work!! Thanks Jan for your imput. I will definately go buy another EHD to back up my EHD & keep that one unplugged. Our computers are a wonderful way to connect to the world but also can be quite challenging

[Jan]

I know... it's scary to think that everything we treasure can be so easily deleted from our lives!

[Heatheranne]

I have Win7 but know that these same things were available in XP and Vista. There is a fix utility, but it can take a while to go through. Before you go to a techie though, there something that you could try and that is to run your System Restore. In the newer programs a restore point is made on a regular basis, so you should have one available, even if you haven't been setting them. In Win7 you'd find it in All Programs/ Accessories/ System Tools/ System Restore. Run it and when the calendar comes up, click on the first date that you see before you started to have trouble, then wait for it to do it's thing. Don't bother to play with anything else while it's running. When it's done, it should do an automatic reboot, then you can see if all is okay. If it works great! If it doesn't, you can run it again back to the same date. The only reason to re-run, is if you've done any updates or downloads (they'll show up in a box, saying that they'll be affected) will be lost and you'll have to re-do them. Sometimes, it's just faster to re-run the Restore if it didn't solve the problem.
Other than that, there is a repair tool that you can run, but it's a little more involved. I hope that the System Restore tool works for you. :-)

[JobaScraps]

Very good advise .When my computer crashed before Christmas I had to run system restore at least 3 maybe 4 times before problem resolved

[slopat]

THANKS! THANKS! THANKS! To all of you! Sorry I didn't respond sooner, but after reading your suggestions, I decided not to take the EHD to my guru before trying a few things.

Then Life happened, and I was busy all day yesterday and part of today, leaving me no time until this afternoon to steam ahead ~ all the time I stewed and fretted over the thought of losing everything!

The threatening message stunned me so that I was afraid to touch or do anything, so I just unplugged the EHD when I saw the warning. Today I read through all the suggestions again, and decided to do what I should have done before panicking. I did a restart of the computer, plugged the EHD in, and VOILA! Everything's there! Like Trish said in #1 of her suggestions, sometimes cables loosen.

Now I feel like a real dunce, not doing that in the first place. Whatever, I almost fainted with joy! And when I composed myself, I felt remorse for taking everyone's time. I do hope you all will forgive me for my lapse in common sense.

I printed out your suggestions and have filed them in a safe place for (heaven forbid) the day when I might really need them. In the meantime, I'm going to get a large storage thingy (not an EHD, but like a SanDisk) with as many Gigs as I can afford, to give me a third memory source.

Thanks again, everyone, for your concerns and support.