Access denied to external hard drive

[swchoi89]

Hi Everyone,

Can someone please help me re-gain my access to my hard drive?

I am using Windows 10 at the moment.

BEfore, the error message read something like it is unreadable. So I went through some Internet searches and found that chkdsk (or something like that) would fix it in CMD.

So, after that, my HDD became "Seagate Backup Plus Drive" and I am not able to open it at all.

I also tried assigning permissions but that failed also.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[LTC8K6]

http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/seatools/

Seatools may be useful.

 

[swchoi89]

http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/seatools/

Seatools may be useful.

The Windows Operating System has a some great tools for testing hard drives. This program is called Check Disk (ChkDsk).

Always backup your data before running any check disk (chkdsk) scans of your hard drive. If there is a bad sector, any data that may have been accessible before chkdsk, will likely become inaccessible once the bad sector is re-allocated.

1.) Access command prompt
Hold the Windows key and press R
2.) Type CMD in the box
3.) Type chkdsk X: /f
Note: X is the letter of the drive
This command will attempt to fix any file system error. The length of time for this to complete will vary depending on the capacity of the drive.



I tried this one but I didn't know this will wipe out some data... :S I found the exact same instruction on another website but didn't say...

But too late now. I know that some files are still inside. This method didn't work

And my laptop doesn't have CD rom.

 

[Elixer]

"Access denied" on certain things, or everything?
What does SMART show (use portable version of crystaldiskinfo to check).
If you can access the drive (as in, see it in explorer) but you can't access certain files/directories then you need to change permission, and become the new owner.
If you can't even access the HD at all, depends on what SMART shows, and it also depends on other things, but, we will get to that ship once we know what exactly is going on.

P.S, it is always better to clone a HD, and try to recover from the cloned HD, NOT the original!

 

[ArisVer]

What is your laptop setup in which I assume is the disk you are talking about? Does it have two disks and is it bootable? If so, as mentioned, then use Seatools to check the disk and CrystalDiskInfo to check the SMART status.

If your laptop cannot boot, then it will be better to remove the disk and connect it to your desktop, assuming you have the one listed in your sig.

Before you do any of that, also as mentioned, make a clone of the disk especially if you have data that you really want.

 

[corkyg]

This is confusing. Your question relates to an EXTERNAL HDD. Then you cite a laptop. Is the HDD external to the laptop? If so, how is it connected? What model is it?

If the drive is internal in the laptop, what kind and model of laptop? How many drives? Is it the boot drive or a data drive?

Please clarify.

 

[swchoi89]

"Access denied" on certain things, or everything?
What does SMART show (use portable version of crystaldiskinfo to check).
If you can access the drive (as in, see it in explorer) but you can't access certain files/directories then you need to change permission, and become the new owner.
If you can't even access the HD at all, depends on what SMART shows, and it also depends on other things, but, we will get to that ship once we know what exactly is going on.

P.S, it is always better to clone a HD, and try to recover from the cloned HD, NOT the original!

I cannot access the entire drive, meaning when I click on the drive file, I cannot go further except receive that error message.

I already assigned the proper permission, still not working.

And what is a SMART?

What is your laptop setup in which I assume is the disk you are talking about? Does it have two disks and is it bootable? If so, as mentioned, then use Seatools to check the disk and CrystalDiskInfo to check the SMART status.

If your laptop cannot boot, then it will be better to remove the disk and connect it to your desktop, assuming you have the one listed in your sig.

Before you do any of that, also as mentioned, make a clone of the disk especially if you have data that you really want.

No guys..... this is an EXTERNAL hard drive. I have an external Seagate hard drive that I use an USB to plug into my laptop for. This is not an internal drive.

Q: How do I make a clone when I can't even read anything?
Q2: That Seatools website is so confusing. I was lead to a section where I needed to download an ISO and burn it. That's why I mentioned my laptop cannot troubleshoot because it doesn't have a CD-ROM.

This is confusing. Your question relates to an EXTERNAL HDD. Then you cite a laptop. Is the HDD external to the laptop? If so, how is it connected? What model is it?

If the drive is internal in the laptop, what kind and model of laptop? How many drives? Is it the boot drive or a data drive?

Please clarify.

Yes, this is an external HDD. It's just Seagate (Seagate Backup Plus Slim 1TB Portable External Hard Drive with Mobile Device Backup USB 3.0 (Red) STDR1000103 )

No this is not internal to my laptop, hence the title of this thread

 

[corkyg]

OK, most of the advice is for an internal drive. Cloning an external would require another external in most cases. So, try this.

Remove the USB connected drive and change to another USB port. It may be needing better power than the laptop can provide. A powered hub would be good if you have one.

Otherwise, connect it to another computer, preferably a desktop. In the meantime, I will get data on that portable external.

OK - this seems to be your drive:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178434

It is a USB 3 connection and no added power is necessary. However, that is usually valid for desktops, but sometimes laptop USB ports are a bit wimpy. Have you tried it running your laptop on A/C power with the battery removed?

 

[swchoi89]

OK, most of the advice is for an internal drive. Cloning an external would require another external in most cases. So, try this.

Remove the USB connected drive and change to another USB port. It may be needing better power than the laptop can provide. A powered hub would be good if you have one.

Otherwise, connect it to another computer, preferably a desktop. In the meantime, I will get data on that portable external.

OK - this seems to be your drive:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178434

It is a USB 3 connection and no added power is necessary. However, that is usually valid for desktops, but sometimes laptop USB ports are a bit wimpy. Have you tried it running your laptop on A/C power with the battery removed?

Hello,

Yes, I think you got the right product link.

My laptop does not have removable battery. The new ZenBooks have them all built in but yes, I had my A/C plugged in at the time.

 

[corkyg]

OK - that could be part of the problem. Which Zenbook do you have:

http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Zenbook-Series-Products/

Do you have access to a desktop that you can connect your external drive to?

 

[swchoi89]

OK - that could be part of the problem. Which Zenbook do you have:

http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Zenbook-Series-Products/

Do you have access to a desktop that you can connect your external drive to?

The model number is UX501JW (you can see the specs in my updated signature).

Unfortunately, there are no desktops to try it with except my work computer. But I don't want to resort to using my work desktop.

 

[corkyg]

Plugging it in to your work computer is a quick and simple diagnostic tool - I would not hesitate to try it. If the drive cannot be picked up on a hot plug, chances are it is toast. Another option would be for you to get a USB hub with its own power and connect that to your Zenbook, and then hotplug the drive to the hub.

That would bypass the Zenbook's USB power and if the drive is recognized, point to a Zenbook USB port deficiency.

 

[swchoi89]

Plugging it in to your work computer is a quick and simple diagnostic tool - I would not hesitate to try it. If the drive cannot be picked up on a hot plug, chances are it is toast. Another option would be for you to get a USB hub with its own power and connect that to your Zenbook, and then hotplug the drive to the hub.

That would bypass the Zenbook's USB power and if the drive is recognized, point to a Zenbook USB port deficiency.

I can see that my files are still intact inside the drive though. When I go through the whole "permission setting" process, I can see my laptop go through all the files and folders within it and assign myself permission to read those.

The problem is that it stops after a while and won't continue.

But I will try with my work computer tomorrow and hopefully it'll resolve the issue.

Also, if I, at least, see the icon pop up in the "My Computer" folder for my external HDD, it means it's somewhat functional?

 

[corkyg]

Due to the ultrabook nature of the Zenbook, I suspect a USB power problem. If that is the case, a powered hub would solve it.

 

[swchoi89]

Due to the ultrabook nature of the Zenbook, I suspect a USB power problem. If that is the case, a powered hub would solve it.

So, that means it's power-related issue? Then how come I was able to use the drive 2 weeks ago on the same laptop?

If I should go further back as to what exactly happened is there was an abrupt windows update which forced my computer to restart. Then I unplugged while it was doing so without "safely ejecting" the device.

 

[corkyg]

The best way to find that out is to hot plug it into another PC. It is possible that removing the drive as you did could contribute to the problem. The task is to isolate the fault and determine if it is a hardware problem. Laptop USB ports have long been a bit weak on power.

If the drive reacts and performs normally connected to a desktop, then that points to the laptop port as the problem. If the drive has the same results on a desktop, then it is a problem in the drive.

That is simple fault isolation.

 

[RecoveryForce]

It seems to me that it could be a physical issue with the drive. If your data is of any value to you, it may be time to seek the assistance of a data recovery professional.

At the very least, your first step is to get a full sector-by-sector clone of the drive to a known healthy drive. If you can't get a clone or hit sector read errors, you know that the drive is physically failing. If you can get a full clone, without any issues, then you know that it is a file system issue and you can feel safe to play with the clone, without concern that you are going to mess up the file system more.

 

[swchoi89]

The best way to find that out is to hot plug it into another PC. It is possible that removing the drive as you did could contribute to the problem. The task is to isolate the fault and determine if it is a hardware problem. Laptop USB ports have long been a bit weak on power.

If the drive reacts and performs normally connected to a desktop, then that points to the laptop port as the problem. If the drive has the same results on a desktop, then it is a problem in the drive.

That is simple fault isolation.

So, I plugged it into a desktop and I get the same issue. I see "NTFS".

And I sincerely hope there is a way to regain access to the internal data. I refuse to believe this drive is dead.

It seems to me that it could be a physical issue with the drive. If your data is of any value to you, it may be time to seek the assistance of a data recovery professional.

At the very least, your first step is to get a full sector-by-sector clone of the drive to a known healthy drive. If you can't get a clone or hit sector read errors, you know that the drive is physically failing. If you can get a full clone, without any issues, then you know that it is a file system issue and you can feel safe to play with the clone, without concern that you are going to mess up the file system more.

Any other suggestions other than cloning?

 

[LTC8K6]

Seatools for windows executable file download:

http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/item/seatools-win-master/

Perhaps you can get some test data about the drive.

Yes, it runs in Win10.

 

[swchoi89]

Seatools for windows executable file download:

http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/item/seatools-win-master/

Perhaps you can get some test data about the drive.

Yes, it runs in Win10.

Thanks for this. I am doing the "long fix" now. Will post results once it's done.

Also, I don't know why my external HDD appears twice in the list :S

 

[Elixer]

It seems to me that it could be a physical issue with the drive. If your data is of any value to you, it may be time to seek the assistance of a data recovery professional.

At the very least, your first step is to get a full sector-by-sector clone of the drive to a known healthy drive. If you can't get a clone or hit sector read errors, you know that the drive is physically failing. If you can get a full clone, without any issues, then you know that it is a file system issue and you can feel safe to play with the clone, without concern that you are going to mess up the file system more.

Yeah, this is the best path so you don't fubar the data.

 

[swchoi89]

Seatools for windows executable file download:

http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/item/seatools-win-master/

Perhaps you can get some test data about the drive.

Yes, it runs in Win10.

So, the update is that it FAILED. I don't know what to do from now on. however, I am getting a new error message, something like (the path is not found, or the drive name is invalid) or something like that? :S

Yeah, this is the best path so you don't fubar the data.

How do you clone?

 

[RecoveryForce]

And I sincerely hope there is a way to regain access to the internal data. I refuse to believe this drive is dead.

Keep doing what you are doing...it will be dead.

Any other suggestions other than cloning?

Send it to someone who can. The main reason why professional data recovery labs can do a much better job recovering data is because of how good we are at cloning drives. At least 80% of the work we do on every data recovery project is cloning.

Realistically speaking, this type of recovery by a reputable professional data recovery lab should be under $500 (assuming that the heads aren't toast). Heck, at my lab, we would be charging $350 CAD.

It all comes down to the importance of your files. Just remember, any damage you cause fighting with the drive yourself cannot be undone. So, you need to be 100% sure that your data is not worth having a professional look at it before you go further.

 

[corkyg]

Fact bearing on the problem: "If I should go further back as to what exactly happened is there was an abrupt windows update which forced my computer to restart. Then I unplugged while it was doing so without "safely ejecting" the device."

The drive is toast. You can't clone a drive that can't be read.

 

[RecoveryForce]

The drive is toast. You can't clone a drive that can't be read.

I agree, based on what the OP can do, though I specialize in cloning drives that can't be read.