Windows 10: How do I grant myself permission to access an old hard disk drive?

Hello!My laptop malfunctioned last month and I had to get a new HDD so I didn't have to wipe out everything on it when trying to restore it? I bought a SATA/USB adapter a few weeks ago and tried to access the drive today, but a window said I don't have permission.

:)

 

External hard drive is showing up as local disk drive

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



As you have mentioned that the external hard drive is showing as local disk drive instead of a USB drive, it is because the file format for the external hard drive is same as the internal hard drive and that’s why it is showing
up as a local disk drive and not a USB drive.



Also, since you are facing issues while changing the drive letter of the drive, for further clarity on the issue and to guide you accordingly, respond to the questions listed below:

1. What is the make and model of the hard drive?
   
2. Were you able to save or create a file on the hard drive previously?
   
3. What happens when you try to copy and paste the data from the hard drive?
   
4. What was the result of check disk performed on the drive?
   

Since you are receiving the access denied error, I would suggest you to check if the user has appropriate permissions to read/write data on the external hard drive. Refer the article

"Access Denied" or other errors when you access or work with files and folders in Windows, refer the section
I cannot access, change, save, or delete files and folders.



Note:
The above article applies to Windows 10 also.



Please get back to us with the above information to assist you further with the issue.



We await your response.



Regards,

Prakhar Khare

Microsoft Community – Moderator

 

Hard Drive Access

Hello,

The reason why you are getting the Access is denied error while attempting to access your hard disk is because of access its permissions.

Try doing the following to fix the issue:

• Right-click on the drive and click Properties.
• Click on the Security tab.
• Click on the Advanced button.
• Click on the Edit button.
• Double-click on the Permission entry.
• Put a check mark in the Full control.
• Click the Apply button.

Feel free to post back if you need further assistance.

 

HARD DISK DRIVE ERROR

Hi Aditya,

In order for us to help you with your concern about hard disk drive error, kindly answer the following questions first:

• What specific error are you getting? Are you getting an alpha-numeric error codes such as 0x80070057? If possible, kindly post here a screen shot of the actual error.
  
• What troubleshooting steps have you tried so far?
• For initial troubleshooting steps, kindly access this
  support link.

We look forward to your response.

Regards.