Windows 10: Unable to access external HDD

I have Windows 10 Pro Version 1903 and use Macrium Reflect for my scheduled backups
to an external HDD housed in a caddy. Recently the backups have failed four times
due to an error "the semaphore timeout period has expired". Despite trying various
suggestions to fix from Google - no luck! Now I have no access to my external HDD
as the drive cannot be seen in ‎File Explorer. Your help for a fix will be greatly
appreciated. Regards Peternosmas

:)

 

External Drive "not accessible"

Hi,

Corrupted USB controller is one of the possible reasons why you are unable to access your external hard drive. We suggest that you follow the troubleshooting steps provided in this

link to resolve the issue.

Should you need further assistance, don't hesitate to get back to us.

 

external HDD

Hi,

Usually, this problem occur due to software incompatibility or corrupted USB drivers. For us to better assist you, we would like to clarify the following:

• Have you made any recent changes on your computer prior to the issue?
• Which driver did you uninstall? Have you reinstall the driver? If yes, how did you reinstall the driver?
• Have you check if the external HDD is visible in Device Manager?

If the issue still persists after uninstalling some games, we suggest that you run the troubleshooter for hardware and devices. If you're using the latest Windows 10 version, follow these steps on how to run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter:

• Click the Start button and select the Settings
  icon.
• Choose Update & Security from the list.
• Click Troubleshoot in the left pane of the window.
• Under Find and fix other problems, select Hardware and Devices and click
  Run the troubleshooter.

We're looking forward to your reply.

 

Access to files on external HDD

I recently bought a new Windows 10 computer. I already have an external HDD with my photos on. To migrate my other data (e.g. Office docs etc) from the C: drive on my old XP computer I copied the relevant folders to the external HDD. I intend to copy this
data to an internal HDD on my new computer, but before doing so I am deleting files that I no longer require. I am signed in with an administrator account on my new computer, but every time I try to delete or move a file or folder on the external HDD, a dialog
box pops up asking for administrator permission. Clicking 'Yes' enables me to delete or move the file/folder, but this is clearly laborious. Inspecting the properties of files/folders on the external HDD, I see that every file and folder has a blue/yellow
shield against Rename and Delete.

Is there a way that that I can simply update the permissions on all files/folders on the external HDD to give full access to my administrator account, so that I can move/delete files without needing to give permission every time.

Note - At the end of the day I want to move the Office docs etc to an internal HDD on my new computer but leave the photos on the external HDD. But I want my administrator account to have full access to both types of file.