Windows 10: Windows 10 Update Changed External Drive to "Local Disk G" and Now Causes "The parameter is...

So just last night my computer performed a system update before shutting down. When I booted it up this morning I noticed it took an abnormal amount of time close to 10 minutes before it showed "System repair 100%". Once I got to my desktop I noticed some of my shortcuts were not working, so I started troubleshooting. I found that the source of the strangeness is my external hard drive. I normally have it set to Z but currently it's labeled as "Local Disk G" and I can't access it. Not only that but having it plugged in causes the Windows Explorer to load forever and the task bar to freez

:)

 

external hard disk is not opening in Windows 10 Getting error access denied parameter is incorrect

Hi,

Thank you for the update.

Please confirm us whether you have tried to run a chkdsk on the external Hard drive.

If not then I would recommend you to run a chkdsk on the external Hard driver and check if its helps.

• 
  Connect the hard disk to the computer.
  
• 
  Press Windows Key + X.
  
• 
  Select Command Prompt (Admin).
  
• 
  It will show as C:\Windows\system32>
  
• 
  Type “chkdsk <drive letter>: /G”.
  
• For e.g If your hard disk is named "G" then just type ----------
  chkdsk g: /g

It checks the file system and file system metadata of a volume for logical and physical errors. If used without parameters, chkdsk displays only the status of the volume and does not fix any errors. If used with the /f, /r, /x, or /b parameters, it
fixes errors on the volume and it doesn't tell you format the hard disk.

Disclaimer: While performing chkdsk on the hard drive if any bad sectors are found on the hard drive when chkdsk tries to repair that sector if any data available on that might be lost.

Hope this information is helpful, if the issue persist please write us back with the information in brief so that we can assist you further.

 

local disk drive G

Microsoft is aware that previously-hidden partitions are improperly being assigned drive letters after installing the April 2018 Update. As a result, they now appear in Disk Management and File Explorer. These partitions are typically recovery partitions
used by the Windows Recovery Environment or by the Original Equipment Manufacturer. It is not recommended that you attempt to delete or reformat these partitions as this may have adverse effects on your ability to recover Windows. Microsoft is currently working
to address the issue in a future Windows Update, and we’ll update this thread when a solution becomes available.

(Update 5/14/18: The solution that will soon be released via Windows Update will only prevent this issue from occurring for devices that install the April 2018 Update after the solution is released. If you've already installed the April 2018 Update and are
experiencing this issue, you'll need to follow the steps below if you want to hide these partitions.)

Although you can safely ignore these partitions, if you prefer do away with the low disk space warnings and hide the partitions so they no longer appear in File Explorer, you can do so by manually removing the partition’s assigned drive letter. To do this:

1. Select the Start button, type cmd and then right-click Command Prompt in the search results and select Run as administrator.

2. In the Administrator: Command Prompt window, type diskpart and press Enter.

3. Type list volume and press Enter.

4. Make note of the volume number for the drive letter you want to remove. For example, if the drive letter you want to remove is Drive “G”, note the volume number for Drive G.

5. Type the following command, and press Enter.

select volume <volume number>

When typing this command, in place of <volume number>, substitute the volume number you made note of in Step 4. In the example above, if the volume number for drive G is 5, you would type: select volume 5

6. Type the following command and press Enter.

remove letter=<drive letter>

When typing this command, in place of <drive letter>, substitute the drive letter you want to remove. In this example, you would type: remove letter=G

7. Close the Command Prompt window.

 

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