Member Avatar for ed5835

Hi All,
I hope someone can help me .
I run win xp . I have an external hard drive that contains all my I tunes. Recently I recived a code access is denied on that external drive . The drive is working no problmes but I cant acess the info.
Any ideas how to correct?
If you have an answer I need a step by step .
Thanks
Ed

Edited by ed5835 because: aditional info
  • 3 Contributors
  • 7 Replies
  • 268 Views
  • 2 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Adamsappleone

Dani AI

Generated

Short expert note:

The pattern you described — Maxtor OneTouch (NTFS) drive shows "Access is denied" when you click it, but iTunes can still play items from the drive — usually means a permissions/ownership problem on the NTFS volume or a vendor-enforced lock, not physical failure. As pointed out, ACLs/ownership are the usual culprit; as reminded everyone, XP Home hides the Security UI so changing permissions from Explorer can be harder.

Practical next steps (in order):

  • Confirm the file system is NTFS (Drive Properties). If it’s FAT32 the OS-level ACL story is different.
  • Make a safe copy/image first if the files are important (do not write to the drive until you have a backup).
  • Try unhiding files (some malware/lockers hide items): run an elevated Command Prompt and unhide recursively with attrib (replace E: with the drive letter). 
attrib -h -s E:\*.* /S /D
  • If it’s NTFS and permissions are the issue, grant your admin account or Administrators full control from an elevated Prompt (use quotes when names have spaces). This edits ACLs recursively — proceed only after a backup:
cacls E:\ /T /E /G "Administrators":F

Notes and fallbacks:

  • If XP Home prevents GUI ownership changes, try the drive on another Windows machine where you have an Administrator account, or boot the original PC into Safe Mode and use the built-in Administrator to change permissions.
  • If files were encrypted with EFS or Maxtor/Seagate encryption software was used, you will need the original encryption key/password or the vendor unlocking utility that was used when the drive was set up. iTunes playing files doesn’t guarantee full filesystem access — some software can read files via saved credentials.
  • If commands fail or you’re uncomfortable, boot a Linux Live USB (mount NTFS read-only) and copy the data off, or consider professional data-recovery help.

This avoids GUI-only traps and preserves your data while you restore access.

Recommended Answers

All 7 Replies

Member Avatar for caperjack

Hi All,
. The drive is working no problmes but I cant acess the info.
Ed

if the drive is working you would be able to access file ,can you add new files to drive ,if not what error message if any do you receive one

Member Avatar for ed5835

if the drive is working you would be able to access file ,can you add new files to drive ,if not what error message if any do you receive one

Hi
The drive is working I ran a scan isc and it is operational .The drive is a maxtor obe touch /NFTS . I can run my I tunes from the drive but I cant add or take away files and I cant see what is in the file . Anytime I click on to the drive I recive access is denied as if I need code to open it up.
Thanks

Member Avatar for Adamsappleone

Hi All,
I hope someone can help me .
I run win xp . I have an external hard drive that contains all my I tunes. Recently I recived a code access is denied on that external drive . The drive is working no problmes but I cant acess the info.
Any ideas how to correct?
If you have an answer I need a step by step .
Thanks
Ed

Your settings have probably changed and you have to "Take Ownership" of the drive again.
Here's how;

Member Avatar for caperjack

Your settings have probably changed and you have to "Take Ownership" of the drive again.
Here's how;

i think they would have to be able to open the drive to do what is suggested on that site

Member Avatar for Adamsappleone

i think they would have to be able to open the drive to do what is suggested on that site

Unless I missed something, all that needs to be done is right click the drive, select "Properties", click the "Security" tab, click on "Advanced" click on "Owner" and change/modify the settings. The drive does not have to be open for that.

Member Avatar for caperjack

Unless I missed something, all that needs to be done is right click the drive, select "Properties", click the "Security" tab, click on "Advanced" click on "Owner" and change/modify the settings. The drive does not have to be open for that.

reason i sad above ,was i didn't get the security tab on my winxp laptop ,but is is xp home and not pro ,if that matters . i only get the security and advanced on my win7 and vista but not xp .machine

Edited by caperjack because: n/a
Member Avatar for Adamsappleone

reason i sad above ,was i didn't get the security tab on my winxp laptop ,but is is xp home and not pro ,if that matters . i only get the security and advanced on my win7 and vista but not xp .machine

I did miss something, assuming ed5835 is using the Home Edition, so you're right cj, it does matter, thanks for catching that, I forgot all about it and I just posted a reply a few days ago for someone else how to get the "Security Tab" in XP Home.

To get the "Security Tab" in XP Home
First, your hard drive must be formatted NTFS for this tab to show up.
Second, if you're running XP Pro, you must open Windows Explorer, go to Tools, Folder Options, View and uncheck Use Simple File Sharing.
Third, if you're running XP Home, Simple File Sharing is enforced by default and cannot be disabled. You must boot the computer into Safe Mode and log in with the Administrator account, in order to see the Security tab. A work around for XP Home, so that you don't have to enter Safe Mode, can be found at, http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=245216

Instructions: Download the x86 (Intel) version of the Security Configuration Manager and save it to your hard disk. Double click the SCESP4I.EXE file you downloaded and extract the contents to a temporary location on your hard disk. Then open the folder you extracted the files to and locate the Setup.inf (Setup Information) file. Right click Setup.inf and select Install. After the installation is finished, reboot your computer.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.