atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Computers & Programming Computers, Software, Accessories Flash Drive "Access Denied" problem.

I purchased a HP flash drive today that works fine on two desk top computers but my laptop gives me the "Access Denied" error if it recognizes it at all. Sometimes it never assigns a letter to it.

However, if I boot up in safe mode it works flawless. Right now I have nearly 400 pictures on the flash so I know the drive is ok.

My laptop is a HP Pavilion ze4547wm with XPpro (sp2). The flash drive is HP v125w.

When I go to "My Computer" in safe mode the drive: E was labeled "HPv125w".
In regular mode drive E just says "removable disk".

One time it was HPv125w and I could see thumbnails of every picture but couldn't preview any of them.

What am I missing?

Right click on my computer and goto manage. Click on Disk management in the left hand side and look for the flash drive on the right hand side. When you find it right click it and click on change drive letter and path. Click on change and choose a letter. Choose something high. Click OK twice and then try to access the drive. One thing that may cause this is if the drive letter being assigned to the flash drive may be in use by Windows. Heres an article from Microsoft with some more detail on changing drive letters.

https://support.microsoft.com/kb/307844

Try these (in order):

1. Whenever double-clicking gives you the "Access Denied" message, simply right-click on the device and choose "Explore". Your files may just appear anyway.

2. Disable "Simple File Sharing" and take ownership of the drive's files. The general article is found here , with specifics about disabling file sharing here , but go back just a little more than halfway down the original page to read up on "How to take ownership of a folder".

3. Try deleting the autorun.inf file located in the root directory of the flash drive. This file may not be present, but will be hidden if it does. Open any Windows folder and choose Tools, then View. Select the "Show hidden files and folders" radio button and uncheck the "Hide protected operating system files box", then click OK. Browse the flash drive for Autorun.inf and, if found, delete it. Unplug the USB stick and plug it back in. See if that does it.

4. Try HP's solutions, which include:
. a. Elementary USB troubleshooting.
. b. A BIOS update for your HP Pavilion ZE4547WM.
. c. The HP Support Line that's specifically set up to handle problems with PNY manufactured (HP branded) thumb drives on HP machines.

Thanks guys. I'll go through the steps and let you know the outcome.