SD Cards / USB Drives not working anymore in Windows

[bristar]

I continually get the error "Access is Denied" whenever I use an SD Card or a USB thumb drive in my computer. I have tried multiple of each, and confirm that they work in other computers. They used to work in my, but I cannot remember how long ago or what changed since then. When you plug in the device, it registers and shows the drive in My Computer, but will not let you access at all. There is no security tab showing for me to modify permissions, nor do I know how permissions were modified in the first place.

I have one SD - USB converter sleeve that still functions, but the same SD card in the built-in slot generates the same error. I have seen a number of posts around the Internet, but it seems nobody has given a definitive answer. Any suggestions?


System Specs: Lenovo B575 (1450) Notebook
Processor: AMD E-450 1.65 Ghz APU w/Radeon HD Graphics
RAM: 4 GB DDR3 1066/1333 SODIMM
O/S: Win7 Home Premium 64-Bit w/SP1

 

[TrainableMan]

My guess is that you installed some software which hides/disables drives. I know my Tuneup Utilities program can do that by making changes to the registry but I don't recall where. It is probably possible to do it with Group Policy Editor changes too.

I suggest you try the Microsoft USB Fix-it tool. But if that doesn't work then you need to figure out what program or Group Policy changes were done to the registry and undo them. Or completely reinstall W7.

 

[bristar]

Tried the link, did not fix the issue. I cannot see any programs on the system that should not be there. I thought about reinstalling, but there are some old programs that we do not have original discs for. Has anyone seen and fixed this problem?

 

[oliverpowell]

Hi Bristor,

How many drives you've currently in your system? Try assigning a new letter to your SD card or USB drive. To do that, navigate to disk management from the control panel on your Windows 7 computer and find the problem drive. Right click on the same and choose any new letter drive name.

Don't hesitate to asks if the problem still persists. :beer:

 

[bristar]

This does not help. I tried multiple drives, multiple drive letters with no success.

 

[TrainableMan]

Could be the registry, device manager, or your drivers. See HERE for the ideas as well as a tool that might help.

 

[oliverpowell]

Go Statrt -> Run and enter ur drive like F:\ and press enter it will work definitely.

Found from here:
http://en.kioskea.net/forum/affich-46132-access-denied-msg-pendrive-not-openi

Give it a go and see what happens.

 

[bristar]

Trainableman: Tried those already, no success.
Oliverpowell: Tried that already, no success.

 

[TrainableMan]

Do other USB devices (keyboard, mouse) work if you plug them into those jacks?

If so then I still think it is either a messed up registry or possibly a service you stopped. And if you you don't remember what it was then your best bet is to back up all your data/settings with Windows Easy Transfer and reinstall. Check out our freeware DB and see if you can't replace those old programs you can't reinstall. I don't know what else to tell you, something is messed up and sometimes a reinstall is necessary to get back to a solid starting point.

 

[bristar]

Obviously, something is messed up or I would not be here. Not only do other devices work fine in there, but as I said, so do the USB drives! They activate and they function normally, the only exception is when you access the drive it says denied. I would suspect the registry too, except that nobody can tell me where else to look.

 

[TrainableMan]

It may be related to Lenova security software.

I found this THREAD. There is no solution listed, but I did notice the comment

Have now discovered why my usb stick wasn't working. I have a lenovo laptop and their security software was blocking my flash drives. Had to get someone who knows about computers to sort that one out. Sorry I can't be more specific and it only works on lenovo machines. Perhaps there is a similar package on your computer.

 

[oliverpowell]

Wired!!

Solving computer related problems is kind of exploring mystery and sometime it takes little longer to find the right solution. Glad you've patience.

Let us give it one more try, which is formatting the drive on another computer using command prompt. As sometime, the system you're using might not able to read it properly. Formatting it using command prompt will leave its state to default and let any computer to read it easily.

I'd recommend it to connect your usb on another computer and format it using command prompt. Read the tutorial found on the below link for reference:

http://en.kioskea.net/faq/9524-windows-how-to-format-a-usb-flash-drive-from-command-prompt

P.S. Backup all your important files before formatting as it will leaves no traces behind.