Windows cannot access specified device software

Select Edit, and then select to check the check boxes for the permissions that you need, and then select OK. For more information on permissions, see What are permissions?

You might get this error if the shortcut or installation is attempting to access a location that is not currently available such as a networked or a removable drive. Check the path of the file that Windows cannot access and make sure that the location is accessible. You can also receive this error if the file has been moved or deleted.

Browse to the location of the file and make sure the file is in that location. You can also receive this error if the shortcut or other file type has become corrupt. You can check for corruption in shortcuts by recreating the shortcut. To do this, see Create or delete a shortcut. If an application or other type of file is corrupt it may be necessary to repair the application to resolve the issue.

In some cases the file may be blocked by Windows. Check the properties of the file, there may be a note saying This file came from another computer and might be blocked to help protect this computer To check for and unblock the file, follow these steps:. You can check to see if your antivirus software is blocking a file by temporarily disabling it, and then trying to open the file.

If you have to temporarily disable your antivirus software, you should re-enable it as soon as you are done. Important: Disabling your antivirus software or changing the settings may make your PC vulnerable to viral, fraudulent, or malicious attacks.

Microsoft does not recommend that you disable your antivirus software or change the settings. Use this workaround at your own risk. After scanning, you can double click a file to preview file content as below.

Recover deleted or lost data: choose files and folders you want to restore, right-click and select " Copy To ". Then you can save recovered data to a secure location on your computer or other USB device. Occasionally, Windows may block some files in order to protect your computer against damage, and yet this may lead to the access issue. Here we'll show you how to unblock a file. Right-click on the blocked file and choose " Properties ". Then click on the " General " tab and check if there is message saying, 'This file came from another computer and might be blocked to help protect this computer.

Select " Unblock " and click " OK " button. Apart from unblocking the file in Windows Properties, you should also check if the file is blocked by any third-party anti-virus software. If there is any antivirus software installed on your PC, you can try temporarily disabling it and see if the Windows cannot access the disk problem can be fixed. Note: if you want to disable antivirus software, you should remember to re-enable it as soon as the problem is fixed.

Disk bad sector may lead to reading or writing errors, which can be manifested into various issues. So, it is necessary to have a check of bad sectors for the device which cannot be accessed properly. Follow these steps to check bad sectors. Click " Start Verify " button from the pop-up window and DiskGenius starts to scan the device and check is health condition. So much about solutions to error "Windows cannot access the specified device path or file", and you should be able to fix it on your own by trying aforesaid methods one by one.

If this error is not solved, you can download DiskGenius to restore inaccessible or lost files and folders easily. We hope this guide is helpful to you and you can contact us if you have any questions, suggestions or doubts.

DiskGenius - Excellent disk partition software to resize partition, image disk, access ext4, edit hex data, etc. DiskGenius is professional data recovery software and it can help you get back lost files or partitions and recover RAW drive with ease. Learn More. Partition Manager. Disk Utilities. Beyond your imagination DiskGenius can do more! You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item" error may pop up when you are trying to install, update or start a program or a file, which interrupts the normal functioning you intend to perform.

Do not panic. A couple of effective solutions can be found in this tutorial and they can help you resolve this error and keep your data safe. Table of Contents Symptoms Possible reasons How do I fix "Windows cannot access the specified device path or file" error? Possible reasons why Windows cannot access the specified device If you are wondering they you cannot access specified device, path or file on Windows computer, you can refer to the following part which lists potential reasons of the error.

You do not have the permission to the specified device, path or file. The file location you are trying to access might be a network location or an external disk which is not plugged to your computer. This article will explain to you why this "windows cannot access the specified device path or file" error happens and give you the methods to resolve the problem.

You are seeing the message "Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item" because of one of the following reasons. You are clicking a shortcut to access a file on an external drive or a network location that is now not properly connected to the PC or is not available.

The file has been deleted or move to other location. Or the file or its shorcut is corrupt. The file may be blocked by Windows.

Or it is blocked by the anti-virus software of your computer. Since the error message suggests that "you may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item", you should first check if you have the permission of the file or folder when Windows cannot access the file or folder.

STEP 1. Right-click the inaccessible file or folder, and then select Properties from the drop-out menu. STEP 2. Choose the Security tab and click your name under Group or User. STEP 3. If you don't have one of the permissions, click Edit and check the checkboxes for all the permissions.

Select OK to confirm. As I have mentioned before, Windows cannot launch a program or open a file from a external or network drive that is not currently connected. So if you get the error when clicking a shortcut, check the location of its target file and see if the file is in an inaccessible location. Here is how to check the location of target file of a shortcut. Sometimes, Windows block some files that you received to protect the computer.

That's why Windows cannot open or edit the files. You can check the properties of a file to see if it is blocked.