Hi guys,
Thanks to forums like these, I've come across lots of problems that I know would have taken days if not weeks to solve, not counting nightmares!
Urbantucan's dilemna is one of them, and I want to share a solution that I hope will solve his problem.
1. Do either one of the following [ a. or b. ]:
a. Turn off the Autorun feature of your device (your external hard drive):
1) right-click device -> properties
2) click AutoPlay tab. Under "Actions", click "Select an action to perform" radio button
3) click on "Open folder to view files" to highlight it, then click "OK" button
b. Prompt action to take:
1) right-click device -> properties
2) click AutoPlay tab. Under "Actions", click "Prompt me each time to choose an action"
radio button, then click "OK" button.
2. See if you can open your device (your external hard drive) by double-clicking it.
If you still get an "Access denied" message, release it, unplug it, then plug it in again.
3. If you followed 1.a. above, you should get a window that displays the contents of your
hard drive. If you followed 1.b. above, you should be prompted to take action. Click on
"Open folder to view files", then you should get a window that displays the contents of
your hard drive.
4. Set your folder options to show hidden and system files:
a. click "Tools->Folder optons..."
b. click "View" tab and under "Hidden files and folders", enable "Show hidden files and
folders"
c. uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types"
d. uncheck "Hide protected operating system files [Recommended]"
5. Your hard drive window contents will most likely now show a file called "Autorun.inf"
whose content most likely includes a command line to execute a file (usually another
"Autorun.exe") in either the "Recycled" or "Recycler" subfolder.
6. DELETE, I repeat, DELETE this "Autorun.inf" file.
7. Then, also delete both the "Recycled" or "Recycler" subfolders.
8. Release your external drive.
9. The next time you plug your external hard drive in, you should have your regular icon
back, and your "Access denied" problems gone!
10. Good luck!!!