This article will introduce you to the reasons and solutions for C drive access denied in Windows 10.
Reasons why C drive access is denied in Windows 10
This error is because you do not have access to this partition and secondly, there may be bad sectors on the C drive.
How to solve C drive denied access in Windows 10?
If the C drive is inaccessible (access denied), you can follow the methods below to fix it.
Method 1: Take ownership of the partition
To take ownership of the partition, follow these steps:
Step 1: Right-click on the partition you want to take ownership of, then click Properties.
Step 2: Click the Security tab, then select Advanced. The Advanced Security Settings windows will appear.
Step 3: Click the Change link next to the Owner label. Then the Select User or Group window will appear.
Step 4: Enter your user account in the area that says “Enter the object name to select” and click OK.
Step 5: After taking ownership, you now need to give full access to the partition for the account. Right-click the partition again, click Properties and select the Security tab.
Step 6: Click the Add button, then click Select a principle and select your account. Set permissions to Full control. Then click OK.
Method 2: Convert the current user profile to the admin user profile
Step 1: Press the Windows logo key on your keyboard, type Control Panel and click Control Panel from the search results.
Step 2: Select Change account type from the window and click on your user account name.
Step 3: Select Administrator and click Change account type.
Step 4. Close the window and check if the problem is resolved.
Method 3: Repair bad sectors
If there are bad sectors, they can cause C drive access to be denied in Windows 10. You can use System File Checker to scan and repair bad sectors.
To use this tool, open Command Prompt. Type the following commands in Command Prompt and press Enter after each command.
sfc /scannow
chkdsk c: /f /r
bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /scanos
bootrec /rebuildbcd
Method 4: Clone old drive to new drive
Since the C drive is inaccessible (access denied) in Windows 10, you cannot clone the drive from the normal boot process. You can create a boot USB via AOMEI Partition Assistant and go to WinPE to clone the drive.
To clone the drive, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Download AOMEI Partition Assistant and open the software. Then create a bootable USB and boot from this device, then go to WinPE. This step will take you to the main interface of AOMEI Partition Assistant.
Step 2: Right-click on the drive you want to clone and select Disk Clone.
Step 3: On the next page, select Clone Disk Quickly and click Next.
Step 4: Select a destination drive to copy the source drive to and click Next.
Step 5: Click Apply to apply the changes.
After successfully copying the drive, you can boot from the new drive and the data on the new drive is exactly the same as the old drive. This method can also be used to resolve access denied in Windows 7.
If this still cannot solve your problem, there is no other choice but to reinstall Windows.
Hope you are succesful.
