Windows cannot access disk

Fix: The Disk Check Could not be Performed Because Windows Cannot Access the Disk

If a Windows user connects an external hard drive to their computer, the hard drive and its partitions show up in My Computer or Computer along with all the other drives connected to the computer. However, in some cases, the external hard drive does show up but cannot be opened and, when the user right-clicks on it and clicks on Properties, shows as having 0 bytes of Used space and 0 bytes of Free space. The first thing a user affected by this problem does, in most cases, is run CHKDSK – a built-in Windows utility designed to scan hard drives for errors and bad sectors and try to fix any that it finds.

However, when you try to run CHKDSK on a hard drive affected by this problem from either an elevated Command Prompt or by right-clicking on the drive and going in to Properties > Tools > Check now…, the error check fails and the following error message is displayed:

“The disk check could not be performed because Windows cannot access the disk.”

If you can’t run CHKDSK on an external hard drive that your computer, for some reason, can’t access, you can’t scan it for errors and bad sectors and try to fix them. In addition, there is also no telling if attempts at data recovery using recovery programs will yield any positive outcomes. On the bright side, however, the following are some of the most effective solutions that any Windows user affected by this problem can use to try to get rid of this error message and successfully run CHKDSK on the affected hard drive:

Solution 1: Check the connection between the hard drive and the computer

In some cases, the culprit behind the “The disk check could not be performed because Windows cannot access the disk.” error message can be as trivial as a loose connection between your computer and the affected hard drive. If you’re seeing this error message while trying to run CHKDSK, the first thing you should do is check the connection between the affected hard drive and the computer to make sure it’s secure and to make sure the cable connecting the two is good.

Solution 2: Change the drive letter assigned to the affected hard drive

The absolute most effective method that users in similar circumstances have used to successfully get rid of the “The disk check could not be performed because Windows cannot access the disk.” error message and successfully run CHKDSK on the affected hard drive is changing the drive letter assigned to the affected hard drive. Every hard drive connected to a Windows computer is assigned a specific letter of the alphabet, and Windows users can manually change the letters assigned to any and all of their hard drives. To change the drive letter assigned to the affected hard drive, you need to:

1. Press the Windows Logo key + R to open a Run dialog.
2. Type diskmgmt.msc into the Run dialog and press Enter to launch the Disk Management utility.
3. In the list of drives connected to your computer, locate and right-click on the affected external hard drive, and click on Change Drive Letter and Paths….
4. In the window that pops up, click on the current drive letter assigned to the drive to select it and click on Change.
5. Open the dropdown menu located directly in front of Assign the following drive letter: and click on whatever new drive letter you want to be assigned to the drive to select it.
6. Click on OK.
7. Click on OK in the Change Drive Letter and Paths for X: () window.
8. Close the Disk Management utility and restart your computer.

When the computer boots up, try running CHKDSK on the affected external hard drive and check to see if the problem persists.

Solution 3: Have the hard drive looked at professionally

If neither of the solutions listed and described worked for you, there might be a hardware issue at work here or the hard drive might just be dead or damaged beyond repair. If that’s the case, now would be the time to send the hard drive in to the professionals to have it looked at. If the affected external hard drive is under any kind of warranty, you should certainly send the hard drive in and claim its warranty.

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Windows can’t access disk drive

Tried to effect Properties- tools-Error checking for Disk Drive to check for for file system errors.

Get the following reading instead: «The disk check could not be performed because windows can’t access the disk?»

I can understand the inconvenience you have experienced. However, I really appreciate your efforts towards resolving the issue.

In order to understand the issue more clearly, I would request you to provide me with the following information.

Are you having issues with accessing external hard drive?

Are you getting any error message/code? If yes, what is the exact error message?

There is a possibility that the issue might have occurred due to corruptions in the hard drive or there is an issue with the permissions.

I would suggest you to try the following methods and check if it helps.

Method 1:

How to change Drive Letter in Windows 8.1 , please follow the steps in the link given below.

• Press Windows key + R to open run box.
• Type Diskmgmt.msc in the box, and then hit the Enter key to open Disk Management.
• Once Disk Management is launched, right-click on the drive whose drive letter you wish to change and then click Change Drive Letter and Paths option. This action will open Change Drive Letter and Paths dialog box.

For instance, if you want to change the drive letter of a drive from ‘R’ to ‘S’, you need to right-click on drive ‘R’.

• Here, click Change button. Note that if the Change button is greyed out or not available, you need to select the drive letter first.
• Select an available drive letter from the drop-down menu and then click OK button to change the drive letter.
• Click on the Yes button when you see “Some programs that rely on drive letters might not run correctly. Do you want to continue” warning message to change the drive letter.

If the issue still persists, please follow method 2.

Method 2:

We need to run check disk and check if it helps.

Check disk (chkdsk) runs when you start Windows 8, please follow the steps in the link below.

You can also try the check disk utility from command prompt and check if it makes any difference.

In the desktop screen, press Windows key + R.

Type: CMD, right click CMD then click Run as administrator.

At the Command Prompt, type: chkdsk /r /f

Exit the command prompt.

When you restart your system, your computer will be scanned for errors and attempts will be made to correct them.

Important: While performing chkdsk on the hard drive if any bad sectors are found on the hard drive when chkdsk tries to repair that sector if any data available on that might be lost.

I hope this information is helpful.

Please do let us know if you need any further assistance, we will be glad to assist you.

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Here’s what you need to do if Windows cannot access the disk

Sometimes you can suddenly receive Windows cannot access the disk error. Usually, this type of error is associated with Windows Explorer, but it can be caused by improper operations, malware, or even a faulty power connection. However, there’s a way to fix this problem.

How can I fix Windows cannot access the disk USB drive error?

1. Check your drive connection

First things first, please ensure that all cables are properly connected between your storage devices and the computer. If you’re using external hard drives, go by unplugging that disk or try a different cable on a different USB port.

Next, you should restart your computer. In the event that this didn’t work, you should try connecting your storage device to other machines.

2. Change your drive letter

Sometimes you can fix Windows cannot access the disk error simply by changing the drive letter of the hard drive can sometimes fix this problem.

1. Press Windows + X to open the Win + X menu.
2. Click on Disk Management.
3. In the Disk Management window, you will find a list of drives associated with your system. Select your hard drive from the list and right-click on it.
4. Click on Change Drive Letter and Paths.
5. Next, click on the letter currently associated with your drive and click on Change.
6. Select a new drive letter from the drop-down menu and click.
7. After you’ve completed this, restart your machine.

3. Run check disk in Command Prompt

If you’re still having Windows cannot access the disk error, you might want to try using chkdsk scan. But do keep in mind that if chkdsk tries to repair bad sectors, data on that drive might be lost.

1. Click on the Start button and click on Programs and Accessories, then right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
2. Type command the drive letter in Command Prompt and press Enter.
3. Type chkdsk /r and press Enter (in the event that you are prompted to dismount and schedule chkdsk on next restart, press Y and press enter).
4. Restart your computer.
5. You’re all set.

Hint

If you fear losing valuable data, we recommend backing-up data or even performing data recovery solutions.

Always remember, the following issues might be affecting your drive, if it’s not accessible:

• Malware removes the drive letter.
• The system does not allocate letters for some special partitions, for example, the system reserved partition.
• Users remove the drive letter by mistake.

We hope you managed to fix Windows cannot access the disk error using one of our solutions. In the meantime, let us know what issues have you encountered with your disk drive.

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