Access denied on USB memory stick

Hi,

I have a strange problem. Suddenly I cannot access my USB memory stick.
When I plug it in it is recognized, and the drive letter is assigned to
it. But when I try to open or explore its drive I get an error "I:\ is
not accessible, access is denied".

I checked the USB stick on other computer and it works fine. I also
have another USB stick and it's the same with it. Other USB devices on
this computer (camera, modem) are working fine.
I tried to reinstall the Mass storage device driver, but it did not
help. I contacted the USB company for help but all they could find is
that the USB device itself is working properly. They gussed that maybe
there's some collision in the drive letters assignment, but I see
nothing like that.
I'm using WinXP SP2.

Anyone have any idea what could cause this, or where else can I look?
It's getting quite critical.

Thanks.

OK, I have some more info on this -
I tried bringing Windows up in safe mode - and then I can access the
USB drive.
I guess this means that there is some conflict or that something is
blocking the access to USB drives on my system.
I just have no idea how to locate what's causing the problem...

I had the same problem today.
I could not access the memory stick through the windows explorer.
I was however able to access the contents through MS-DOS.
I backed up the data through DOS and formatted the Memory Stick using the following tool.

I've written this page and so far I have no idea what
causes this 'access denied' problem...

[bitzandpcs]

I had a customer with the same problem Access denied when trying to access a USB memory stick
It also had a problem with data on CD's aswell

I used MSCONFIG to diagnose the problem (Start - RUN -Msconfig)
On the services tab I ticked "hide microsoft services"

This left services that were 3rd party services

I removed the ticks, saved changes and rebooted, the USB stick was now accessable

I ticked each one in turn and rebooted to find the service that was causing the problem

I found a service called "Admin Works Agent X6" which was causing the problem with the Memory stick

Hope this is usefull

[Amunar]

Hi folks,

I had the same problem with a memory, caused by a virus that i get in some infected computer. My laptop anti virus cleaned the virus but he didn't eliminate all effects. In fact, the virus created a autorun.inf that tried to run it, and as the sysytem couldn't run the autorun, the access was denied. The solution, as by ms dos i can access the file, i took away the attributes that hide the file, and I erased it.
run -> cmd
cd x:
attrib -hs autorun.inf
attrib -r autorun.inf
del autorun.inf
I hope this can help somebody in my same situation.

[Judy S]

I got this problem but was able to save the data on the USB by doing a backup and restore to a new location. Then I found that selecting My Computer, then right clicking on the USB icon, and selecting 'explore' that I could access all files on the USB. So, you haven't lost your data.

I now know its caused by a virus so you must do virus scan. Good Luck

[brilliant]

Thanks Judy,
now i know something works...
but I don't get itwhy when I click open, it sais access denied, bur when i right click and then explore - it opens.
I also can't get my pictures from my camera because of this.
any ideas?

[twowendy]

Hi
I have a strange problem to. Suddenly I cannot access my USB memory stick.
When I plug it in it is recognized, and the drive letter is assigned to it.

But when I try to open or explore it in windows commander I get an error Drive not found & then I tried it in windows explorer the drive letter comes up & when i try to open it, it comes up with Disk is not formatted do you want to format it now.

It worked fine before I reformatted my PC I have tried it in my other PC & it will not work there either or on the lap top & it use to work fine on all 3 pc & of cause I put all my data & photos on it


I'm using WinXP pro SP2.

I did what bitzandpcs said to used MSCONFIG to try & diagnose the problem but did not work

Anyone have any idea what could cause this, or where else can I get HELP?
For I need my info of it.

Thanks

[Richard Pimple]

Thanks to Amunar for this solution to the problem:
run -> cmd
cd x: (substitute for the drive letter assigned when you plug in your memory stick)
attrib -hs autorun.inf
attrib -r autorun.inf
del autorun.inf

One thing I noticed - this problem is indicated by a yellow open folder icon displayed next to the drive letter when you open 'My Computer', instead of the grey USB drive icon.

I noticed that the familiar version of Richard (Mick with a 'D' is blocked by the software.

I just wanted to find out if the British town Scunthorpe is similarly filtered!?

[Dr_Acula]

The symptom as stated above is a yellow folder instead of a drive symbol. The aim is to delete the autorun.inf file but in my case the suggestions above to change the attributes within a dos windows seemed to be blocked too.

So:
Right click on the folder
Go into explore
In the menu bar - Tools - Folder options
Click on the view tab
Check the "show hidden files and folders"
Uncheck the "Hide extensions for known file types" (? not necessary)
Uncheck "Hide protected operating system files"

Then delete the autorun.inf file.

[BobV]

Many thanks to Amunar. That's a cool advice. After so many trials and frustrations, I used his instructions and now I can access to my USB files. Thanks again to you Amuna!

[MrTommo]

Many thanks. A friend put his stick in my computer and I have had problems ever since. This fixed 2 problems I was having.