windows 10 Help needed - C Drive access denied

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  1. Posts : 6
    Windows 10
       #1

    windows 10 Help needed - C Drive access denied


    Hi ok to give a bit of background , roughly 6 to 7 months ago I had a hacker get into my pc and though that person did not really do anything but steal things from my pc and drives .... I did all I could to protect what I have in my pc ,,,,so I started to disconnect my external drives ,...thinking that would discourage that person. well it did ..he then blocked me from accessing my C Drive ,,,,,it tells me access is denied now. Is there a way I can regain its control with out wiping my drive clean ...I do not have windows 10 or 8 .. so that would be a fairly huge problem for me ...I am at a experienced level but this has me over a barrel now . Any idea what I can do ?
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 2,899
    Windows 10 Pro for the Bro
       #2

    To back up your files from your C:/ drive when there is no operating system there (you said you do not have Windows 10 or 8?)
    You can download Ubuntu (a free operating system) to load the hard drive from, and save all your files.

    Which version of Windows did you have? Get that CD and put it in the computer and load from it, and look for a Repair option.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 31,471
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #3

    Sounds like the hacker has changed or removed security permissions for your C: drive. If you can still boot up and log on you can check this. Log on (preferably using an account with administrator privileges). Run File Explorer and look at My PC. Right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. On the Security tab it should look like this...
    windows 10 Help needed - C Drive access denied-c-security.png
    Depending on how thorough a job the hacker did, you should be able to re-grant the correct permissions - click the Edit button.
      My Computers


  4. Posts : 31,471
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #4

    pepanee said:
    (you said you do not have Windows 10 or 8?)
    I read that as not having the iso needed to do a clean install, perhaps ATwinklingStar could clarify that -and let us know what (if anything) still works.
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 186
    Xp, Vista, 7, 8.1, 10
       #5

    I think he can boot into Windows. Otherwise he wouldn't get access denied. Am I reading it wrong?

    Anyway, I would strongly advise to backup all your data and reinstall OS. Here's how to do it. It's actually pretty easy. Make sure to choose an option to remove everything!

    In case you want to access your C: drive before resetting, it's probably a permissions issue. Right-click it in Windows Explorer, go to Properties > Security > Advanced > where it says "owner", click "change" and provide your user name, then click "Check names" and OK. Then click Add > "Select a principal" > again type your user name > Check names > OK. Make sure to check "read & execute", "list folder contents" and "read" permissions at a minimum. Check more if you also want to write into drive C: from that user account. Click OK to add yourself those permissions. Then click OK through the rest of the dialogs.

    Now you should have access to drive C:. But again, I repeat, the fact that you had a hacker in your system warrants an immediate reinstall of everything! You cannot trust that system's integrity anymore!


    PS. If you don't see Security tab for your root drive properties, follow these steps to enable it.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 2,899
    Windows 10 Pro for the Bro
       #6

    Hmh.. okay. Assuming you can load up the computer and try to double click C:\ and get Access Denied, then the third reply is the best solution. As a matter of fact, I have created a custom selection in the right-click menu to "Take Ownership". This force grants me to be the owner of every subfile/folder that I do this on. (Be aware that this is a Custom command that I added; you do not have this in your menu)

    windows 10 Help needed - C Drive access denied-take-ownership.png
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 8,057
    windows 10
       #7

    You need to know who has rights on the drive have you tried another account he may just have banned your account from c and others are OK
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 6
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #8

    pepanee said:
    To back up your files from your C:/ drive when there is no operating system there (you said you do not have Windows 10 or 8?)
    You can download Ubuntu (a free operating system) to load the hard drive from, and save all your files.

    Which version of Windows did you have? Get that CD and put it in the computer and load from it, and look for a Repair option.
    Hi , I do have windows 10 , it was a downloaded OS , so i do not have a drive for it nor one for windows 8
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 6
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Bree said:
    Sounds like the hacker has changed or removed security permissions for your C: drive. If you can still boot up and log on you can check this. Log on (preferably using an account with administrator privileges). Run File Explorer and look at My PC. Right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. On the Security tab it should look like this...
    windows 10 Help needed - C Drive access denied-c-security.png
    Depending on how thorough a job the hacker did, you should be able to re-grant the correct permissions - click the Edit button.
    Hi Bree , ok I did do this but there is no Users in there , It did have me about 2 weeks ago but now I am not in it ...when I put my name in it it does recognize that my name is owner .... and I can give permissions but then a bunch of stuff seems like its either missing or corrupt now too ....I did try to find out from Microsoft some info but ...,,they are about as helpful as a box of rocks
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 6
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #10

    Samuria said:
    You need to know who has rights on the drive have you tried another account he may just have banned your account from c and others are OK
    Hi , when I took my external drives off the pc and did not put them back ...that I assume ticked him/her off ....and its when this happened roughly 2 weeks ago
      My Computer


 

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