Explorer.exe Windows cannot access the specified device, path or file Windows 7

I just had this problem due to using Windows Repair. It eliminated all user permissions on c drive folders thereby causing the problems with explorer.exe and others (e.g. notification.dll). You can re-add the required permissions but must open a DOS command windows using cmd. You can do this in several ways:
1) Select "Run" from START and then enter "cmd" and then click "OK"
2) open Task manager by either right clicking in bottom taskbar and selecting "Start Task Manager" or by CTRL-ALT-DELETE and selecting Task Manager. In Task Manager, use File - New Task (Run...) and enter "cmd" and then click "OK"

With the DOS window open, enter ICACLS upon which you should see the Help information on how to use it. Determine the name of the user accounts you need to reset access for and then for each account:

icacls c:\windows /grant username:F

where username = the specific computer user account title

note that the option 'F' grants Full access to the directory and children. This is more than what Windows originally allowed but I didnt want to mess around figuring out specific permissions required.

With this change, I regained all Windows functions for explorer etc.

gmalafsky said:

I just had this problem due to using Windows Repair. It eliminated all user permissions on c drive folders thereby causing the problems with explorer.exe and others (e.g. notification.dll). You can re-add the required permissions but must open a DOS command windows using cmd. You can do this in several ways:
1) Select "Run" from START and then enter "cmd" and then click "OK"
2) open Task manager by either right clicking in bottom taskbar and selecting "Start Task Manager" or by CTRL-ALT-DELETE and selecting Task Manager. In Task Manager, use File - New Task (Run...) and enter "cmd" and then click "OK"

With the DOS window open, enter ICACLS upon which you should see the Help information on how to use it. Determine the name of the user accounts you need to reset access for and then for each account:

icacls c:\windows /grant username:F

where username = the specific computer user account title

note that the option 'F' grants Full access to the directory and children. This is more than what Windows originally allowed but I didnt want to mess around figuring out specific permissions required.

With this change, I regained all Windows functions for explorer etc.

Click to expand...

Microsoft Photos can't access specified device, path or file

Hello Suraj,

One of the possible reason why you are getting an error message "Windows cannot access the specified device, path or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item",
may be due to the corrupted shortcut, if the file needs a permission or
error if the shortcut or installation is attempting to access a location that is not currently available such as a networked or a removable drive. In order for us to assist you better, we'd like to ask the following:

• Did you make any changes to your computer before experiencing this issue? If yes, tell us more about it.
• What troubleshooting steps have you tried so far?
• Have you checked if you are using the administrator access? If yes, do you have any guess or standard profile on your computer?
• Which application are you using to access photos? Is it an application that you download from the Microsoft Store?

Meanwhile, we recommend checking the article about "Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file" error when you try to install, update or start a program or file
on this link. It's applicable to Windows 7, this is to guide us to
isolate the main issue why you are unable to access the photos on your device.

We are looking forward to your reply.

 

'Windows cannot access the specified device, path or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item.' Error.

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



I understand that you receive an error, ‘'Windows cannot access the specified device, path or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item’ when trying to access one particular file. I’ll certainly assist you with the issue.



However, please let us know:

• Are you trying to access the shortcut of the file?
  
• Which anti-virus are you using on the computer?
  

I would suggest you try running the application as an administrator and see if that helps. To do this, right click on the file and select
Run as administrator.



You may also want to refer the troubleshooting steps mentioned in the article
"Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or
file" error when you try to install, update or start a program or file



Note: The above mentioned article is for Windows 7, however, holds good for Windows 10.




Alternatively, you can also try enabling hidden admin account and check if you are able to access the file in hidden admin account.



Refer the steps mentioned below:

1. Type command prompt in the search bar on the
   Taskbar.
   
2. Right click on the command prompt icon and select
   Run as administrator.
   
3. Type in the following commands one by one and hit
   Enter:
   
   net user administrator /active:yes
   
4. After enabling the hidden admin, try accessing the file.
   

Note: Make sure to disable hidden admin by using the command
net user administrator /active:no after performing the troubleshooting steps.



Let us know how it goes.



Regards,

Nikhar Khare

Microsoft Community - Moderator

 

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