«Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file» error when you try to install, update or start a program or file

Symptoms

When you try to install, update or start a program or a file, you receive the following error message:

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

Resolution

To resolve this issue, follow the steps in the methods below starting with method 1, if that method does not resolve the issue continue to the next method.

Method 1: Check the permission of the file or folder

Note Make sure you are an Administrator or you are part of the Domain Admins group if you are in a domain.

Permissions are rules associated with files that determine if you can access the file and what you can do with it. To check the permission of the file or folder, follow these steps:

Right-click the file or folder, and then select Properties.

Select the Security tab.

Under Group or User names, click your name to see the permissions you have. (The screen shot for this step is listed below).

Select Edit, and then select to check the check boxes for the permissions that you need, and then select OK. (The screen shot for this step is listed below).

For more information on permissions, see What are permissions?

Method 2: Check the file location

You might get this 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. Check the path of the file that Windows cannot access and make sure that the location is accessible. (The screen shot for this step is listed below).

Method 3: Make sure that the file has not been moved or deleted

You can also receive this error if the file has been moved or deleted. Browse to the location of the file and make sure the file is in that location.

Method 4: Recreate the shortcut to check for corruption

You can also receive this error if the shortcut or other file type has become corrupt. You can check for corruption in shortcuts by recreating the shortcut. To do this, see Create or delete a shortcut.

If an application or other type of file is corrupt it may be necessary to repair the application to resolve the issue.

Method 5: Unblock the file

In some cases the file may be blocked by Windows. Check the properties of the file, there may be a note saying This file came from another computer and might be blocked to help protect this computer To check for and unblock the file, follow these steps:

Right-click the blocked file and then select Properties.

In the General tab, select Unblock if the option is available.

Method 6: Check to see if your antivirus software is blocking the file

You can check to see if your antivirus software is blocking a file by temporarily disabling it, and then trying to open the file. If you have to temporarily disable your antivirus software, you should re-enable it as soon as you are done. If you’re connected to the Internet while your antivirus software is disabled, your PC is vulnerable to attacks.

Important: Disabling your antivirus software or changing the settings may make your PC vulnerable to viral, fraudulent, or malicious attacks. Microsoft does not recommend that you disable your antivirus software or change the settings. If you have to temporarily disable your antivirus software, you should re-enable it as soon as you are done. Use this workaround at your own risk. To temporarily disable your antivirus software, see Disable antivirus software

Cause

This issue can occur if any of the following scenarios exist on your PC.

You do not have permissions to the file or the file location.

The file is on a location that is not currently accessible like a network location or an external drive that is not currently connected to the PC.

The file has been moved or deleted.

The file or shortcut is corrupt.

The file may be blocked by Windows.

Your antivirus software may be blocking the file.

More Information

For more information about errors accessing files or folders in Windows, see «Access Denied» or other errors when accessing or working with files and folders in Windows

[SOLVED] Windows Cannot Access the Specified Device, Path or File Error

«While opening Word on my computer, I got this error messages saying ‘Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item’. I’m running Windows 10.»

The error message, «Windows cannot access the specified device path or file», is very common. Lots of Windows 10/8/7 users receive the error when they try to install, update or start a program or open a file, for example, a Word file, PDF file. The screenshot for this error is listed below.

This article will explain to you why this «windows cannot access the specified device path or file» error happens and give you the methods to resolve the problem.

Causes for «Windows cannot access the specified device path or file» Error

You are seeing the message «Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item» because of one of the following reasons.

You don’t have permissions to the file, the folder or the drive.

You are clicking a shortcut to access a file on an external drive or a network location that is now not properly connected to the PC or is not available.

The file has been deleted or move to other location. Or the file or its shorcut is corrupt.

The file may be blocked by Windows. Or it is blocked by the anti-virus software of your computer.

Solution 1: Get the Permission of the File or Folder

Since the error message suggests that «you may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item», you should first check if you have the permission of the file or folder when Windows cannot access the file or folder.

STEP 1 . Right-click the inaccessible file or folder, and then select Properties from the drop-out menu.

STEP 2 . Choose the Security tab and click your name under Group or User. Make sure you have the permissions of the file or folder, including the permissions to full control, modify, read, write and read & excute.

STEP 3 . If you don’t have one of the permissions, click Edit and check the checkboxes for all the permissions. Select OK to confirm.

Solution 2: Make Sure That the File Is in the Right Location

As I have mentioned before, Windows cannot launch a program or open a file from a external or network drive that is not currently connected. So if you get the error when clicking a shortcut, check the location of its target file and see if the file is in an inaccessible location. Here is how to check the location of target file of a shortcut.

STEP 1 . Right-click a shortcut on your PC and choose Property.

STEP 2 . Under the Shortcut tab, check the path in Target.

Solution 3: Unblock the File

Sometimes, Windows block some files that you received to protect the computer. That’s why Windows cannot open or edit the files. You can check the properties of a file to see if it is blocked.

Right-click the blocked file and select Properties. In the General tab, if you see anything like «this file came from another computer and might be blocked», select Unblock to unlock the file.

Solution 4: Disable Antivirus Software

Antivirus software can also block your files. Therefore, you can temporarily disable the antivirus software on your computer and then try to open the file.

If you can access the file when antivirus software is disabled, the software is obviously blocking the file. You may uninstall the antivirus software or disable the software when you need to use the file.

Solution 5: Recreate A Shortcut to the File

If a file or program’s shortcut is corrupt, the computer also shows «Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file». We can recreate a shortcut to fix the error.

Recreat A Shortcut on Windows 10/7

STEP 1 . On the desktop, right-click a empty area and choose New > Shortcut.

STEP 2 . Click Browse and choose the program or file you want to create a shortcut. Click Next.

STEP 3 . Enter the name of the shortcut. And click Finish.

Recreat A Shortcut on Windows 8

On Windows 8/8.1, you can create a shortcut in this way.

STEP 1 . Click Start, right-click the program you want to create the shortcut to.

STEP 2 . Choose Send to > Desktop (create shortcut).

Solution 6: Recover the File That Has Been Deleted, Removed or Corrupted

If the file cannot be accessed because the file is corrupt or deleted, external drive is damaged or effected by virus, you can recover the lost file with FonePaw Data Recovery, a Windows program that can recover deleted or lost files from hard drive, external drive, SD card, memory card and more.

STEP 1 . Download & install Data Recovery on your computer. Note: Don’t install the program on the drive that you lost data. For example, if the corrupt file is on C drive, get the program on D or E drive in case that the installation will overwrite the file.

STEP 2 . Launch the program. Choose what kind of file you want to recover and the location of the inaccessible file. Click Scan.

STEP 3 . It will quick scan your PC first. If the file that you need doesn’t appear after quick scan, run deep scan.

STEP 4 . Choose your needed file and click Recover.

Solution 7пјљEnable Hidden Administrator Account

Some users share a trick to fix «Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file» error. That is to enable your hidden administrator account and then give your account the adminstrator right.

STEP 1 . Put your PC in safe mode. There are different ways to enter safe mode in Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 7, Windows XP.

STEP 2 . Launch Command Prompt and type: net user administrator /active:yes. Hit Enter key. The hidden adminstrator account will be enabled.

STEP 3 . Now restart the PC into safe mode. Choose the hidden adminstrator account to enter your PC.

STEP 4 . Open Control Panel and set to View by small icon. You’ll find User Accounts and click on it.

STEP 5 . Choose Manage another account > your account > Change Account Type > Administrator > Change Account Type.

Now you can restart your PC and log in with your account. You should be able to open the file or run the program now.

[FIXED] Windows Cannot Access the Specified Device, Path or File [MiniTool Tips]

By Tina | Follow | Last Updated December 03, 2020

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Summary :

When you are trying to open a file or start a program, you might receive an error message that says Windows cannot access the specified device path or file. This post will show you 5 solutions to solve this problem. In addition, this post will introduce an effective and reliable way to keep data safe, which is using MiniTool ShadowMaker to create a backup image.

Quick Navigation :

Windows Cannot Access the Specified Device Path or File

You may receive an error message ‘Windows cannot access the specified device, path or file. You may not have the appropriate permission to access the item.’ when you are trying to start a program or open a file. And the error message is shown as the follow:

You won’t be able to access the file or the program when you receive the error message. Do you know the reason behind and how to fix this?

In general, there are various reasons that cause the issue Windows cannot access the specified device. For example:

• The antivirus software may block the files.
• Windows has blocked the files.
• The file is corrupted, hidden or deleted by antivirus.
• The shortcut of the program is corrupted.
• Or you don’t have the permission to access the item since you are not the administrator.

Of course, some other reasons may also give rise to the issue that Windows cannot access the specified device path or file. Meanwhile, the most important part is how to solve this problem. Thus, please keep on reading.

How to make Fortnite run better on PC? How to make Fortnite run smoother? This post shows you some reliable tricks

How to Fix Windows Cannot Access the Specified Device Path or File?

1. Disable antivirus software temporarily.
2. Check permission of the file or folder.
3. Unblock the file.
4. Check the location of the file.
5. Recover the removed file or deleted file.

5 Solutions to Windows Cannot Access the Specified Device Path or File

In this section, we will list 5 solutions to solve the problem when Windows cannot access the specified path. You can try them one by one to fix this problem when you may not have appropriate permissions to access the item. You can also watch the following video to fix the problem Windows cannot access the specified file.

Solution 1. Disable the Antivirus Software Temporarily

The issue Windows cannot access the specified file may be caused by the antivirus program. Therefore, in order to solve the problem, you can temporarily disable it. You can follow the steps below to disable your antivirus program.

Step 1: Press Windows key and R key together to open Run dialog and type msconfig in the box, then click OK or hit Enter to continue.

Step 2: In the System Configuration window, go to the Start up tab and click Open Task Manager to continue.

Step 3: In the popup window, find the antivirus program and choose it. Then click Disable button at the right bottom to continue.

Now, you can open the program or the file again to check whether the issue Windows cannot access the specified path Windows 10 is solved.

Solution 2. Check Permissions of the File or Folder

Now, this section will introduce the second method to solve the issue when you may not have appropriate permissions to access the item. To fix this problem, you can try checking the permissions of the file or folder.

You can refer to the following detailed instructions.

Step 1: Select the file you want to open and right-click it. Then choose Properties from the context menu.

Step 2: Go to the Security tab and choose your name under Group or user name and click Edit to continue.

Step 3: Then under Permissions for SYSTEM in the popup window, you can check the permissions you want to have in Allow column. After that, please check whether the issue Windows cannot access the specified path is solved.

Solution 3. Unblock the File

Windows cannot access the specified device path or file may occur if the file is blocked by Windows. To fix this problem, you can try to unblock the file. You can look at the specific steps of operations below.

Step 1: Right-click the file which has the problem Windows cannot access the specified path and choose Properties to continue.

Step 2: In the popup window, go to the General tab. Then you will see a message The file came from another computer and might be blocked to help to protect the computer if the file is blocked by Windows. Thus, you can check Unblock and click OK to continue.

Now, you can check whether the issue Windows cannot access the specified path Windows 10 is solved.

Solution 4. Check the Location of File

If you are trying to access a file via a shortcut which is on an external hard drive or a network location that it is no longer connected to your computer, Windows might not be able to access the specified device path or file. Thus, you can check the location of the target file and see if the file is in an inaccessible location based on following instructions.

Step 1: Right-click the shortcut of the file on your computer and choose Properties from the context menu.

Step 2: Under the Shortcut tab in the popup window, check the path in Target is available or not.

Solution 5. Recover the Removed or Deleted File

Windows will not be able to access the specified device path or file if the files are removed, deleted, or hidden by an antivirus. In a situation like this, you can recover the data to solve this problem.

In order to recover the lost data, you can take advantage of the best data recovery software – MiniTool Power Data Recovery. It is a user-friendly program for Windows users, which can be used to recover lost data due to various reasons, such as mistaken deletion, virus attack, mistaken formatting and so on.

As a read-only software, it will not bring any damage to the original data. So if you have lost data, you can download the Trail edition to scan the lost files.

Here are the specific instructions to recover the lost data from the inaccessible folder or partition.

Step 1: Download and install the best data recovery software and launch it to enter its main interface.

Step 2: Next, you will see four options and choose This PC module to continue. Then choose the partition which you have lost the file and click Scan to continue.

Step 3: When the scan is finished, you can see all files are listed here in order and you can open each path to find out the file you need.

Step 4: When you have checked the lost files, you can choose a destination to save the files by clicking Save button. Here, you will receive a warning message that tells you a license key is required to activate the program since you are using the Trial edition. Thus, you can click here to get here to buy a license. Then activate the program and complete the recovery.

When you have recovered lost files, you can check whether the issue Windows cannot access the specified device path or file is solved.

Useful Suggestion

When you have solved the issue when Windows cannot access the specified path Windows 10 or successfully recovered the lost files, it is recommended to back up the data so as to provide better protection.

Here, MiniTool ShadowMaker, the best backup software is another product of MiniTool ® Software Ltd.

MiniTool ShadowMaker is a user-friendly program which can provide protection for your data and computer. With its powerful features, it can back up a file, folder, disk, partition, and the operating system.

Besides the backup feature, it can also provide recovery solutions when there is a need so as to help you to restore the computer or data.

Thus, you can download MiniTool ShadowMaker Trial to create a backup image for the data so as to provide better protection for them when you have recovered the lost data or solved the issue Windows cannot access the specified file.

Here, we will show you how to back up the files with MiniTool ShadowMaker. ou can continue according to the following instructions.

For backup the operating system, you can refer to this article: Easily & Free Create a Windows 10 Image Backup Now — MiniTool

Step 1: Install the program and launch it, click Keep Trail, and click Connect in This Computer to enter its main interface.

Step 2: In the main interface, go to the Backup tab and click Source module to continue.

Step 3: In the popup window, choose Folder and Files to choose what you want to back up.

Step 4: When returning to the main interface, you need to click Destination module to choose where you want to save the backup image. It is advised to choose an external hard drive as the destination.

In order to provide better protection for data, there are three important things you need to pay attention to.

• MiniTool ShadowMaker enables you to create an automatic file backup. Thus, you just need to click Schedule button to set the backup task on a regular basis.
• There are three different backup schemes offered, including Full Backup, Incremental backup, and Differential backup. You can change the backup scheme by clicking Scheme.
• You can also set some advanced backup parameters by clicking Options.

Step 5: When you have selected the backup source and destination, you can click Back up Now to perform this backup task immediately or click Back up Later to delay the backup task.

After having successfully created a backup image to the data, you can keep data safe and even can restore them to a previous state when there is a need.

Bottom Line

After reading this post, we learned that Windows cannot access the specified device path or file because of many reasons such as antivirus software, corrupted shortcut, file deleted by antivirus and so on.

However, this post has listed 5 solutions to solve the problem when Windows cannot access the specified file and you can try them out.

After successfully solving the problem or recovering the lost files, you should use MiniTool ShadowMaker to back up all important files so as to provide better protection for data.

By the way, if you have any better solution to the problem you may not have appropriate permissions to access the item, you can share it one the comment zone.

Or if you have any problem about MiniTool products, please don’t hesitate to contact us via the email [email protected] .

Windows Cannot Access the Specified Device Path or File FAQ

1. Disable antivirus software temporarily.
2. Check permission of the file or folder.
3. Unblock the file.
4. Check the location of the file.
5. Recover the removed file or deleted file.

1. Change the owner.
2. Change security permissions with Command Prompt.

For more detailed instruction, you can refer to the post: You Need Permission To Perform This Action: Solved.

1. Open File Explorer and select the file or folder you want to have full permission to right-click it.
2. Choose Properties.
3. Go to the Security tab.
4. Click Advanced.
5. On the next page, click Change.
6. Then click Advanced.
7. On the Select User or Group page, click Find Now.
8. Then select your user account and click OK.
9. On the Select User or Group page, click OK.
10. Click Apply,
11. Then click OK.

1. Take the ownership of the file or folder.
2. Get the proper permissions.
3. Recover your data.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Position: Columnist

Tina is a technology enthusiast and joined MiniTool in 2018. As an editor of MiniTool, she is keeping on sharing computer tips and providing reliable solutions, especially specializing in Windows and files backup and restore. Besides, she is expanding her knowledge and skills in data recovery, disk space optimizations, etc.

On her spare time, Tina likes to watch movies, go shopping or chat with friends and enjoy her life.