Cryptic Windows bugs are about as common as fish in the sea. I have previously written about many strange Windows errors such as:
An unsupported wireless network device was detected. System stopped
Unable to read instruction from specified memory
Unable to read source file or disk error
Etc. Etc. Etc.! In this post, I will share the various ways you can try to fix the following error:
Windows cannot access the specified device or file path. You may not have the appropriate permissions.
What’s annoying about this post is that sometimes it has nothing to do with permissions at all! There are several possible ways to fix this depending on your system.
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Note : First, restart your computer in Safe Mode (XP, Vista, 7, etc. only) and see if you can open the file or programs in question. If so, then this is not a “real” permissions issue, but a program or process error on your computer.
Method 1 – Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services
First, if you encounter this issue on a Windows Server running Terminal Services, your problem may be narrowed down to one or two things.
The best solution that worked for most people is to simply remove the Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration.
If that doesn’t work, you can also add the server name to the list of trusted intranet sites in IE.
// servername
Be sure to log out and log back in for the changes to take effect. If you don’t have a server, read on.
Method 2 – turn off the antivirus or firewall
If you’re having this problem on Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7/8/10, then your problem is probably related to a real permissions issue.
Norton Internet 200X, Bitdefender, AVG Antivirus, Trend Micro 200X can cause this issue. If you have any of these programs installed, be sure to disable them and check if you can run programs, open files, etc.
If so, then you will either have to use another program or find something on the Internet on how to configure the software so that it does not interact badly with Windows.
The same can happen with an overly aggressive firewall. If you are using Comodo firewall or something similar (other than basic Windows firewall), disable that too.
Third method – unblock the file
If none of these two methods work, the file may be blocked by Windows. Please note that this is only for Windows Server 2003 and up.
When you copy an EXE file from another computer to a Windows Server 2003 computer, what is called a locked property is set for the file. This is due to the increased security of the servers.
Right-click the file and select Properties. Below you will see the “Unblock” button.
Fourth method – issuing real permissions
Finally, you may have a permissions issue. In this case, make sure that you are an administrator or a member of the Domain Admins group if you are on a domain.
Alternatively, you can try right-clicking the file and choosing Run As. Then enter your administrator credentials and try to run the file. If you can run it, it means that your account is not configured properly or is not a member of the correct user group.
That’s all! If you still get the message “Windows cannot access the specified device or file path,†please leave a comment with details and I’ll try to help! Enjoy!
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