Unable to access my USB drives - Access Denied message

[PradeepBhat]

Hi All,

I am not able to access my USB drives nor my SD Card today. I get a message Access Denied.

I was able to access the USB drives and SD card a few days earlier. Not sure if some OS update has created this problem.

I read that HP Client Security Manager should be used to enable access to USB drives - https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Software-and-How-To-Questions/Cant-access-the-usb-or-other-ex....  However, the latest version does not have the feature.

I have also tried the solutions suggested in the following posts but they did not resolve the problem:

https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/d3046314-e616-4d9a-8367-0b9ae15f7b08/windows-10-pr... 

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Operating-Systems-and-Recovery/unable-to-access-any-USB-flash-... 

https://www.top-password.com/blog/block-read-write-access-to-usb-or-cd-drive-in-windows-10-8-7/

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Business-Notebooks/How-to-disable-HP-Sure-Run/td-p/7011264 

Request help and guidance to re-enable access to USB drives

Thanks

Pradeep Bhat

[PradeepBhat · Accepted solution]

I did some further Internet search and tried the following steps, which has worked:
Go to Search Bar and type “gpedit.msc” for Local Group Policy Editor.
On the left panel go to Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> System >> Removable Storage Access
Find "All Removable Storage Classes: Deny all access”. Click on the same to get a description of its function.
Click on "Edit Policy Setting". Select “Not Configured”. [I had selected “Disabled” earlier, which apparently was not correct]
Close all windows and reboot
The SD card, USB drives and mobiles are now accessible.

A check of other settings indicate that almost all of them have the default setting as "Not Configured"