subfolders on external drive won't open


Beldar

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Windows 10
I'm only used to XP through 10. So I plugged in my external USB drive into my wife's Win 11 laptop and was able to open the top level of the drive and see the list of subfolders. But clicking a subfolders won't open it, it just makes a blue checkmark appear on it. Right click Open or Open in New Window does nothing either.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 4590
    Motherboard
    Dell 06X1TJ (SOCKET 0)
    Memory
    8gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4600
Tried double-click?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 build 10.0.22631.3296 (Release Channel) / Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo A485
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 2700U Pro
    Motherboard
    Lenovo (WiFi/BT module upgraded to Intel Wireless-AC-9260)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    iGPU Vega 10
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" FHD (built-in) + 14" Lenovo Thinkvision M14t (touch+pen) + 32" Asus PB328
    Screen Resolution
    FHD + FHD + 1440p
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    Intel 660p m.2 nVME PCIe3.0 x2 512GB
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    65W
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    Thinkpad / Logitech MX Keys
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    Logitech MX Master 2S
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    600/300Mbit
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    Edge (Chromium)
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    SecureBoot: Enabled
    TPM2.0: Enabled
    AMD-V: Enabled
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 build 10.0.22631.3296(Release Preview Channel)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    i7-7700k @4.8GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus PRIME Z270-A
    Memory
    32GB 2x16GB 2133MHz CL15
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    EVGA GTX1080Ti FTW 11GB
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    512GB ADATA SX8000NP NVMe PCIe Gen 3 x4
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    850W
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    Logitech MX Keys
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    AC WiFi Card
having been on double click since 1982 I can't imagine that wasn't my first and repeated move. I'll check when I can.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 4590
    Motherboard
    Dell 06X1TJ (SOCKET 0)
    Memory
    8gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4600
You will need at least READ permissions to see folders and files on a drive which has been written by another user.
Easiest way is to simply add her user to have the permissions she requires and then cascade the permissions down to the rest of the file tree

I assume that @Brink will have a suitable tutorial to give guidance
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro x64 [Latest Release Preview] [Win11 PRO HighEnd MUP-00005 DD]
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Scan 3XS to my design
    CPU
    AMD RYZEN 9 7950X OEM
    Motherboard
    *3XS*ASUS TUF B650 PLUS WIFI
    Memory
    64GB [2x32GB Corsair Vengeance 560 AMD DDR5]
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    3XS* ASUS DUAL RTX 4060 OC 8G
    Sound Card
    On motherboard Feeding SPDiF 5.1 system [plus local sound to each monitor]
    Monitor(s) Displays
    32" UHD 32 Bit HDR Monitor + 43" UHD 4K 32Bit HDR TV
    Screen Resolution
    2 x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3XS Samsung 980Pro 2TB M.2 PCIe4 4 x 8TB Data + Various Externals from 1TB to 8TB, 10TB NAS
    PSU
    3XS Corsair RM850x 850w Fully Modular
    Case
    FDesign Define 7 XL BK TGL Case - Black
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    3XS iCUE H150i ELITE Liquid Cool, Quiet Case fans
    Keyboard
    Wireless Logitec MX Keys + K830 [Depending on where I'm Sat]
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    950 MB Down 55 MB Up
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    Also run...
    Dell XPS 17 Laptop
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  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro x64 [Latest release]
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 17 9700
    CPU
    i7 10750H
    Motherboard
    Stock
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Stock Intel + GTX 1650 Ti
    Sound Card
    Stock 4 speaker
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Stock 17" + 32" 4K 3840 x 2160 HDR-10
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2400 HDR touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    2TB M2 NVMe
    PSU
    Stock
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    Stock Aluminium / Carbon Fibre
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    Stock + 2 fan cooling pad
    Mouse
    Stock Trackpad +Logi Mx Master 3 or MX Ergo Trackball
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    Stock Illuminated + Logi - MX Keys
    Internet Speed
    950 MB Down 55 MB Up
    Browser
    Latest Chrome
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    BitDefender Total Security 2021
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    Also use an Adjustable Support for Laptop and Adjustable stand for monitor
I agree with barman58 that you need to check permissions.

it just makes a blue checkmark appear on it
Coloured checkmarks on drives, folders or files generally indicates that a disk checking utility or backup utility has marked it for action of some kind.

I suggest you search here in ElevenForum & in TenForums for blue checkmark or similar.
Or get an image of the checkmark & search for it using Google's searching by image capability.

Best of luck,
Denis



Welcome to ElevenForum.

It's really worth making time to browse through the Tutorial index - there's a shortcut to it at the top of every page [within the Tutorials dropdown list].
- At the foot of the Tutorial index is a shortcut to download it as a spreadsheet.
- I download a new copy each month.
- By downloading it as a spreadsheet I can benefit from Excel's excellent filtering capabilities when I search for topics of interest.
- Tutorials are also listed at Tutorials - there's a shortcut to that at the top of every page.

You can search ElevenForum using the search box in the top-right corner of all ElevenForum webpages or using Advanced Search - ElevenForum
- You can also search ElevenForum threads in many general search engines, such as Google, by adding site:elevenforum.com after your search term. For example,
Taskbar setup site:elevenforum.com
- [This is what the search box in the top-right corner of ElevenForum webpages does automatically]
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home x64 Version 23H2 Build 22631.3296
thank you. we will see what we can do.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 4590
    Motherboard
    Dell 06X1TJ (SOCKET 0)
    Memory
    8gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4600
You will need at least READ permissions to see folders and files on a drive which has been written by another user.
I have never had any problem opening folders and file by another user, I always get a warning box that I only have to click on continue then yes. As an example, when I tried opening my other user folder that I named Admin.

Permission.jpg
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PowerSpec B746
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-10700K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/ax
    Memory
    16GB (8GB PC4-19200 DDR4 SDRAM x2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 TI
    Sound Card
    Realtek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SAM0A87 Samsung SAM0D32
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    NVMe WDC WDS100T2B0C-00PXH0 1TB
    Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB
    PSU
    750 Watts (62.5A)
    Case
    PowerSpec/Lian Li ATX 205
    Keyboard
    Logitech K270
    Mouse
    Logitech M185
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge and Firefox
    Antivirus
    ESET Internet Security
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PowerSpec G156
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8400 CPU @ 2.80GHz
    Motherboard
    AsusTeK Prime B360M-S
    Memory
    16 MB DDR 4-2666
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Speptre HDMI 75Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 EVO 500GB NVMe
    Mouse
    Logitek M185
    Keyboard
    Logitek K270
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge and Edge Canary
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
As for the check boxes, see this under View:

1662323069875.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro RTM x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 2TB WDC HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
By the way, I recently had the problem of only being able to see the top-level folders and not being able to open them.
I had just had that disk in another computer to fix faults in its file system [the entire disk had become unreadable].
When i put it back in its normal computer, I had to work through changing ownership & permissions for each of the top-level folders I could see.
Afterwards, everything was hunky-dory.

All the best,
Denis
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home x64 Version 23H2 Build 22631.3296
Here's a little guide with pictures that might help you change permissions.
 

Attachments

  • Ownership-files&folders_pics.zip
    240.5 KB · Views: 4

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
Hi All, thanks.

I'm now guessing it's not permissions on her HP Win11 laptop.
1. we put the files she wanted from my Win10 on a thumb and they opened fine without any permissions tweaking
2. when I moved the external 1TB USB external back to my W10 tower and plugged it in, the pc started beeping and then threw an alert that the latest USB wasn't working right

This leads me to guess it wasn't working right on her laptop either.

BTW I could only stop that beeping by pulling the drive, powering the tower down, then back up, then plugging in the drive. Who knows?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 4590
    Motherboard
    Dell 06X1TJ (SOCKET 0)
    Memory
    8gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4600
EDIT: Sorry, Berton, just noticed that you already explained this. I missed it for some reason :-)


The blue checkboxes are an option in File Explorer.

If you see this:

image1.jpg

or this:

image3.jpg

it simply means that you have this option turned on:

image2.jpg
 

Attachments

  • image2.jpg
    image2.jpg
    81.1 KB · Views: 1

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A
    Memory
    128GB Crucial Ballistix 3200MHz DRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - CPU graphics only (for now)
    Sound Card
    Realtek (on motherboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe Gen 4 x 4 SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe Gen 3 x 4 SSD
    2 x 512GB 2.5" SSDs
    2 x 8TB HD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCue 5000X RGB
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black cooler + 10 case fans
    Keyboard
    CODE backlit mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Additional options installed:
    WiFi 6E PCIe adapter
    ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 PCIe adapter
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor

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