After months of issues known to have been introduced via Windows updates, it turns out there’s one Microsoft isn’t responsible for. Reports of users losing access to their C: drive have been circulating for weeks now, and of course, most have believed that the latest 25H2 update was the culprit, but it turns out that another app was discovered to be the root cause.
According to Microsoft, the first reports came from Samsung Galaxy Book users who stated they were no longer able to access files on the root system drive and were given a generic error stating the drive was not accessible and that access was denied. Now, while some were quick to blame Windows and given its tarnished reputation following numerous issues caused by updates since Windows 10 was deprecated last fall, Microsoft noticed these reports began before 25H2 was released.
Some thought that Windows 11 security updates from February might be to blame as well, but it turned out they were not the source either. One user managed to track the issue back to Samsung Connect, something that Microsoft and Samsung also collaborated on to confirm. The following is per Microsoft (via Windows Latest):
“Microsoft and Samsung investigated these reports and concluded that the symptoms were caused by an issue in the Samsung Galaxy Connect app. While the reports coincided with recent March Patch Tuesday timing, investigation confirmed the issue is not caused by current or previous Windows monthly updates. The issue has been observed on Samsung Galaxy Book 4 and Samsung Desktop models running Windows 11, versions 24H2 and 25H2, including NP750XGJ, NP750XGL, NP754XGJ, NP754XFG, NP754XGK, DM500SGA, DM500TDA, DM500TGA, and DM501SGA.”
– Microsoft
Windows Latest has also suggested a logical line of reasoning that the Samsung Connect App may not be the only problem child here, as Samsung’s suite of software could potentially lead to the same issue occurring. Basically, one link in the chain could provide erroneous information to the OS, leading to a drive lockout. This theory is based on other reports involving Samsung’s storage sharing tools, where users encountered different errors from different apps. Meanwhile, Microsoft has removed the Samsung Connect app from its store, but anyone who may have it installed via OEM bundles should consider uninstalling it to avoid being locked out of their system drive.