Windows Server 2022 USB External Drive Not Accessible

Question

When I plug in a usb external drive, Windows Server 2022 Standard sees the drive, but when attempting to open it, it says that the drive is inaccessible. The same usb external drive works fine on a Windows 10 or 11 computer. Is there some setting(s) in Windows Server 2022 Standard that need to be set to allow the server to read and write to the usb external drives?

Answer 1

Hello

In Windows Server 2022 Standard, there is no direct setting option to allow or disallow the server to read and write USB external drives. You can check the following aspects:

 

Check Disk Management: Open Disk Management to see if the drive is recognized and assigned a drive letter. Sometimes, the drive might not be assigned a letter, which can cause it to be inaccessible. You can assign a drive letter manually if needed.

 

Update Drivers: Ensure that all drivers, especially USB and chipset drivers, are up to date. You can do this through Device Manager by right-clicking on the device and selecting "Update driver."

 

Check File System Compatibility: Verify that the file system of the USB drive is compatible with Windows Server 2022. If the drive is formatted with a file system that the server does not support, it might not be accessible. You can check this in Disk Management.

 

Security Settings: Sometimes, security settings can prevent access to external drives. Ensure that the server's security policies allow for the use of external drives. You can check this in the Group Policy Editor under "Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Removable Storage Access."