"The drive where Windows is installed is locked.Unlock the drive and try again."

Anonymous
2013-01-22T22:31:56+00:00

What to do when you get the following message on "the most stable", Windows 8, operating system?

"The drive where Windows is installed is locked. Unlock the drive and try again."

I got that message after the following:

I wanted to open a PDF file from my customer on OUTLOOK - a regular, every-hour procedure - and my computer froze. Nothing worked; therefore, only manually disconnecting my computer from the power source, I was able to shut it down.

After I restarted, I could not get passed the login screen - my computer used to enter the "blue background color and nothing else" mode. 

I decided to use USB Flash drive to repair Win8 but it failed. I wanted to refresh my Windows 8, but I got that message:

"The drive where Windows is installed is locked. Unlock the drive and try again."

Just 4 days ago, I did a "clean install" of Windows 8 OS.

What should I do besides another "clean install" of Windows 8?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Performance and system failures

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous
2014-09-06T13:07:42+00:00

2 SSD drives one SATA HDD

win 8.1 on SSD #1

this is what I did:

  1. shutdown
  2. unhooked HDD
  3. restarted
  4. yay !!
  5. reconnected HDD
  6. restarted
  7. yay !!

cheers

Thank you.  Of all the proposed solutions this is the only one I tried and it worked perfectly.  My computer is back up and running.  Thank you so much!

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Anonymous
2013-04-16T06:32:07+00:00

I clean installed windows 8 on a second HD and then the original came up as an option.  the key is to disconnect the first hd with the good install on it. and then go into the bios and adjust your boot sequence.  

At least this worked for me.  As soon as this works you must defeat any options for fast start as that is likely where the trouble is.  This is outrageous as it is happening to customers across the world but yet the company is trying to pass it off as a virus.  I was told I would have to buy a second license to get the install to stabilize.  It is BS.

Good Luck

KC O'Dunn

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-04-27T14:28:57+00:00

    I had a problem similar to yours, I think  (you did not provide details).  Your problem with the drive being locked is caused by the new board level security which is part of the UEFI Bios.  This new and improved bios security will, from time to time (when you really need it to work) cause your system to determine that your hard disk is locked.  Screaming, pleading. and begging do not help. The way around this issue (that has worked for me) is to go into your BIOS setup and find the hard disk portion and set the choice to "Other secure BIOS" (or something similar - variable among mother board brands) instead of UEFI, and boot the system.  This will cause your system to boot from anything that it can find to boot from (which in this case is your "locked" disk), one time, then revert back to UEFI.  After this tweak, your system will boot normally.  This issue hit me when switching from Windows 7 to Windows 10, and I have had not problems since.  Apparently something writes to a forbidden area of the disk, and the system locks the disk.   This is what I have found to work with my motherboard brand.  Your actual mileage may vary but UEFI is newish and a bit buggy to suit me, but there seems to be a safety valve built in.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-04-27T01:28:38+00:00

    Hi,

    We suggest creating a new thread for your concern. Kindly choose the appropriate categories and include as much details as possible about the issue. Click here for some guidelines on how to effectively ask questions in the Community.

    Let us know if you need further assistance.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-04-26T21:44:08+00:00

    I've tried all the above & got no where. When I am in DOS mode it says X:\windows\system32.   How do I get to X:\Sources?

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