Microsoft explains how to fix broken drive C, apps, and other issues in Windows 11

If your computer is affected by the bug that makes drive C inaccessible and breaks other parts of Windows 11, Microsoft now has an official guide on how to fix it.

Last week, Microsoft acknowledged a bug where Windows 11 exhibits abnormal behavior on certain PCs from Samsung after recent updates. Affected systems had drive C inaccessible, with plenty of common tasks failing to run. Shortly, Microsoft issued a statement and explained that it is Samsung's software messing with certain laptop models. Now, the company has published a dedicated guide explaining how to fix affected systems.

First, you need to uninstall the Samsung Galaxy Connect and/or Samsung Continuity Service in Settings > Apps > Installed apps. After that, restart your computer and add temporary permissions to drive C:

Right-click drive C and select Properties.
Go to Security > Advanced.
In the new window, click Change next to Owners.
Type Everyone and click Ok.

The next step is to add a temporary permission to drive C:

Right-click drive C and select Properties.
Go to Security > Advanced and click Edit.
Click Add and type Everyone.
If prompted, click Yes. If Windows 11 shows multiple warning prompts, press Alt + C.

Now, it is time to restore the original permissions:

Launch Notepad and paste the following:
BAT
icacls c:\ /grant BUILTIN\Administrators:(OI)(CI)(F)
icacls c:\ /grant "NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM:(OI)(CI)(F)"
icacls c:\ /grant BUILTIN\Users:(OI)(CI)(RX)
icacls c:\ /grant "NT AUTHORITY\Authenticated Users:(OI)(CI)(IO)(M)"
icacls c:\ /grant "NT AUTHORITY\Authenticated Users:(AD)"
icacls c:\ /setowner "NT Service\TrustedInstaller"
icacls c:\ /remove everyone
pause
Save the file as RestoreAccess.txt and then change its extension to bat – RestoreAccess.bat.
Right-click the newly made file and select Run as Administrator.
Restart your computer.

Now, drive C and all the previously broken features should work as expected. If problems persist or if you are not comfortable doing the suggested steps yourself, Microsoft suggests contacting Samsung support. You can read more about that in a newly published support article.