Microsoft pulls Samsung app blocking Windows C: drive from Store

​Microsoft has removed the Samsung Galaxy Connect app from the Microsoft Store because it was causing issues on specific Samsung Galaxy Book 4 and desktop models running Windows 11.

This comes after the company said on Friday that it was investigating reports of app failures and users losing access to their C:\ drive on some Windows 11 systems.

“Users might encounter the error, ‘C:\ is not accessible – Access denied,’ which prevents access to files and blocks the launch of some applications including Outlook, Office apps, web browsers, system utilities and Quick Assist,” Microsoft explained.

The known issue impacts a wide range of Samsung Galaxy Book 4 and Samsung Desktop models running Windows 11, including NP750XGJ, NP750XGL, NP754XGJ, NP754XFG, NP754XGK, DM500SGA, DM500TDA, DM500TGA, and DM501SGA.

On affected devices, users have been experiencing problems launching apps, accessing files, or performing administrative tasks, and, in some cases, issues elevating privileges, uninstalling updates, or collecting logs due to permission failures.

​Following a joint investigation with Samsung, Microsoft has attributed these issues to the Samsung Galaxy Connect app (used for screen mirroring, file sharing, and data transfer between Galaxy devices and Windows PCs) and temporarily removed it from the Microsoft Store.

“The affected Samsung Galaxy Connect application was temporarily removed from the Microsoft Store to prevent further installations,” Microsoft said.

“Samsung has republished a stable previous version of the application to stop recurrence on additional devices. Recovery options for devices already impacted remain limited, and Samsung continues to evaluate remediation approaches with Microsoft’s support.”

Microsoft and Samsung have not yet provided a workaround and are still working on a fix for affected Windows 11 devices. Impacted users are advised to contact Samsung for device-specific assistance.

On Friday, Microsoft also released an out-of-band (OOB) update to fix a security issue in the Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) management tool affecting Windows 11 Enterprise devices that receive hotpatch updates instead of regular Patch Tuesday cumulative updates.

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