156/69 Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Microsoft has temporarily removed the Samsung Galaxy Connect application from the Microsoft Store after reports of a critical issue affecting users of Samsung Galaxy Book 4 devices and certain desktop computers running Windows 11. Affected users encounter the error message “C:\ is not accessible – Access denied,” which prevents access to files on the C: drive. As a result, several applications-including Microsoft Outlook, Office apps, web browsers, and system tools-may fail to launch.
Joint investigations by Microsoft and Samsung revealed that the issue is caused by the Samsung Galaxy Connect app, which is used for screen mirroring and file transfer between Galaxy devices and PCs. Affected devices include multiple laptop and desktop models, such as NP750XGJ, NP754XGK, and DM501SGA. In addition to file access issues, some users are unable to perform administrative actions, elevate privileges, or uninstall updates due to permission-related errors.
Samsung has since re-released a previous stable version of the application to prevent further impact on other devices. For systems already affected, recovery options remain limited as Microsoft and Samsung continue their investigation to determine a full resolution. Users experiencing issues are advised to contact Samsung support for assistance. Additionally, Microsoft has released an out-of-band (OOB) update addressing security issues in the Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) management tools for Windows 11 Enterprise systems using Hotpatch.