5 Ways to Fix the “Windows Cannot Access The Specified Device” Fortnite Error

Many players have reported they can’t play Fortnite, Valorant, and other games because of an error message that says, “Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file.” For example, a player’s Reddit post reported that issue like this, “Every time I try to launch Fortnite through the Epic Games Launcher, I get an error ‘Windows cannot access the specified device.’” Games don’t start when that error occurs. These are the best ways to fix the “Windows cannot access the specified device” Fortnite error. 

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Run Epic Games Launcher With Admin Rights

Many players say starting Epic Games Launcher with administrator rights has fixed the “Windows cannot access the specified device” Fortnite error on their PCs. It’s best to set Epic Games to always start with elevated privileges rather than selecting the temporary Run as administrator context menu option. This is how you can configure Epic Games to run as an administrator.

1. Click the taskbar magnifying glass or search box for the Windows file finder utility.
2. Input Epic Games to find that software.
3. Select Open file location for Epic Games Launcher.
4. Right-click the Epic Games Launcher file to select Properties.
5. Click Run this program as an administrator to select that checkbox on the Compatibility tab.
   
   

   The Run this program as an administrator option

6. Select Apply to set the selected option.
7. Click OK to leave the window.

Set Fortnite Files to Run in Compatibility Mode

Players also confirm changing compatibility settings for Fortnite’s application files can resolve the “Windows cannot access the specified device” error. Try setting those files to run in compatibility mode like this.

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the Epic Games > Fortnite > FortniteGames > Binaries > Win64 folder.
2. Right-click FortniteLauncher.exe to select the Properties option for it.
3. Click Compatibility within the properties window’s tab bar.
4. Select Run this program in compatibility mode for and Windows 8 in the drop-down menu.
5. Next, select the checkbox for the Disable fullscreen optimizations option.
6. If Run this program as an administrator is selected, unselect that checkbox.
   
   

   The Run this program in compatibility mode checkbox

7. Save the changes by clicking Apply and OK.
8. Repeat the previous six steps for the FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping_EAC.exe, FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping_BE.exe, and FortniteClient-Win64-Shipping.exe files.

Clear the Cache Files for Fortnite and Epic Games

This potential resolution for the “Windows cannot access the specified device” error clears the Epic Games and Fortnite cache data, which some players say has worked for them. To do this, you must delete a few folders in the Local directory. You can clear the cache files for Fortnite by erasing those folders like this.

1. First, make sure Epic Games Launcher isn’t running in the background.
2. To activate Run, hold the Windows logo button and press R.
3. Type in %localappdata% in the Run dialog and press the Enter key.
4. Next, right-click EpicGamesLauncher to select Explorer’s Delete option.
   
   

   The Delete option

5. Erase the FortniteGame, UnrealEngine, and UnrealEngineLauncher folders by right-clicking them and selecting the Delete option.

Roll Back Windows Insider Builds

The “Windows cannot access the specified device” Fortnite error can occur because of Windows 11 Insider build compatibility issues. Are you on the Windows Insider program? If you are, you might be able to resolve this gaming issue by rolling back to a previous build like this.

1. Activate Settings by utilizing the Windows logo + X hotkey for that app.
2. Select the System tab.
3. Click Go back within the system recovery options if you can see that button.
   
   

   The Go back option

4. Select the Earlier builds seemed more reliable checkbox option.
   
   

   The Earlier builds seemed more reliable checkboxes

5. Click Next > Go back to earlier build.

If that doesn’t work, try leaving the Windows Insider program completely to restore an official Windows public build version on your PC. This Microsoft page tells you how users can leave the Windows Insider program.

Set Full Control For Fortnite’s Files

Limited Fortnite file control (permission) is a potential cause of the “Windows cannot access the specified device” Fortnite error. You can remedy this by enabling full control permissions for the Win64 folder that contains Fortnite’s files. This is how you set full control permissions for Fortnite.

1. Go into the File Explorer window and open the Program Files > Epic Games > Fortnite > FortniteGame > Binaries.
2. Right-click the Win64 folder to select Properties.
3. Select Security in the tab bar.
4. Press Edit to view the Permissions for Win64 window.
5. Select the Full Control checkbox within the Allow column.
   
   

   The Permissions for Win64 window

6. Click Apply and OK in the Permissions for Win64 window.

The troubleshooting methods in this article are widely confirmed to fix the “Windows cannot access the specified device” Fortnite error on PCs. This doesn’t mean they’re guaranteed solutions, but applying them will usually resolve that Fortnite gaming issue. You can also send a help ticket to Epic about this issue by clicking Contact Us on this support page, but try applying the potential fixes above first.