cannot access file on external hard drive

  • Thread starter Thread starter sweetiegirl
  • Start date Start date
S

sweetiegirl

The motherboard on my computer failed, and I had to get a new computer. I
took the internal hard drive on my old computer and made it an external hard
drive on the new computer. I had a password protected user account for me,
and other user accounts that were not password protected, on the old hard
drive.

When I tried to access the external hard drive withy the new computer, I
could open the folders for the non-password protected users. When I tried to
open my my password-protected folder, XP indicated my folder was empty. I
tried to log in as a user with the same password I used on the old computer,
but I stil could not open my folder. XP indicated it was empty.

I know the folder is not empty. Does XP indicate the folder is empty when
the user cannot access it properly? Is this a method XP uses to prevent
people who are not authorized to know how much information is in that folder?

I would appreciate help anyone could give me to access this folder. Someone
suggested right-clicking on either the drive or the folder, and entering my
name in a box on a security tab, but I cannot find that.
 
sweetiegirl said:
The motherboard on my computer failed, and I had to get a new computer. I
took the internal hard drive on my old computer and made it an external hard
drive on the new computer. I had a password protected user account for me,
and other user accounts that were not password protected, on the old hard
drive.

When I tried to access the external hard drive withy the new computer, I
could open the folders for the non-password protected users. When I tried to
open my my password-protected folder, XP indicated my folder was empty. I
tried to log in as a user with the same password I used on the old computer,
but I stil could not open my folder. XP indicated it was empty.

I know the folder is not empty. Does XP indicate the folder is empty when
the user cannot access it properly? Is this a method XP uses to prevent
people who are not authorized to know how much information is in that folder?

I would appreciate help anyone could give me to access this folder. Someone
suggested right-clicking on either the drive or the folder, and entering my
name in a box on a security tab, but I cannot find that.
Click to expand...

You need to disable Simple File Sharing and take ownership of the files. Take a
look at these articles for more info:

"Access is Denied" Error Message When You Try to Open a Folder
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/810881

How to take ownership of a file or folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308421

Note: If you are running Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, you
must start the computer in safe mode, and then log on with an
account that has Administrative rights to have access to the
Security tab. To start in Safe Mode, reboot your computer and
start tapping the F8 key as soon as you see anything displayed
on the screen. Keep hitting F8 until the Advanced Startup
Options menu appears. Use the up and down arrow keys on your
keyboard to select Safe Mode. Hit Enter.

Good luck

Nepatsfan
 
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