Help - recover files from dead pc - working hard drive

  • Thread starter Thread starter JS
  • Start date Start date
J

JS

My pc running xp home died. The hard drive appears to be
working. Attaching the HD to another machine as slave
(also xp home) allows me to recover most of the file
EXCEPT in the Owner's "Doc & Setting" folder <which
unfortunately has all my personal files>. I get
an "access denied" message & can't do anything wiht the
folder.

I tried to run the HD as master, but windows refused to
boot up - in safe mode or other options. I assume this
is the *@#$% protection scheme that is trying to prevent
me from running one copy of xp on 2 machines.

Any way of getting around the problem? either getting
the old copy of windows to boot so I can remove the
password, or somehow unlocking the folder?

Thanks.
 
Hi,

Reattach it as a slave. You need to take ownership of them. Right-click the
folder, select properties. Go to the security tab and click advanced. You
can take control of the folders on the owner tab. For the security tab to
appear in a WinXP Pro system, you must disable simple file sharing in the
control panel/folder options/view tab. For a WinXP Home system, you must
restart in safe mode and logon as administrator. More details here:

HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP [Q308421]
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308421

An additional note for WinXP Pro users: This procedure will not help you
recover data if the files are encrypted. All you will be able to do is
delete them. To recover encrypted files you will need the original
encryption certificate or a Recovery Agent from the installation under which
they were encrypted. Without one of these, the files are not recoverable.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Windows
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone
 
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