Unable to access My Documents folder on old HDD "Access denied"

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Hi everyone,

this question has probally been asked so many times before (so apologies in advance) but I'm having trouble locating a specific answer for this specific issue. My old PC crashed before I could log on, after going to black, moniter said no signal. I removed my old HDD and bought an external power supply with SATA/IDE to USB to power up and access the data on my old drive. It wasn't possible to locate internally due to IDE cable not reaching the 2nd HDD in the vacant spot (thats what the tech told me).

I've powered up the HD and plugged the USB in I can see the folders on my old drive but when attempting to access my USER folder I get the access denied warning. The thing that's confusing me is that when I hover over the folder icon it says Folder empty? Not only that but I was able to gain access to my daughters ( seperate USER account) documents folder with no trouble and transfer her photos/music, but when I look for my My Docs folder, no go! I've been into Documents & Settings user docs and it only has the standard sample photos/music that comes with XP.

I've got the feeling it's to do with the security on the USER account but can't see how to get around this and as I'm using it via USB the XP operating system for the old HD won't boot up to show me the start menu to access My Docs etc. Can anyone here please guide me in the right direction to help solve this issue as I'm desperate to get my music and photos off the old drive.

Thanks
Pete
 
Solution


So instead of just getting a longer IDE cable the tech sold you an external hard disk enclosure? that seems excessive...
anyway it sounds like you just need to use an administrator account, right click on the folder you want to access, go to properties, and adjust the permissions so everyone can access it. I'm assuming the data you are trying to access is on an NTFS partition.


So instead of just getting a longer IDE cable the tech sold you an external hard disk enclosure? that seems excessive...
anyway it sounds like you just need to use an administrator account, right click on the folder you want to access, go to properties, and adjust the permissions so everyone can access it. I'm assuming the data you are trying to access is on an NTFS partition.
 
Solution

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I've right clicked on the USER folder and go to properties but the tabs are just General-Sharing-Customise. Sharing option says drag the folder into shared Docs folder but it won't allow me to do this either, saying access denied,check if disc is write protected or in use.

I was shown another method where I'm not sure if the OS was Windows or Mac? but there was an option on Properties to change owner name but XP doesn't seem to have this, maybe it was Win 7or Vista? But I'm on the spare PC with XP installed and I'm logged on as Admin so still stuck with no change to access.

If access to USER folder is denied would that affect the EMPTY description, as it should contain all My Documents which is over 3gb?
 
To access the security on the drive, open Windows Explorer, click Tools at the top, Click Folder Options, Click the View tab, and down at the bottom un-check "Use simple file sharing"

Now the security tab will be there in properties and you can take ownership of the drive and it's files and folders.

 

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Thanks for the reply but have been down that road over the phone with a tech and I've found that there is no "Use simple file sharing" option in that list, I've been up and down it many times and it's not there. I'm using XP Home Edition not XP Pro so that could be the problem.

Apparently there could be a way to do it but it has to be done in "Safe Mode" whereas XP pro you can do it through folder options. I'm still trying to nail this by surfing tech forums all over the net looking for the silver bullitt method!
 

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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

Well I finally found the sollution and I retrieved all my old data from the old HD via changing the Ownership in "Safe Mode" see above link if you're using XP Home Edition. Thanks for the previous help I received.

My question now is does anyone here know how (if) I can get to all my saved Emails in the old Outlook Express program. I had a lot of saved emails and also my address book. All that data was saved in the old OS/PC and I need to see if I can get to it. I have got onto my Email account via the new PC but the past info is not there, only current Emails, none of my old folders or emails / address book are there. Is there a file within the outlook Program files that store this info? as I can get to the old Outlook Express program folder, just not sure what I'm looking for!
 

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Good News......all files, folders, Emails, Address book.....the lot, all transferred!

Thanks all for the help. Only one last question...how do I post this as solved on the main board?