Please help me access my files!

I need your help! I have an old hd that has my files loaded onto to it and it used to be my bootable drive but some kind of error happened to it and I was forced to use it as slave drive. For some reason now I can't access my files on this drive. When I go in docs and settings to try and access the administrator folder I can't and this message pops up.

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This is what popped up in I click continue.

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I tried this to access my files but it didn't work.

Steve (His first response at http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-repli…fm/780283.html) said …

You need to use the security tab and take ownership of the files.

Right click on the relevant folder, click properties->advanced->owner-> click edit. Make sure the "replace ownership on subfolders" box is selected, select your account from the provided list and click ok.

Note it should say you may need to reopen the folder for the permissions to fully take effect, that should fix things, it's quite a common issue with new installs and files from other computers.

I can access the folders that belong to my mother but not my own. How do I bypass this security setting so that I can finally access my files? I'm desperate for help since I have a lot of very important files on there that I need. Thanks.

Thats how you do it Leader2. Are you getting some kind of error when you try to take ownership of the folder? Unfortunately, this can be one of the most irritating things about Vista. Its bad enough that you have to modify NTFS permissions on your files and folders when you are already an administrator, which is absolutely ridiculous, but then Vista, in Microsoft's infinite wisdom felt it was necessary to add another couple hoops to jump through called user account control. So, most likely, because you are getting this error it is related to UAC. UAC messes so many things up I could type a list longer than my arm. But, to make a long story short, you are probably changing the ownership of those files and folders to "your account," as suggested in your above quote, but in Vista with UAC, this won't work because if Vista pops up the "Click Continue to get access to this folder," message and you click "Continue," you are no longer you, you are now the "administrator." I know this probably doesn't make any sense at all but it is a fundamental flaw in the thinking and design of UAC which causes you to magically shift out of YOUR user account and become some totally different person on your computer when you click the "continue," button. So, you need to grant "administrators" ownership of the folder, not your user account because when you finally try to access the files you are no longer you. Its magic. Now, if only the geniuses over at Microsoft would've realized this huge gaping problem with UAC when they made it the heart and soul of the worst operating system ever.

Hey there, Sorry to butt in, but may i just ask; 1) were your docs on your hdd encrypted? 2) did the drive have a drivelock password on it?

Thanks appleoddity and bizarrebob for your help. To bizarrebob you are definately not butting in. Any help you could give would be much appreciated. 1) No none of the files were encrypted. 2) Not only did the drive not have a drivelock password on it, to be honest I don't even know what that is.

Hi leader2,
I'm not sure if having followed the instructions and information you received previously you now have all your important stuff copied off ( backed up) and kept safe on removable media…… If by any chance you are still struggling with this then here is a method that you might like to consider using…..
You will need access to a working computer so you can download files and burn them to a CD.

Back up when you can't boot into Windows
A.) Please take the opportunity now to bring your back up/archive/copy of all your important stuff 100% up to date, check that it's accurate, reproducible and held securely on removable media (not your hard drive)……
the idea here is to ensure that all your important data, files, spreadsheets, work, music, emails, log in details, user names, address book, drivers, letters, invoices, videos etc….in fact everything that is important to you (stuff that you would not like to permanently lose) is kept safe on external media. I recommend the use of a USB external hard drive for this.
Whilst you are doing this, collect together all your application installation discs (or downloaded installation executables) serial numbers, product licence keys (including the one for Windows itself and the Microsoft Windows installation disc and or Manufacturer's Restore and Driver/utilities discs.
If you have made a "disc image" using Paragon, Acronis, Ghost or one of the free disc imaging alternatives then keep this image safe also on removable media, verify it for correctness and reproducibility and ensure you have made a bootable CD/DVD for use in the event that Windows will not start.

Now. here's the detailed instructions on how to do it
B.) Download Linux Puppy from here:
http://puppylinux.org/main/index.php?file=…t%20Release.htm
Its a download of only about 100MB, so a broadband connection is advisable for the download… Puppy is an alternative operating system….. it does not need Windows to run, and the licence to use it is free of charge and comes included automatically. It is different in its interface from Windows, but sufficiently intuitive for most folks to use it successfully without problem.
C.) Burn.the iso (that you have downloaded) to CD ROM as an "image"…it must be as an image, a copy will not work!……..Imgburn is good for this, available from here:
http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download
D.) Set Bios to Boot from CD as first priority…on most Dells it's F2 to enter the Bios (set up) otherwise try F12, Esc or Del.Your hard drive should be next in priority followed by USB/network if the settings provide these options. Remember to save your altered settings in the Bios before exiting
E.) With your external back up media plugged in to a USB port I.E. External USB hard drive, flash drive etc and the Linux Puppy CD ROM inserted into the CD drive, close down your machine and:
F.) Boot from the CD, you may get a message to "press any key to continue booting from CD" so allow this, Now follow the on-screen Linux Puppy prompts (remember don't install it) let it run in memory, it will be quite happy doing so, and will allow you access to your Hard drive so you can copy off to your external media anything you need. You will soon get used to Puppy and you'll find that you will be able to use the Internet and do most things that you want to do. However as you need to back up your files, I suggest you concentrate on copying off your important stuff first.

You will see that the above forms part of "canned paragraphs" that I use often to help folks. Maybe it would be a good idea to print out the important steps before you start and then methodically work through them.
Let us know how you go, but do post back if you need any clarifications.
Regards
paws

Hi leader2,
I'm not sure if having followed the instructions and information you received previously you now have all your important stuff copied off ( backed up) and kept safe on removable media…… If by any chance you are still struggling with this then here is a method that you might like to consider using…..
You will need access to a working computer so you can download files and burn them to a CD.

Back up when you can't boot into Windows
A.) Please take the opportunity now to bring your back up/archive/copy of all your important stuff 100% up to date, check that it's accurate, reproducible and held securely on removable media (not your hard drive)……
the idea here is to ensure that all your important data, files, spreadsheets, work, music, emails, log in details, user names, address book, drivers, letters, invoices, videos etc….in fact everything that is important to you (stuff that you would not like to permanently lose) is kept safe on external media. I recommend the use of a USB external hard drive for this.
Whilst you are doing this, collect together all your application installation discs (or downloaded installation executables) serial numbers, product licence keys (including the one for Windows itself and the Microsoft Windows installation disc and or Manufacturer's Restore and Driver/utilities discs.
If you have made a "disc image" using Paragon, Acronis, Ghost or one of the free disc imaging alternatives then keep this image safe also on removable media, verify it for correctness and reproducibility and ensure you have made a bootable CD/DVD for use in the event that Windows will not start.

Now. here's the detailed instructions on how to do it
B.) Download Linux Puppy from here:
http://puppylinux.org/main/index.php?file=…g%20Started.htm
Its a download of only about 100MB, so a broadband connection is advisable for the download… Puppy is an alternative operating system….. it does not need Windows to run, and the licence to use it is free of charge and comes included automatically. It is different in its interface from Windows, but sufficiently intuitive for most folks to use it successfully without problem.
C.) Burn.the iso (that you have downloaded) to CD ROM as an "image"…it must be as an image, a copy will not work!……..Imgburn is good for this, available from here:
http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download
D.) Set Bios to Boot from CD as first priority…on most Dells it's F2 to enter the Bios (set up) otherwise try F12, Esc or Del.Your hard drive should be next in priority followed by USB/network if the settings provide these options. Remember to save your altered settings in the Bios before exiting
E.) With your external back up media plugged in to a USB port I.E. External USB hard drive, flash drive etc and the Linux Puppy CD ROM inserted into the CD drive, close down your machine and:
F.) Boot from the CD, you may get a message to "press any key to continue booting from CD" so allow this, Now follow the on-screen Linux Puppy prompts (remember don't install it) let it run in memory, it will be quite happy doing so, and will allow you access to your Hard drive so you can copy off to your external media anything you need. You will soon get used to Puppy and you'll find that you will be able to use the Internet and do most things that you want to do. However as you need to back up your files, I suggest you concentrate on copying off your important stuff first.

You will see that the above forms part of "canned paragraphs" that I use often to help folks. Maybe it would be a good idea to print out the important steps before you start and then methodically work through them.
Let us know how you go, but do post back if you need any clarifications.
Regards
paws

Hi paws. Thanks for your reply. This link for Linux Puppy: http://puppylinux.org/main/index.php?file=…g%20Started.htm was dead so I downloaded the iso from this link here: http://puppylinux.org/main/index.php?file=…t%20Release.htm Is that ok? Or do I need to dl it from another link? Also are you saying that I will be able to access my files using linux puppy since I can't access them in Windows?

Leader2, did you try granting Administrators ownership as I suggested?

Leader2, did you try granting Administrators ownership as I suggested?

Yes I did try to grant Administrators ownership. I still couldn't access my files even though they were listed as having full permissions. I hope I did the right thing. Whatever the problem is it just doesn't seem to be working with what I have tried. appleoddity can you make another recommendation?

Hi Leader 2, Yes ,sorry about the bad link (they must have moved it whilst I was not looking!)… The link you suggested is just fine to download from. As Windows is having difficulty in accessing your files, its worth trying Linux Puppy, as there is a sporting chance it will provide the access you need, and then you can copy them off. Good luck Regards paws

Yes.. Linux, as PAWS suggested doesn't really care about NTFS permissions. So, that is a viable solution. You could also try disabling User Account Control in control panel -> user accounts. Disable it temporarily, reboot, and see if you are able to take ownership and access those files.

Yes.. Linux, as PAWS suggested doesn't really care about NTFS permissions. So, that is a viable solution.

You could also try disabling User Account Control in control panel -> user accounts. Disable it temporarily, reboot, and see if you are able to take ownership and access those files.

Hi Leader 2, Yes ,sorry about the bad link (they must have moved it whilst I was not looking!)…
The link you suggested is just fine to download from.

As Windows is having difficulty in accessing your files, its worth trying Linux Puppy, as there is a sporting chance it will provide the access you need, and then you can copy them off.
Good luck
Regards
paws

I have some good news and some bad news . Hopefully you can help me out. The good news is the Linux Puppy did work and I could access the files. I was able to read some docs and listen to a file. The bad news is I could not copy the files. When I right clicked on the folder the copy function wasn't available. Later on when I tried again it said that it couldn't copy files into themselves. Arrgh!

I am thrilled to access the files, but totally unthrilled that I can't copy them. How do I copy the files? I saw that there was some issue with mounting drives when the LP was starting and and again when I clicked on the drives. Is this what is making the copy function inaccessible? Or is it something else? Thanks.

Hi, Glad to hear that you can now access your files Via Puppy To copy them off I suggest you do this: 1 Insert a flash drive/thumb drive/memory stick into a USB port before you boot into Puppy 2 Boot into Puppy, open your "C" drive and get access to the files you want. 3 Open your flash drive 4 Drag and drop the files you need to copy… See how you go, and let us know if this does the trick.. Regards paws

Yes! Finally success!!! I copied the f files to my external hard drive and I was able to access them when I booted back into windows. Thank you so much Paws. I give you my emoticon salute…

Hi leader2, That's good to hear, glad you got it fixed. Well done! Regards paws