Member Avatar for jrussell25

my previous computer died and i added my old hard drive to a new computer to recover files. i am being denied access to the my documents folder with my name on it. i'm assuming it's because it's not recognizing my logon from the old computer. is there a way around this?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by goldeagle2005

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NTFS permissions/ownership and/or EFS encryption are the two things most likely causing the "Access is denied" message. and have already pointed you toward permissions and simple-file-sharing as the usual fixes. If those suggestions did not work on XP Home, here are practical next steps and important cautions that weren't covered in the thread.

If the Security/Owner controls are not visible under your normal account, try logging in to the built‑in Administrator account (Safe Mode is the usual way to reach it on XP Home). Once you are running as that Administrator you should be able to open the drive, copy files, or change ownership/permissions and export the data. If the built‑in Administrator account is inaccessible or has a password you do not know, skip to the rescue-environment options below.

Check for EFS encryption before spending a lot of time on permissions: encrypted files cannot be opened without the original user’s encryption key (or a domain recovery agent). Encrypted items show a padlock/green filename under NTFS; if files are EFS‑encrypted you will need the original user certificate/private key from the old profile to decrypt them. Without that key, the data cannot be recovered by changing permissions.

If permissions/Administrator access still fails or the disk shows signs of failure, make a copy (image) of the drive first and then work from the copy. Booting a Linux live CD/USB or a Windows PE / BartPE rescue disk will let you mount the partition and copy files off the disk even when normal Windows access fails. Avoid running destructive repairs (like chkdsk) until you have a backup image. If data is critical and the drive is failing, consider professional imaging/recovery before attempting further repairs.

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Member Avatar for nanosani

Right click your folder .. go to properties -- security -- advanced -- uncheck "inherit from parent the permission entries .." Then click add and add your user to the allow list ... and then select the owner tab and take ownership of the folder. Now access your folder. Most probably you can access it now .. Tell us about the results.

NOTE: You must be a member of Administrator's group to take ownership of the folder.

Member Avatar for jrussell25

when i tried that at work on xp pro i saw the tabs you're referring to but not my xp home edition. the only tabs on properties are general, sharing and customize. they don't give me access to change any settings though. the message i'm getting is that the target is not accessible. Access is denied.

Member Avatar for goldeagle2005

go to tools>folder options. Click the "View" tab. Under advanced settings, scroll to the very last check box titled "Use simple file sharing (recommended) and uncheck it. Click OK to exit.

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