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Been having problems when taking HDD's from dead win 10 systems and transferring data via USB adaptor to new Win 10 system. Folders (with files) copy across to their relevant locations, but when trying to look at the files, only the folders show with no files present in them. Pretty sure it's a permissions issue but havn't found a rock solid way of making it work. Help would be greatly appreciated!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by rubberman

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Short expert summary and a compact recovery checklist that complements and : a Linux live USB is a good first move because Linux/ntfs-3g can mount NTFS and usually ignores Windows ACLs that block Explorer, so files can often be copied off the old disk even when Windows will not show them. (manpages.ubuntu.com)

Quick triage (do these in order):

  1. Check for BitLocker. Locked BitLocker volumes will not yield readable files until unlocked; verify with manage-bde -status and unlock only with the recovery password/key. 

    manage-bde -status E:
manage-bde -unlock E: -recoverypassword <48-digit-key>

    (learn.microsoft.com)

  2. Check for EFS (Encrypting File System). EFS-encrypted files require the original EFS certificate/private key to decrypt; Linux cannot transparently decrypt them. Use cipher to inspect encryption and export keys before attempting recovery. 

    cipher /c "E:\path\to\file"
cipher /x EFSKeyBackup

    (learn.microsoft.com)

  3. If not BitLocker/EFS, look for long-path, junction, or permission issues. Explorer often skips very long paths or copies junction objects instead of target data. Use Robocopy (supports long paths) in backup mode or copy from Linux; if ownership blocks access, take ownership then reset ACLs with takeown and icacls (use cautiously). 

    robocopy "E:\Users\OldUser" "C:\Recovered\OldUser" /E /ZB /B /R:1 /W:1
takeown /f "C:\Recovered\OldUser" /r /d Y
icacls "C:\Recovered\OldUser" /grant Administrators:F /t

    (learn.microsoft.com)

Safety notes: mount the old volume read-only whenever possible; if Windows disk is “hibernated” or fast-start is active, do not force changes without understanding that remove_hiberfile will destroy the saved session. Make a forensic image first if the data is critical. (unix.stackexchange.com)

This checklist ties the Linux-live idea you already tried to the specific blockers (BitLocker, EFS, long paths, junctions, ACLs) and gives safe command-line options to try next.

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Member Avatar for windcaid

Thanks, the old one' are the good one's! I used to always do it that way and just didn't think of it. I've downloaded and burned a Linux Mint Cinnamon iso and will try and report back if it works.

Edited by windcaid
Member Avatar for rubberman

What rproffitt said. You can boot your win10 system with a Linux live disc (as long as it is uefi compatible - Ubuntu or Mint work well) and use that to mount the failing Windows discs and copy the data to the target Windows disc.

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