Access Denied after re-installing Windows XP Home Edition

[jgoolsby]

My roommate called HP support to try and fix my laptop in my absense. The instructed him to re-installed Windows XP. After doing so my old folder that contains a lot of personal information I had not yet backed up is no longer accessible. I get an Access Denied error message. I have use the File Transfer Wizard and can actually see the files so I know everything is still there. However, even the File Transfer Wizard errors out on all of these files. Is there any hope of gaining access? I have only one user on the machine and it is the Administrator.

Any assistance is will be greatly appreciated!!!!!

[brad]

Can you actually "see" the folder? Have you tried Right Clicking on it and choosing "Properties" to see what the "Permissions" are?
brad

[jgoolsby]

Thanks for a quick response. I can see the folder but when I right click and select properties it does not show any information as if any files are under the directory. It also doesn't allow me to share the directory due to same error. I thought an Administrator could access anything. Apparently not the case with XP.

If I use the File Transfer Wizard for migrating to a new machine I can in fact see all the files in the directory and their sizes, etc... but even the wizard can't migrate them due to access denied. Oh, also, I tried sharing my entire C drive but that did not work either.

Completely at a loss of what else to try.

[brad]

When you click on Start / Log Off what options are you given?
brad

[jgoolsby]

I have created one other user in all my efforts named the same as the user whose directory I'm tryin to access (my old user account). After doing so it created just a second version of the user "Owner" directory rather than giving me access to the old "Owner" directory.

The reason I'm stating this is when I select Logoff, I get a Switch User and Logoff option as this other user now exists.

[brad]

So......Which one is Administrator.......
You've got to sign-on as the account that is the "Administrator".
brad

[jgoolsby]

I have tried logging in under both. The first user account, my roommate created as the original adminstrator and then the second that I created when logged in as the original admin user. I also gave the second user adminstrator privileges at the time of creation so both have admin privileges and I've tried accessing under both.

Not sure if it would make a difference but the Windows XP my roommate installed is not the same XP install CD that the notebook originally had. Not sure if that would make any difference. The HP help tech did not have him use the HP restore CD's but rather an XP Install CD I had purchased to upgrade a different machine. Just thought I would add this just in case. He didn't know what software went with which computer... but I won't harp on that......

Thanks,
John

[brad]

I'm hoping some others will have some advice for you. To be honest, I'm not sure why the HP tech didn't have him do a system restore.
I'm really suprised that he was able to upgrade WinXp to WinXp....It may have gone like a "dirty" install.
brad

[ralph]

I am afraid I don't have an answer but I do have exactly the same problem. After a crash I tried to do a system repair with the recovery disk and it didnt work. So what I did was to reinstall XP in a different folder which then booted up ok. Having done that there were two folders which I have "access denied" on. I cant open the files or change the name of them. I cant access them whichever log-on I choose. When I try and copy the folders to a cd I am denied access. When I try and back-up the files to DVD I can see all the files - very frustrating. I am hoping there is some shareware out there which will give me the access I required. Unlike the previous contributor it is all my fault as I should have backed up these files when I had a chance!

[Restek]

In control panel -> folder, turn off 'simple file sharing.' If you then right-click on a folder and select properties, then the security tab, are you listed in the user at the top? If you are, click on your username and check what rights you have, and if necessary change your rights to 'full control' and if neccessary change ownership of the folder to yourself. Make sure you apply these changes to all subfolders and files!!

[ralph]

I have done this and now have full access, thank you.

I did it in safe mode and it was very easy

[jgoolsby]

Thank you thank you thank you.... this worked under safe mode... something I never would have thought to try.....

You are life saver!!!!!!