Unable to access files

[First]

A year or so ago I setup a new computer for a friend of mine and he decided to create a password for this computer (the one you enter before you enter Windows upon boot up). Anyway, a year passes and yesterday he asks me to build him another computer. After finishing his system today, I decide to take his hard drive from his year old system and use it as a slave drive in his new system. However, when I try to view any files on his old drive I am not allowed to access the drive.

I assume this problem is because my friend setup a password on that drive. Which leads me to my question; how do I access the files? I have the password.

Thanks.

P.S. OS is Windows XP Pro.

 

[rbV5]

You just need to take ownership of the drive. If he encryted the drive, you're screwed...but sounds like simple permissions issue. You need to just take ownership of the entire drive and you'll have access to the files.

 

[First]

Originally posted by: rbV5
You just need to take ownership of the drive. If he encryted the drive, you're screwed...but sounds like simple permissions issue. You need to just take ownership of the entire drive and you'll have access to the files.

How do I "take ownership" of the drive?

I don't believe he encryted it, he just setup a simple password protect.

 

[bacillus]

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308421

 

[NogginBoink]

Originally posted by: Evan Lieb

Originally posted by: rbV5
You just need to take ownership of the drive. If he encryted the drive, you're screwed...but sounds like simple permissions issue. You need to just take ownership of the entire drive and you'll have access to the files.

How do I "take ownership" of the drive?

I don't believe he encryted it, he just setup a simple password protect.

You have no idea what you're talking about.

The NTFS filesystem allows for permissions to files. The user that creates the files has permissions to them and (to oversimplify) other users don't.

You created a new operating system that has a new user. This new user doesn't have permissions to read the files on disk. Totally expected behavior.

You have to take ownership of the files and give yourself permissions to read them.

 

[First]

Thanks for the help, rbV5 and bacillus.