file permissions XP Home

[Charlie]

I am a new XP Home user- upgraded from Win98ME with a clean
install. I wanted to make a folder private to me (all my
historical data files) which was not in My Documents
folder. To make a long story short, after logging in with
password as Administrator in Safe Mode, I was working with
the Security Tab in the target Folder's Properties menu. I
made a number of changes which did not give me the desired
result. So I tried to return the status to original
settings (not sure what they were, of course) At this
point, both on my account or the Administrator's account
(via Safe Mode) I can access the target folder and the
subfolders, but when I try (either account) to access the
files I get the 'access denied' msg. I thought XP Home
allowed Folder permissions but not File-level permissions.
I have no "DENY" settings in the security tab and both my
account (with administrator permissions) and the
Administrator account are set up with FULL CONTROL over
Folder/Subfolder and Files.

How do I regain access to my files? Then, how do I set up a
simple permission on that folder?

Thanks,
CW

 

[Doug Knox MS-MVP]

XP PRO: In Windows Explorer, go to Tools, Folder Options, View and uncheck
Use Simple File Sharing. Now, when you right click on a drive, folder or
file (on an NTFS partition) and select Properties, you'll see a Security
tab. Here you can assign or deny permissions based on user name or user
group membership.

XP Home: By default, you can only make files and folders under My Documents
"private". This is done by right clicking a folder or file and selecting
Properties, Sharing. To change the permissions on other folders, you need
to boot the computer to Safe Mode and log in on the built in Administrator
account. In this mode, you'll see the Security tab in Properties, and you
can assign permissions based on user name or group membership.

How Do I Get the Security Tab in Properties - XP Home (makes the Security
tab appear outside of Safe Mode)
http://www.dougknox.com, Win XP Tips section

HOW TO: Set, View, Change, or Remove File and Folder Permissions in Windows
XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308418

HOW TO: Set, View, Change, or Remove Special Permissions for Files and
Folders
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;308419

HOW TO: Disable Simplified Sharing and Password-Protect a Shared Folder in
Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;307874