Password protected old hard drive user info

[Guest]

Hi.. I have gotten a new SATA Computer and I have out my old hard drive on
the IDE cable. I need to access my backed up files in c:\documents and
settings\username but I never removed the old password I had to use to login.

Now I can't boot from the IDE drive as my old registry is gone (some huge
I/O error) and I need to get the files out. I have the password, I just
can't seem to enter it anywhere to get the access i need.

Can anyone help?

 

[Nepatsfan]

(e-mail address removed),

Hi.. I have gotten a new SATA Computer and I have out my
old hard drive on the IDE cable. I need to access my backed
up files in c:\documents and settings\username but I never
removed the old password I had to use to login.

Now I can't boot from the IDE drive as my old registry is
gone (some huge I/O error) and I need to get the files out.
I have the password, I just can't seem to enter it anywhere
to get the access i need.

Can anyone help?

You need to disable Simple File Sharing and take ownership of
the files. Take a look at these articles for more info:

How to disable simplified sharing and set permissions on a
shared folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307874/

How to take ownership of a file or folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308421

"Access is Denied" Error Message When You Try to Open a Folder
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/810881

Note: If you are running Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, you
must start the computer in safe mode, and then log on with an
account that has Administrative rights to have access to the
Security tab. To start in Safe Mode, reboot your computer and
start tapping the F8 key as soon as you see anything displayed
on the screen. Keep hitting F8 until the Advanced Startup
Options menu appears. Use the up and down arrow keys on your
keyboard to select Safe Mode. Hit Enter.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Hi.. I have gotten a new SATA Computer and I have out my old hard
drive on the IDE cable. I need to access my backed up files in
c:\documents and settings\username but I never removed the old
password I had to use to login.

Now I can't boot from the IDE drive as my old registry is gone
(some huge I/O error) and I need to get the files out. I have the
password, I just can't seem to enter it anywhere to get the access
i need.

Can anyone help?

Take ownership of the files/folders you need.

How to Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

How to disable simplified sharing & set permissions
on a shared folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307874

XP Home? Read CAREFULLY!

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Hi.. I have gotten a new SATA Computer and I have out my old hard drive
on
the IDE cable. I need to access my backed up files in c:\documents and
settings\username but I never removed the old password I had to use to
login.

Now I can't boot from the IDE drive as my old registry is gone (some huge
I/O error) and I need to get the files out. I have the password, I just
can't seem to enter it anywhere to get the access i need.

Can anyone help?

I'm assuming and hoping that by "password" you're referring only to your old
account password. With one exception, that password is not an issue and
it's easy to get past the "normal" case. The exception generally doesn't
come as good news.

Normally, you'll just be getting an "access denied" message when you try to
get to those folders. All you need to do is to take ownership of the
folders, and you will have complete access to the folders and their
contents. Note that the procedure for doing this varies depending on the
version of XP you are using; in XP Home you can only do this from Safe Mode,
while in XP Pro you must turn off Simple File Sharing first (in Explorer, go
to Tools, folder options, View, and un-check the last item, "use simple file
sharing").

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

The process can take a few minutes depending on the number of files.


If, however, you were using XP Pro before *and* invoked encryption on any of
those folders, and now cannot boot to your old account and did not export
the account credentials, consider those files gone. The only ways to
decrypt them are either by logging on to that account (which means you must
run that system with that drive) and copying the files to an unencrypted
folder or removing the encryption, or by importing the account credentials
to a new account.



HTH
-pk

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I'm assuming and hoping that by "password" you're referring only to your
old account password. With one exception, that password is not an issue
and it's easy to get past the "normal" case. The exception generally
doesn't come as good news.

Normally, you'll just be getting an "access denied" message when you try
to get to those folders. All you need to do is to take ownership of the
folders, and you will have complete access to the folders and their
contents. Note that the procedure for doing this varies depending on the
version of XP you are using; in XP Home you can only do this from Safe
Mode, while in XP Pro you must turn off Simple File Sharing first (in
Explorer, go to Tools, folder options, View, and un-check the last item,
"use simple file sharing").

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

The process can take a few minutes depending on the number of files.

And I had meant to add these lines but sent the post early by accident:

If you were using XP Home and/or only set the folders to "private", the
paragraph below is not of concern as it doesn't apply. XP Encryption is
not available in XP Home, and must be explicitly set in XP Pro, from
controls not on the same dialog as simply marking the folder as private.

If, however, you were using XP Pro before *and* invoked encryption on any
of those folders, and now cannot boot to your old account and did not
export the account credentials, consider those files gone. The only ways
to decrypt them are either by logging on to that account (which means you
must run that system with that drive) and copying the files to an
unencrypted folder or removing the encryption, or by importing the
account credentials to a new account.

As well, you can specify a data recovery agent, but many people who decide
to use encryption don't take *any* of the steps needed to permit data
recovery. Microsoft did a good job at making strong encryption easily
available, but perhaps not as good a job at making the implications clear.

-pk

 

[PIM]

I use XP pro.
My computer crashed...
Since, my C: drive is fully write protected.
Even the Administrator can't do anything.
It says "access denied" or anything like that whenever I attempt to
start a service, etc...

So I am totally stuck.
I can't login with my old accounts neither create an account.
The only working account is Administrator.

This is surely given to my write protected drive C.

I have tried everything... but it is impossible to make it writable!

Th Only way I can write on that drive is to boot with the install CD
and do a shift F10. Or booting in recovery mode R.
But that gives me a console, that's all...
No explorer or anything like that.

So my question is :
IS THERE A WAY TO UNLOCK AN NTFS DRIVE or PARTITION?

THANKS FOR YOUR ANSWER















Patrick Keenan a écrit :