Windos XP folder Access problem.......

[Guest]

Hi there,

I own a dell inspiron note book, it has came with windows XP media center
edition, my "hal.dll" got corrupted last week & I re-installed the software
once again from OEM CD.

Now it is showing some abnormal behavior :-

1. it is not showing my older profiles in login window nor listing them in
user accounts in control panel.

2. But it shows folders related to older profiles in Documents & Settings in
c:/ drive.

3. I use to administer the PC earlier and now also doing it, I have around
30 gigs of important data in my previous my documents folder, but now it is
not giving me access to even view it. Disk space shows that the data is still
there only.

I did tried Dell online Support & their technician says "it's windows bug,
only windows professional can help in retrieving the data, or otherwise just
format the drive & redo all installation. you have already Lost the data".

Can you please help me to guide to retrieve this data by any chance?

 

[Nepatsfan]

(e-mail address removed),

Hi there,

I own a dell inspiron note book, it has came with windows XP
media center edition, my "hal.dll" got corrupted last week &
I re-installed the software once again from OEM CD.

Now it is showing some abnormal behavior :-

1. it is not showing my older profiles in login window nor
listing them in user accounts in control panel.

2. But it shows folders related to older profiles in
Documents & Settings in c:/ drive.

3. I use to administer the PC earlier and now also doing it,
I have around 30 gigs of important data in my previous my
documents folder, but now it is not giving me access to even
view it. Disk space shows that the data is still there only.

I did tried Dell online Support & their technician says
"it's windows bug, only windows professional can help in
retrieving the data, or otherwise just format the drive &
redo all installation. you have already Lost the data".

Can you please help me to guide to retrieve this data by any
chance?

Instead of repairing your old installation, it sounds like you
ended up installing a parrallel installation of XP. Since you
didn't format the partition, all your old files and folders are
still there. In order to gain access to them, you need to
disable Simple File Sharing and take ownership of the files.
Here's how:

First, go to Control Panel and double click the Folder Options
icon.
In Folder Options, click on the View tab.
In the Advanced Settings box, scroll down to the bottom of the
list.
Remove the check mark from the box next to "Use Simple File
Sharing (Recommended)".
Click OK.

To gain access to your old My Documents folder, you'll need to
take ownership and assign your account Full Control of the
folder and all its subfolders. Take a look at this article for
more information:

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

Here are some other articles you may find helpful.

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

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

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[Guest]

Thank you Mr. Nepatsfan,

I will try it and come back to you again.