Access to Private Folder after Re-install of XP Home

[Guest]

Alright, this one is a bit of a problem.

On my home machine, windows xp home edition, I had used the standard file
sharing utilities to make the "My Documents" folder private and password
protected. About a month later my software installation of XP home became
corrupted and I had no choice but to re-install the operating software. Now
the old "My Documents" folder is locked down and I can not access it. When
trying to get to the folder through the windows explorer tool I receive an
error stating that I do not have permissions to the folder and I can not
access the contents as I am not prompted for a password.

If I were to log in as the administrator on the new installation would I be
able to take ownership of that folder by going to the properties and sharing
options? I was just wondering how I could get that information back. It
contains all of our budgeting information, pictures of my 1 1/2 year old son
and all of our critical banking information. Any help would be greatly
appreciated. I just figured I would check here before I did something more
the machine.

 

[Jim]

Alright, this one is a bit of a problem.

On my home machine, windows xp home edition, I had used the standard file
sharing utilities to make the "My Documents" folder private and password
protected. About a month later my software installation of XP home became
corrupted and I had no choice but to re-install the operating software.
Now
the old "My Documents" folder is locked down and I can not access it.
When
trying to get to the folder through the windows explorer tool I receive an
error stating that I do not have permissions to the folder and I can not
access the contents as I am not prompted for a password.

If I were to log in as the administrator on the new installation would I
be
able to take ownership of that folder by going to the properties and
sharing
options? I was just wondering how I could get that information back. It
contains all of our budgeting information, pictures of my 1 1/2 year old
son
and all of our critical banking information. Any help would be greatly
appreciated. I just figured I would check here before I did something
more
the machine.

Use the administrator account to take ownership of the files. I of course
assume that what you mean by "password protect" is setting the permissions
to restrict access to one particular account.

Take ownership of the files by first disabling simple file sharing. This
step adds the security tab for files and folders.

Next, inspect the permissions on the top folder. Change the permissions to
allow full access to the administrator account.

Change the permissions to all full access to your account.

Click apply.
Go back and restore simple file sharing.

Now check access with your account and correct as needed.

The cause of this problem is that XP never reuses Security ID; hence when
you reinstalled XP you changed all of the SIDs and only an adminstrator
account can correct the permissions.

There is a knowledge base description of this task.

Jim

 

[Guest]

Jim,

That is what I was thinking and I have the thread on that. Just wanted to
check the forum first to make sure I was on the right path. Will give it a
shot tonight and let you know. Thanks for the quick feedback.

 

[Nepatsfan]

(e-mail address removed),

Alright, this one is a bit of a problem.

On my home machine, windows xp home edition, I had used the
standard file sharing utilities to make the "My Documents"
folder private and password protected. About a month later
my software installation of XP home became corrupted and I
had no choice but to re-install the operating software. Now
the old "My Documents" folder is locked down and I can not
access it. When trying to get to the folder through the
windows explorer tool I receive an error stating that I do
not have permissions to the folder and I can not access the
contents as I am not prompted for a password.

If I were to log in as the administrator on the new
installation would I be able to take ownership of that
folder by going to the properties and sharing options? I
was just wondering how I could get that information back.
It contains all of our budgeting information, pictures of my
1 1/2 year old son and all of our critical banking
information. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I just
figured I would check here before I did something more the
machine.

Since you're 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.

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

Good luck

Nepatsfan