Deleted User Account

[Guest]

Hi All,
Is it possible to recover files after a user account has been deleted? Is
system restore or a third party tool an option?

Thanks,
UM

 

[Steven L Umbach]

Assuming the files have not been encrypted with EFS [XP Pro] then you can
logon as an administrator and take ownership of the folder/files
[properties/security/advanced - owner for which simple file sharing will
need to be disabled in XP Pro to access] being sure to select the option for
"replace owner on subcontainers and objects" from the parent folder. Then
add your user account or administrators with full control permissions and
you should be able to access the files. The links below explain in more
detail. In XP Home you need to boot into Safe Mode and logon as an
administrator to access the security tab for folders/files. --- Steve

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308418
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308421

 

[Larry Samuels]

Good idea, but the files will no longer exist if they weren't saved when the
account was deleted.

It will take a third party recovery program to recover the deleted files
before your steps will work.
Restoration works well and is free.
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/restoration.html


--
Larry Samuels Associate Expert
MS-MVP (2001-2005)
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
Expert Zone-

Assuming the files have not been encrypted with EFS [XP Pro] then you can
logon as an administrator and take ownership of the folder/files
[properties/security/advanced - owner for which simple file sharing will
need to be disabled in XP Pro to access] being sure to select the option
for "replace owner on subcontainers and objects" from the parent folder.
Then add your user account or administrators with full control permissions
and you should be able to access the files. The links below explain in
more detail. In XP Home you need to boot into Safe Mode and logon as an
administrator to access the security tab for folders/files. --- Steve

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308418
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308421

Hi All,
Is it possible to recover files after a user account has been deleted? Is
system restore or a third party tool an option?

Thanks,
UM

 

[Steven Umbach]

It depends on what exactly has happened and the OP was not very specific.
Deleting a user account does not automatically delete a user's profile/files. If
he means that the user's profile was also deleted by a separate action then yes
he will need a third party file recovery program or check to see if there was a
backup. Certainly some confusion here as recover generally means the file are
gone but often I have seen users use the term when access was denied. ---
Steve

Good idea, but the files will no longer exist if they weren't saved when the
account was deleted.

It will take a third party recovery program to recover the deleted files
before your steps will work.
Restoration works well and is free.
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/restoration.html


--
Larry Samuels Associate Expert
MS-MVP (2001-2005)
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
Expert Zone-

Assuming the files have not been encrypted with EFS [XP Pro] then you can
logon as an administrator and take ownership of the folder/files
[properties/security/advanced - owner for which simple file sharing will
need to be disabled in XP Pro to access] being sure to select the option
for "replace owner on subcontainers and objects" from the parent folder.
Then add your user account or administrators with full control permissions
and you should be able to access the files. The links below explain in
more detail. In XP Home you need to boot into Safe Mode and logon as an
administrator to access the security tab for folders/files. --- Steve

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308418
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308421

Hi All,
Is it possible to recover files after a user account has been deleted? Is
system restore or a third party tool an option?

Thanks,
UM