How to recover data after failed XP Pro upgrade??

[Guest]

I upgraded from XP Home SP1 to XP Pro, and at the first reboot the computer froze on "Windows is inspecting your system...". I tried to boot with the XP Pro CD-ROM, but it failed to get past the OS choice screen right at the beginning

Anyway, I had to run the recovery CD, but since this wipes out the hard disk, I removed the existing hard-disk and build a new one in. All went fine, I ran the recovery CD, got a fresh install of XP Home, and installed Windows XP Pro SP1 as well in a dual-boot configuration

I would like to recover the data from my old hard disk, and I have built it into an external case. However, most of the files I need are under my old XP Home profile: "G:\Documents and Settings\James\... " on this old hard disk

When I click on this folder, I get "G:\Documents and Settings\James is not accessible. Access is denied

How can I access the files that are under this old profile

Many thanks in advance.

 

[neil]

Have a look in "help and support" and search for "take ownership" that
should sort you out.
Neil

I upgraded from XP Home SP1 to XP Pro, and at the first reboot the

computer froze on "Windows is inspecting your system...". I tried to boot
with the XP Pro CD-ROM, but it failed to get past the OS choice screen right
at the beginning.

Anyway, I had to run the recovery CD, but since this wipes out the hard

disk, I removed the existing hard-disk and build a new one in. All went
fine, I ran the recovery CD, got a fresh install of XP Home, and installed
Windows XP Pro SP1 as well in a dual-boot configuration.

I would like to recover the data from my old hard disk, and I have built

it into an external case. However, most of the files I need are under my old
XP Home profile: "G:\Documents and Settings\James\... " on this old hard
disk.

 

[Guest]

Many thanks, neil, you made my day.

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi James,

You need to take ownership of them. Right-click the folder, select
properties. Go to the security tab and click advanced. You can take control
of the folders on the owner tab. For the security tab to appear in a WinXP
Pro system, you must disable simple file sharing in the control panel/folder
options/view tab. For a WinXP Home system, you must restart in safe mode and
logon as administrator. More details here:

HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP [Q308421]
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308421

An additional note for WinXP Pro users: This procedure will not help you
recover data if the files are encrypted. All you will be able to do is
delete them. To recover encrypted files you will need the original
encryption certificate or a Recovery Agent from the installation under which
they were encrypted. Without one of these, the files are not recoverable.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone

I upgraded from XP Home SP1 to XP Pro, and at the first reboot the

computer froze on "Windows is inspecting your system...". I tried to boot
with the XP Pro CD-ROM, but it failed to get past the OS choice screen right
at the beginning.

Anyway, I had to run the recovery CD, but since this wipes out the hard

disk, I removed the existing hard-disk and build a new one in. All went
fine, I ran the recovery CD, got a fresh install of XP Home, and installed
Windows XP Pro SP1 as well in a dual-boot configuration.

I would like to recover the data from my old hard disk, and I have built

it into an external case. However, most of the files I need are under my old
XP Home profile: "G:\Documents and Settings\James\... " on this old hard
disk.