Retrieving password-protected Outlook files

[Guest]

H

My PC's RAM recently became corrupted, and as a result I've had to buy new RAM and will need to format my hard drive and reinstall XP. I'm in the process of moving my important docs and files over to a friend's computer for now, by plugging my hard drive into his machine.
I urgently need to save my Outlook Express database files (Inbox.dbx, Sent.dbx, etc.) for business purposes. Problem is, when I'm exploring my drive on my friends machine, I get an 'Access Denied' message when I try to browse E:\Documents and Settings\User\Local Settings\Application Data. This is the folder where my Outlook Express identity is kept. The same thing happens when I try to browse Favourites, but I can still browse My Documents. I'm guessing this is because I had a password on my User account on my PC for logging onto Windows? Is there any other thing it could be? Is there any way around this to get to those files

Thank
Mike

 

[Doug Knox MS-MVP]

You cannot password protect individual folders in XP. You restrict access by assigning permissions to drives, folders and files.

To do this, you must be running NTFS as your file system on the drive in question. If your hard disk/partition is not NTFS you will need to convert it. To do this, open a Command Prompt window and enter the following command:

CONVERT X: /FS:NTFS

Where X: is the drive letter you wish to convert. You may also want to see http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm to ensure that you're getting the optimal conversion.

After this step is completed and you've rebooted the computer, if necessary:

XP PRO: In Windows Explorer, go to Tools, Folder Options, View and uncheck Use Simple File Sharing. Now, when you right click on a drive, folder or file (on an NTFS partition) and select Properties, you'll see a Security tab. Here you can assign or deny permissions based on user name or user group membership.

XP Home: By default, you can only make files and folders under My Documents "private". This is done by right clicking a folder or file and selecting Properties, Sharing. To change the permissions on other folders, you need to boot the computer to Safe Mode and log in on the built in Administrator account. In this mode, you'll see the Security tab in Properties, and you can assign permissions based on user name or group membership.

How Do I Get the Security Tab in Properties - XP Home (makes the Security tab appear outside of Safe Mode)
http://www.dougknox.com, Win XP Tips section

HOW TO: Set, View, Change, or Remove File and Folder Permissions in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308418

HOW TO: Set, View, Change, or Remove Special Permissions for Files and Folders
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;308419

HOW TO: Disable Simplified Sharing and Password-Protect a Shared Folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;307874