user control

G

Guest

Help needed
I rercently rebuilt my PC and changed from XP to Vista (premium) and I can't
open Docs & pictures on my old HD. Even when I log in as Administrator I keep
getting messages that I do not have the right to veiw them. I've turned
account control off to no avail. Is this a built in problem with Vista or am
I just being stupid.
There are 3 other people using the PC but this is my info that I'm trying to
open.
 
R

Rock

Help needed
I rercently rebuilt my PC and changed from XP to Vista (premium) and I
can't
open Docs & pictures on my old HD. Even when I log in as Administrator I
keep
getting messages that I do not have the right to veiw them. I've turned
account control off to no avail. Is this a built in problem with Vista or
am
I just being stupid.
There are 3 other people using the PC but this is my info that I'm trying
to
open.

That's because you don't need to. You only saw that and other similar
legacy folders because you elected to show hidden files/folders and display
protected Operating system files and folders. They are hidden for a reason.
You don't need access to them. They hold no data. All they contain is a
pointer to the actual folder where the data is kept. They are actually a
junction point.

Certain folders used in XP were brought into Vista for compatibility for
legacy apps. They are not used to store data. They appear dimmed with the
shortcut arrow and give access denied. If you want to see what folder it
points to, open a elevated command prompt, navigate to the folder that
contains the folder in question and give the command:
dir /al

Documents and Settings points to \Users.

Junction points are designated by <Junction> and the folder to which it
points is at the end of the line in square brackets. Do not change the
permissions on these junction points. It can cause problems for the same
legacy apps they are they for in the first place.

From a post by Jimmy Brush here is a list of the these XP folders and their
corresponding locations in Vista:
Windows XP Location Windows Vista Location
\Documents and Settings \Users
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\My Documents \Users\$USER$\Documents
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\My Documents\My Music \Users\$USER$\Music
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\My Documents\My Pictures
\Users\$USER$\Pictures
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\My Documents\My Videos
\Users\$USER$\Videos
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Application Data
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Cookies
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Local Settings
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Local
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\NetHood
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Network Shortcuts
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\PrintHood
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Printer Shortcuts
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Recent
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\SendTo
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Start Menu
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Templates
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Templates
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Local Settings\Application Data
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Local
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Local Settings\History
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\History
\Documents and Settings\$USER$\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files
\Users\$USER$\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files
\Documents and Settings\All Users \ProgramData
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data \ProgramData
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop \Users\Public\Desktop
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents \Users\Public\Documents
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Favorites \Users\Public\Favorites
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu
\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
\Documents and Settings\All Users\Templates
\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Templates
\Documents and Settings\Default User \Users\Default "
 
G

Guest

When you say "my old HD" do you mean that you installed Vista on a new hard
drive different than the hard drive on which XP is installed? If so, you
can't access your old docs folder unless you take ownership of it. Even if
you used the same user name when you installed Vista, as far as XP is
concerned, you are someone else entirely.

If this is your case, and you have not changed any hardware since you last
booted on the XP HD, you can swap cables, boot up on XP and copy your data to
a new folder off the root of the C: drive and then you will be able to get to
them from Vista.

If you have changed hardware, don't try booting on XP - take ownership
instead. I didn't find a howto on MS website for Vista, but the process is
pretty much the same in XP...see this:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421
 
R

Rock

Help needed
I rercently rebuilt my PC and changed from XP to Vista (premium) and I
can't
open Docs & pictures on my old HD. Even when I log in as Administrator I
keep
getting messages that I do not have the right to veiw them. I've turned
account control off to no avail. Is this a built in problem with Vista or
am
I just being stupid.
There are 3 other people using the PC but this is my info that I'm trying
to
open.

After reading wyocowboy's reply, I see I misread your original post. Sorry
about that, it was late. He is correct. The issue is one of permissions
and ownership. You need to change the ownership of that folder to your
account and give yourself read permission. From Start | Help and Support
search on ownership to see the info on how to do this.
 

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