My system was so bogged down with spyware and virus's (kid). I decided to reinstall the OS knowing that I would have to reinstall apps. I did not do a full format, just an XP Pro upgrade. The username I used was different from my previous user name and it setup a new Documents and Settings' with the new username, and left the old 'Documents and Settings' user. Problem is, when I try to access my documents in the old Documents and Settings folder it says 'c:\documents and settings\olduser' is not accessible. Access is denied. I can kick myself for not backing them up first. Is there anything you know of that I can do to recover the data that was in this directory.
Tek-Tips is the largest IT community on the Internet today!
Members share and learn making Tek-Tips Forums the best source of peer-reviewed technical information on the Internet!
-
Congratulations bkrike on being selected by the Tek-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!
Can't find data on XP reinstall 1
- Thread starter msammut
- Start date
Are you logging in as a full administrator? If not, you may not have permission to access those folders.
Depending on your setup, you can add permissions to the folders that should let you access them. Another option is, if the old account still exists (is listed in user accounts), you could try changing it from an admin account to a user account.
If you have a domain setup, from another PC you can use \\pcname\X$ to access the administrative share, where X is the letter of the drive with your info on it.
The nuclear option is to boot to one of the many CD or USB bootable versions of Linux, mount the drive, and copy the files to a different folder, completely outside of the operating system that is locking the files down.
Depending on your setup, you can add permissions to the folders that should let you access them. Another option is, if the old account still exists (is listed in user accounts), you could try changing it from an admin account to a user account.
If you have a domain setup, from another PC you can use \\pcname\X$ to access the administrative share, where X is the letter of the drive with your info on it.
The nuclear option is to boot to one of the many CD or USB bootable versions of Linux, mount the drive, and copy the files to a different folder, completely outside of the operating system that is locking the files down.
- Thread starter
- #3
Thank you for your quick reply. My problem is this. WinXP installed the new folder under new folder name c:\documents and settings\msammut. The old folder 'c:\documents and settings\msammutold' is still visible but cannot be accessed. msammutold is nowhere to be found in user setup for me to change to a regular user account. I can access the administrative share from another computer but when i click on msammutold it comes up with the not accessible error. Would a data recovery program help.
-
1
- #4
You have to take ownership of msammutold:
- Thread starter
- #5
Freestone...Many Thank!! I was able to get all of my documents back using your tip for taking ownership. I have all of them back (and am backing them up). Any idea how I can find my outlook express mail which I also lost when I reinstalled XP Pro? Your knowlege is invaluable. Thank you
I don't use Outlook Express much but was able to locate old data by looking at this article:
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked
- Question