[SOLVED] Access denied when trying to get files off drive from dead laptop?

[minusblindfold]

I have "blue screen of deaht" laptop that I was told to use an adapter to get any files off. For the most part, I had access to most files. However, I get a message saying my main account is "unacceeisble, access denied." when I try to view the files. Is it because I once had a password on that account? Is it possible to get passed this?

[JMPC]

You need to take ownership of the files:
How to take ownership of a file or a folder in Windows XP

How to take ownership of a folder

To take ownership of a folder, follow these steps:
Right-click the folder that you want to take ownership of, and then click Properties.
Click the Security tab, and then click OK on the Security message (if one appears).
Click Advanced, and then click the Owner tab.
In the Name list, click your user name, or click Administrator if you are logged in as Administrator, or click the Administrators group. If you want to take ownership of the contents of that folder, select the Replace owner on subcontainers and objects check box.
Click OK, and then click Yes when you receive the following message:
You do not have permission to read the contents of directory folder name. Do you want to replace the directory permissions with permissions granting you Full Control?

All permissions will be replaced if you press Yes.

Note folder name is the name of the folder that you want to take ownership of.
Click OK, and then reapply the permissions and security settings that you want for the folder and its contents.



How to take ownership of a file
Note You must be logged on to the computer with an account that has administrative credentials.

To take ownership of a file, follow these steps:
Right-click the file that you want to take ownership of, and then click Properties.
Click the Security tab, and then click OK on the Security message (if one appears).
Click Advanced, and then click the Owner tab.
In the Name list, click Administrator, or click the Administrators group, and then click OK.

The administrator or the Administrators group now owns the file. To change the permissions on the files and folders under this folder, go to step 5.
Click Add.
In the Enter the object names to select (examples) list, type the user or group account that you want to give access to the file. For example, type Administrator.
Click OK.
In the Group or user names list, click the account that you want, and then select the check boxes of the permissions that you want to assign that user.
When you are finished assigning permissions, click OK.

[minusblindfold]

When I write click onto properties, the only options I'm given are "General", "sharing", and "customize"

[JMPC]

Are you logged in as an Administrator?

How Do I see the Security Tab in XP Home?
If you are using Windows XP Home then download this Security Configuration Manager file from Microsoft. SCESP4I.EXE
Double click to run it and then type in C:\TEMP\SCM and press OK
Then using Explorer browse to the C:\TEMP\SCM folder and locate the file named: setup.inf then Right click on it and select Install
Once the installation is completed you need to restart your computer.

Further reading about the Configuration Manager Tool can be found here
Downloading and Using the Security Configuration Manager Tool


Note: To use Security settings your hard drive must use NTFS - (Further reading on NTFS from Wikipedia)

How to take ownership of a file or folder in Windows XP - Malwarebytes Forum

Note: To allow for specific users to access the share folder after the simple file sharing is disabled, you should configure both the NTFS permissions on the Security tab and the share permission on the Sharing tab of the share folder. NTFS permissions can only be set on a partition using NTFS file system. If you remove the Every Group from the NTFS permission, you cannot access the share folder over the network.

How to turn off simple file sharing

To disable simple file sharing, follow these steps:
Click Start, and then click My Computer.
On the Tools menu, click Folder Options, and then click the View tab.
In the Advanced Settings section, clear the Use simple file sharing (Recommended) check box.
Click OK.

[Rich-M]

Use Puppy Linux Live CD to Recover Your Data - Geeks to Go Forums

So much easier than changing ownership of files as Linux could care less about Windows protocols.

[minusblindfold]

Thanks for the suggestion, Rich. I've already tried that route and I wasn't able to "mount of the disc.". Now when I try to load the hard drive I get a message saying "Not accessible. Error performing inpage operation."