cannot access files on a vista hard drive in a xp machine

[projector1]

I have a vista hard drive from a machine that will not boot. Having attached the hdd to a xp machine i cannot access the data on it. I get the "access is denied" message. I thought i could reset the ACLs by taking ownership. However the security tab is missing. Any ideas?

[Ignatius]

Can you try booting your XP machine into a live Linux CD, such as Ubuntu? I've managed to recover data in this way and copy it to an external HD.

[ajs]

Have you checked to see if you have "Simple File Sharing" enabled on the XP Machine?

Explorer -> Tools -> Folder Options -> View and it's down near the bottom. If it's ticked, untick it and then you should have access to the Security tab.

[projector1]

Have you checked to see if you have "Simple File Sharing" enabled on the XP Machine?

Explorer -> Tools -> Folder Options -> View and it's down near the bottom. If it's ticked, untick it and then you should have access to the Security tab.

Thanks but simple file sharing is unticked!

[FN-GM]

Have you tried taking ownership?

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

[ajs]

Have you tried taking ownership?

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

The tip in there about needing to reboot into Safe Mode to get the Security tab in XP Home is worth remembering!

(learn something new everyday)

[projector1]

As the security tab is missing i am unable to change ownership. (The machine i am working on is a xp pro machine)

[ajs]

As the security tab is missing i am unable to change ownership. (The machine i am working on is a xp pro machine)

Have you looked at using cacls to force a permissions change?