recovering stuff from "my documents"

[avzay]

The mobo on one of my computers died, so i hooked it up to a different computer, but i have a problem. I cannot access the documents "Documents and Settings" folder. I cannot boot from this hard drive because motherboard is new and it wouldnt. How do i go about recovering all of my documents? I know the password and login

[Avg]

I've posted about this before, let me go search for it (not saying that you should have searched for it, it's just that is easier for me since I posted) I'll be right back with it. By the way I learned a lesson from this problem "never set up users with passwords when you format on a daily bases" lost some good pictures with this problem.

edit: hope this helps http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=299515

[avzay]

cool thanks
i will try doing this

by the way would booting from xp cd and running repair of the installation work for this?

[redduc900]

Whether the version of XP installed is Home or Pro, it makes a difference afa the ability to access the My Documents folder. Regardless of the version of XP, you'll need to take ownership of the My Documents folder (as was noted in the thread that 'Avg' linked you to), and must be logged on to the computer with an account that has administrative priveleges to do so. In XP Home, you have to boot to Safe Mode and logon as Administrator, or use the cacls.exe tool (located in C:\WINDOWS\system32) from an admin account in normal mode in order to make changes to the NTFS file permissions. To enter Safe Mode, hold down the F8 key just before Windows starts to load (just before your PC finishes POST'ing).

Only Pro allows you to disable the simple file sharing mode (My Computer | Tools | Folder Options | "View" tab | Uncheck "Use simple file sharing") and access the security tab in normal mode of operation. Simple file sharing makes the My Documents folder private from everyone, including other Admins, so your files won't be visible to others who logon to the console. By default, XP Pro uses Simple File sharing when it's not joined to a domain.

How to take ownership of a file or folder in Windows XP (http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308421)

[avzay]

thanks once more. Will try that today