"Access is Denied" Error Message

Hi,

Dunno if this will help, but I had a similar problem on my
home pc.
Apparently it uses a different set of SIDS (Security
Identifiers) each time you install XP.
What you didnt mention is what file system you are using.
I am assuming it is NTFS. (You need to remember what your
old install was, because NTFS and FAT32 cant see each
other !)
If it is, then you need a utility called NTFSDOS, from
http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/fr...NTFSDOS.shtml.
There are instructions on the website, and a dload at the
bottom of the page.
If it is FAT32, then a normal win98 bootdisk should do the
trick.
Simply boot into dos, then navigate to folder that
contains your old documents, and you should be able to see
them. You can now save them where you like !
Sorry if you have already tried this, but you didnt
mention your level of expertise !!
You can email me at
for more info.


-----Original Message-----
My computer crashed last week and wouldn't even boot up
in
safe mode. I re-installed Windows XP Home Edition in a
new folder which let me at least boot up again. I want
to
copy off everything in 'My Documents' and then completely
reformat and reload Windows again but I can't get to my
old files. I can see the 'My Documents' folder under my
username in the Documents & Settings folder when I use
Windows Explorer but when I try to click on it I get the
message "C:\Documents and Settings\Jon\My Documents is
not
accessible. ACCESS IS DENIED". I read article 810881 on
the Microsoft Knowledge Base
(http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-
us;810881) but when I tried to follow the instructions I
found that I don't have the 'Use Simple file sharing'
check box in any of my settings. I assume that this
article is specific to Windows XP Professional and not to
Windows XP Home Edition. Can anyone help me out in
recovering my files? I've been trying to recover for a
week now with no luck.

Thanks
.