How to access files protected by Windows? (USB connected drive)

[RayB]

I've got a bit of a challenge here...  Our laptop slowly died and became unusable some time ago, and I finally got around to using my Vantec USB to IDE hard drive adapter so I could dump important files off it to another PC.

The drive shows up perfectly as drive J and I can access it like any other external drive just fine. But when I get to directories that were formerly Windows user account directories set to "private" I get an "Unable to access" error message.

I tried booting as Administrator in Safe Mode and same thing. Any ideas? I'm running XP.

[protokatie]

The protection is tied to the MOBO serial number and/or other identifiers. If you take an HD out of the compy and try to access it from another computer (regardless of admin) the protection will notice that the drive isnt in the right computer. And dont go asking for M$ to help, as they will not give out any tools to help crack the protection.
Your best bet may be to put the HD back in the laptop, boot off of Knoppix 5.1 and use Samba to transfer the files. Knoppix might ignore the protection. If not, you may need to get the laptop working again and use SMB to send the files to another machine or to a USB stick/CDr.

[RayB]

There's no reviving the laptop. Its pooched.

What about booting from the USB connected drive? Is that possible?
(gonna go check my BIOS)

[protokatie]

That MIGHT work, except that the OS will see it is a diff mobo and hardware config. If that is the case, then call M$ and tell them that you changed your motherboard and your computer will not boot now (if they still service XP they can give you a code to unlock it, but that may only be for reinstalls, IDK)

EDIT: Also try KNOPPIX or UBUNTU live in the new computer (it may see the USB connected drive). I had no problem accessing some "protected" directories when using Knoppix. BTW only use knoppix 5.1x, version 6 sucks ATM.

[RayB]

I tried booting from it and it would start loading windows and then just reboot again. I'm running CHKDSK on it now, just in case bad sectors and corrupted files are why the laptop died in the first place.

Knoppix? I have never touched that stuff. Keep in mind, there is no "new computer". I'm just trying to copy files over to one of our desktop PCs which is already set up and running XP. I don't want to get into partitioning and dual boots and pain like that, only to discover the only files on this thing aren't even worth "saving".  It's most likely just MP3s!

[protokatie]

KNOPPIX is a live disc (IE you boot off of the disc with no installing of any software). Anyone who deals with computers should have a knoppix disc lying around for emergency access to a computer. It is completely free as an ISO download, and you can do a simple image burn to a CD or DVD (depending what version you get).
No partitioning
No dual boot
No headache
(Just put the disc in the drive and reboot, and you have a fully functional OS that can mount FAT32 and NTFS discs and even connect with your home network). VERY useful as an emergency backup OS. I am sure there are plenty of people on BYOAC who have a KNOPPIX disc handy.

EDIT: If you havent gotten it yet, you can use KNOPPIX on a computer without a harddrive. On top of that, it can read "protected" directories. Please, do yourself a favor and DL knoppix (5.11) and burn it on a disc. Boot off of it (no install needed) and play with it. If anything, KNOPPIX will be the disc you will need if your XP craps out and you need to check your email (yes, it comes with a browser, but no M$ email client).
If anything, a copy of KNOPPIX is your best bet for any major OS/HDD failure. Just give it a try (an as I said earlier, there is no configuring of it, no partitioning, and no dual boot)

[SavannahLion]

Damn, Protokatie beat me to the punch. So I deleted my entire comment and leave only this last sentence.

If you genuinely have an aversion to Linux, go Google for BartPE or UBCD (which includes BartPE) and get a LiveCD configured and created.

[RayB]

Thanks for the education Prototakie!
I'll try it out tomorrow.

[protokatie]

Did you have any luck?

[RayB]

Here is how I got around the problem:

Put the HD back in the laptop.

Push the laptop on the floor with the power cord wedged against the foot of a coffee table.

Find the right angle and amount of pressure on the power cord to keep it powered.

Hold it there with my foot while watching TV.

Move my foot a little every time the chargning light went off.

A couple hours later, there was enough juice in the battery for me to log in, remove the existing passwords, and for extra redundancy, copied files out of Docs & Settings to a temp folder.

Battery ran out just as copying finished.

DONE!
(just gotta reconnect to other pc with usb adapter and copy the files off)

Who wants to buy a defective HP laptop?

[Nipedley]

So the problem with the laptop is the power jack? They go all the time in older laptops, due to the wiggling in/out of power cables it breaks the solder off from the jack on the motherboard. A fairly easy fix, definitely doable if you've managed cap kits, I had to do it for my old laptop.

Glad you managed to get your files off, I find it odd that windows protected the folders I wasn't aware XP was capable of that, guess theres still a few features MS manages to keep hidden after all these years

[RayB]

Nipedly, it's worse than that. The defective power jack must at some point have caused some "arcing" damaging other parts. Sound will not play without stuttering. We've been through 2 batteries. Neither will hold a charge longer than a few minutes. I've repaired the jack two or three times, only to have it fail again. At this point it needs a mobo replacement and battery. Not worth it for a 4 year old laptop.

[protokatie]

When you "toss" this old laptop, use a sledgehammer or some other creative tools to destroy it. Video it, and post it here for us to watch. I need more destructive entertainment in my life.

[Nipedley]

Ah fair enough, the same thing happened to that laptop's sister. The power jack arced and the power regulation IC caught fire/melted. I managed to solder on a replacement, it would spin up the cpu fan but never load the BIOS and the battery's circuit must have been shorted out too as that never worked again either

[ahofle]

When you "toss" this old laptop, use a sledgehammer or some other creative tools to destroy it. Video it, and post it here for us to watch. I need more destructive entertainment in my life.

This should help:
http://www.thenetworkadministrator.com/breakingComputer.htm

 

[Edgedamage]

Nipedly, it's worse than that. The defective power jack must at some point have caused some "arcing" damaging other parts. Sound will not play without stuttering. We've been through 2 batteries. Neither will hold a charge longer than a few minutes. I've repaired the jack two or three times, only to have it fail again. At this point it needs a mobo replacement and battery. Not worth it for a 4 year old laptop.

Time for you to make a nice digital photo frame.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Dell-Laptop-into-Digital-Photo-Frame/

[ark_ader]

Use Puppy Linux and get PCPuppyOS.  There are some cool utilities to revive your laptop inside.

Google it and burn to CD.

Like a live disc and it is fully loaded, so you might be tempted to wipe the drive and install that on it. 

[daywane]

I have been having luck with a disk I just got.
Hirens all in 1 boot cd v9.9