Retrieving important files

The user folder in "Documents and Settings" is set with full permission for the corresponding user. One user will not be able to access another's folder in "Documents and Settings". If the operating system crashes and is reinstalled in a different drive, then the user logged in from the new installed OS will not be able to access the previous Documents and Settings user folder. The old Documents and Setting user folder has to be given permission for the required user.

The administrator has to take ownership of the user folder and its contents. After this, the necessary permission for the folder has to be set. After logging in as an administrative user, to take ownership of the user folder, please right-click the user folder in C:\Documents and Settings and click Properties; Click the Security tab; Click Advanced and click Owner tab. In the name list, the logged in username and the Administrator group will be displayed. Select any one and select Replace owner on sub containers and objects. Click Ok and then click Yes for the message. Click Ok to close the Properties window.

This will take ownership of the folder and its contents and set the full control permission for the folder. After this, you can copy the files and folders in the Documents and Settings\User folder. For more details, please look up: http:// support.microsoft.com/kb/308421 There can be some folders where even if you change the permissions to the folder, it is not possible to access the contents or not possible to change the permissions. The folder might be inheriting permission from its parent folders.

To remove the inheritance from the parent folder, please right-click the folder and click properties. Click the security tab. Click advanced. In the permissions tab, the check box "inherit from parent the permission entries that apply to child objects. Include these with entries explicitly defined here" will be selected by default. Remove the check box. During removal, the check box will prompt you to select one of the options: To copy the permission entries those were previously applied from the parent. To remove the permission entries those were previously applied from the parent and keep only those permissions explicitly defined here.