Thanks very much Jimmy for this information, I will give this a method a
try, but I'm a bit nervous about doing this! Is there a method that can be
used without resorting to programming techniques? The folder and files are
still accessible from the external drive on my old XP computer, even though
I can't get access to them on my Vista laptop.
Incidentally, I tried copying one of the folders again from my XP computer
to a new folder on my external hard drive, and this time it was accessible
on my laptop Vista machine. So it seems that it's just one particular folder
that Vista has problems with, it's not a consistent problem, so this is
rather odd.
Regards, Jim
"Jimmy Brush" <jb@mvps.org> wrote in message
news:qs2u53pb66j7bfcnet832e8qpr9qgn963f@4ax.com...
> Hello,
>
> This is a common problem with files that you created from another
> installation of Windows.
>
> This has to do with the security settings that Windows XP applied to
> these files. Since they were created from your user account in XP,
> they do not apply to your user account in Vista, and so you are denied
> access in some circumstances.
>
> To fix this, you can follow these steps:
>
> - Click Start
> - Type: cmd
> - Right-click cmd when it appears
> - Click Run As Administrator
> - Change location to the folder you need access to (e.g. cd e:\folder)
> - Type: takeown /F . /R /A /D Y > NUL
> - Type: icacls . /grant USER
OI)(CI)(F) /L /T /Q
> (Where USER is your username - you will only have access from your
> XP and Vista machine in this case)
> (Or, replace USER with Users if you want anyone [on any computer
> your hard drive is plugged into] to have full access to these files)
>
> - JB
>
> On Thu, 31 May 2007 22:17:31 +1200, "Jack K" <Jack@kcaj.com> wrote:
>
>>I recently purchased a new external hard drive and I set about
>>transferring
>>files from my old XP computer to my new hard drive that I then connected
>>to
>>my Sony Vaio laptop. Most files on the new hard drive are accessible on my
>>Vista laptop, but a large group (100 Gig) of video editing folders and
>>files
>>are not accessible. I get these messages:
>>
>>"You don't currently have permission to access this folder. Click
>>"continue"
>>to gain access."
>>
>>Then "You have been denied permission to access this folder - To gain
>>access
>>you will need to use the security tab."
>>
>>I have tried to follow the instructions on the help file: "Take ownership
>>of
>>a file or folder", but although I have at least managed to get the video
>>files visible, Windows Media Player cannot play them. I can't do anything
>>with these files, not even delete them or copy them!!
>>
>>Can anyone give me some advice please, this unexpected problem is driving
>>me
>>nuts!
>>
>>Thanks, Jim