FUBARed myself

hey folks. got a doozy for ya.

I used to have a laptop, and on this I backed up all my data onto an external drive (a Netdisk 160 GB drive). I had also set the permissions for file reading so that only my user on that computer could access the external drive, basically to keep my roommates away from my files. I also forgot to change those settings back.

Then I purchased a new desktop computer, only to find that when I plug in the external drive, it gets recognized and installed no problem, then when I try to access it it says Access is Denied. I tried doing it as the Administrator account (I'm running windows XP SP2) in safe and normal mode. I tried naming my computer the same way my old computer was, workgroup and all, and created the same username'd account as I had on my old laptop, but to no avail.

I've heard that i can use a linux live cd to try and get at my files, and i have a Knoppix disc, but i have no idea how to use it to do what I'd like it to do. If anyone could help me out with this solution or suggest another I'd be forever grateful.

Please help me...I really don't wanna lose my files.

 

See if Microsoft are of any help.

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH! i used that article you gave me and it fixed the problem. thanks again, so much

 

No problemo. Good stuff.