taking ownership of files in windows 7

A friend gave me a hard drive from her xp laptop and asked me to pull the pictures off it I have a pc with windows 7 and when I hook up the HD I can see the files but when I try to open them it says I don't have privlidges to view them any help???

 

I'm not sure which different versions of Win 7 have the Security tab visible. If you right click on the files and select Properties do you see a Security tab?

 

Yes I do

 

I was hoping someone with exact instructions would answer this thread. I usually work by trial and error on taking ownership.

I think the basic thing is to browse to the folder containing the pictures. Right-click the folder>select Properties>Security>Edit button. Now select Add button and enter your UserName in box. Click OK and window will close. In the window that is now on top highlight your name and give full control. (If full control is not an option let me know and I'll try to test the trial and error part)

 

Here is a pretty good guide that is step by step. Certainly better than what I can give you by trial and error.

At the end of that post is a link to a thread with a registry modification that automates the process by adding a Take Ownership entry on the right-click menu. I have seen that registry modification on several threads and believe it to be safe.