Windows 7: Transfer of data via Briefcase

My XP PC fails to power up for days so I established a Briefcase on my external hard drive for critical files I wanted to transfer to my new Windows 7 PC. Hooked up my external drive after doing an Easy Transfer but knew that my Outlook 2003 .pst file would need to be imported from my Briefcase.

So I was surprised to get msg: "Briefcase can't be opened because the disk is inaccessible. Verify that disk is accessible." Not sure what I need to do to make the disk accessible especially since I have no problems opening other folders on the external drive.



One fix is to wait until my "sleep" XP PC lets me power up and then to transfer the .pst file to a regular folder but that might take days, if it hasn't quit on me already. Any ideas how I can open the Briefcase? Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

Do you need to access files on the unbootable XP? If so I'd use Paragon rescue disk to recover data.

I dont' know why your briefcase won't open unless it depends on files left on XP. Hopefully the files you need to back up can be copied out externally from XP using the free Paragon CD explorer.

Thanks for the referenced link . . . my XP PC won't power up so assume I can't use the recovery disk. If or when I can get it up, I can copy the files out of the Briefcase and update the files at that time.

I used Easy Transfer and have a mirror image of my XP operating system on another external hard drive so data currency is my only problem and that's not major. I've already started to use Windows 7 and see I've got to upgrade my familiarity with Word and Outlook changes from 2003 versions. Should be fun as there seem to be more advanced options.

Outlook presents a minor challenge in that my .pst files were in a different location than normal and each file has different message timeframes meaning the briefcase has the latest while my transfer only goes to 2 March but I can live with that.

Appreciate the quick response . . . I'm good with what you provided. Assume using the Paragon Rescue Kit for Backup of Windows 7 is a good idea, right?

I'd use Windows 7 backup and imaging: Backup Complete Computer - Create an Image Backup
Backup User and System Files

If you need more flexibility in where to reapply your image then use Macrium - Image your system. The free Acronis suite which comes with any WD or Seagate HD in the mix is good.

You can always plug the up-to-date XP HD in as a slave to copy out its data if the XP PC won't start.

Thanks for taking the time to provide the additional information and recommendations. These are options I explore in more detail once I get my feet on the ground with Windows 7. Lots of new things to absorb. Definitely appreciate the "slave" options since my XP PC may not wake up again.