Solved can't get ownership of a directory in an old HD

[berbes]

i have a loose hard drive with windows 7 (i think). usually if i need ownership of a folder, i just click on it and wait for a bit. this time, it showed me a windows that said i was denied permission to access with a link to the security tab to gain access. once i click on the link, i get another window with the red "X" that say, the system cannot find the drive specified.

then once clicked, the drive completely disappears in file manager.

how can i get this info to play nice?

thanks!!
berbes

 

[mrjimphelps]

Have you tried logging in to Windows with an administrator account? You will then be able to take ownership of the folder(s).

 

[berbes]

hello and thanks for the help. let me clarify a bit. this old hd is in an external caddy connected to a laptop running win10. the weird part is that the drive kicks off file manager as it is going thru the motions of resetting all the file ownerships...literally disappears! then i have to turn off/on, and it'll pop right back in view. the end result is, no ownership is transferred. i had no issues moving any of the other files on the hard drive, just the user under documents and settings.

is there a third party software that can get thru these security issues? thanks!!

 

[mrjimphelps]

is there a third party software that can get thru these security issues? thanks!!

Yes, there is, and it's free. It's called "Linux Live".

Go to one of the Linux sites (e.g. https://linuxmint.com/download.php) and download the ISO of a Linux distro. Create a DVD with the ISO file that you downloaded. Set up your computer so that it can boot from a DVD. Now, with that DVD in the drive, reboot the computer to the DVD.

Once you have fully booted up, you will be in Linux Mint. (So far, nothing has been installed to your hard drive.) You can likely access all of your files and copy them to another drive.

 

[berbes]

free always tastes better . thanks SO much for the help!!!