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Can't copy files from external drive 7

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moonring

moonring

Technical User
Feb 15, 2008
38
US
Hi,

I have a SimpleTech external hard drive ( formatted as NTFS ), and a few days ago I needed to reformat my PC ( Windows XP ), so I copied my docs, my pictures, etc, to this external drive. So far so good.
After I reformatted my PC ( again installed Win XP ), I tried to copy the files back to this PC from the external drive, but I couldn't do it for all the files, some files could be copied, and some not ( about 50/50 ), error message:

Warning: access denied.

Many files were read only, they couldn't be copied or moved elsewhere due to some changed permission issues. I tried for a few days, tried to log in safe mode, turned the permissions "allow" for all, but no results. I tried moving/copying the files under linux, but the same exact issue, some files could be copied/moved and some not, same error message:

You don't have permission for this action.

Can't even change permissions as root, and I'm stuck now !

Any ideas what else should I try, anything I need to change ?

Thanks.
 
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Thanks guys,

I'm working on it right now with dippncope's suggestion, I have gigs of files to move. I'll update later on the results.
 
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Hi again,

During these two days I tried hard taking ownership of my backup ( as described in MS site ), but the same issue :( .
At least, using Win XP backup application ( under Accessories ), I was able to move my files out of the external drive into my newly formatted disk ..., still the problem is there,
some files cannot be opened, copied or moved, error message:
Code: 
There was an error opening this document. Access denied.

Do I have to try anything else, any command line, anything ?

Appreciate your inputs.
 
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Quick question for you. You state some files are giving you the error. Are they the same type of file? ie. .pdf .doc. Are they files that were all under one directory?
 
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Hi dippncope, yes they are same files as in the external drive, ( files themselves are of different types, ie .pdf , .doc , .txt, .jpeg, .mp3, and so on ).

Hi Ben, I'm following exactly the steps described in your link, but for some strange reason is not working. I'm going nuts ! It's been six days now, dealing with these permission issues !!!

If it matters when I run these steps, in the Security tab ( Permissions tab - Advanced ) I have these options checked as shown below:

This option is checked:
Code: 
Inherit from parent the permission entries that apply to child objects.Include these with entries explicitly defined here.


This option is unchecked.
Code: 
Replace permission entries on all child objects with entries shown here that apply to child objects.

Thanks again.
 
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Oops, just noticed second question of dippncope !

> ... Are they files that were all under one directory?
Click to expand...

Yes, same files, that were under the same folder in the backup drive. I created one folder ( named user_backup ),and I put everything in there, about 90 Gb of files, organized in folders ( Music, books, ... etc )
 
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At the top-level folder, which I assume is user_backup, add the ID you are using and assign it Full-Control. Click the Advanced tab, uncheck the option
Code: 
Inherit from parent the permission entries that apply to child objects. Include these with entries explicitly defined here.
You will receive a Security dialog box. Select Copy. At this point examine your user ID in the Permissions entries list. Under the Apply to column if it doesn't say This folder subfolders and files, double-click on the ID in the list and select this from the Apply onto drop-down list then click OK. Once you have the ID with Full -Control being applied to all folders, subfolders and files, propagate these permissions by checking the option
Code: 
Replace permission entries on all child objects with entries shown here that apply to child objects.
This step may take awhile with the hourglass displayed depending on the number of folders and files.

Once done, the desired user ID should now have full access to all files. If you had this ID take ownership too then you should be set. Please report back your results.
 
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Hi,

I followed your advice, gave full control to my id, made sure it goes down the tree of subfolders and files, selected Copy ..., but surprisingly those files still refuse to open :(
Example, I have some pdf files in the same folder, one opens normally whereas the other one does not. I tried to compare the properties of these two files, but they seem identical.

Here is a screenshot of the permission entries of the top folder:

Code: 
 Type    Name    Permission     Inherited from    Apply to
[b][COLOR=red]Allow   my_id   Full Control   <not inherited>   This folder, subfolders and files[/color][/b]
Allow   System  Full Control    ...
Allow   Administrators ....


If it counts, the Special Permissions box under Security tab, for the top folder ( user_backup ) is unchecked ( inactive, greyed out ), all others checked - full control.

I don't know maybe I'm doing something wrong - I'd provide more info if needed.

Thanks for your time and effort.
 
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I think I'm making little progress...upon closer inspection of the properties of the good files and the other ones, I see that the bad ones have encryption checked ( in Advanced Attributes tab - Encrypt contents to secure data is checked ), and in the Details tab of Advanced Attributes I see my old user name still there :(), and when I try to remove it, or add my current user name, it does not let me do it - error message:
Code: 
Error in adding new user(s). Error code 5.

I remember that long time ago, I encrypted one of my partitions, so maybe that's why this whole thing is not working. So now, ( I guess ) I have to somehow decrypt those stubborn files, remove my old user name and add the new one. The point is how ?

Sorry for the noise and thanks for your support !
 
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Thank you for posting back your findings! I will have to add encrypted files to my list of possible reasons for Access Denied. A star for you.

Do you have access to the old certificates and keys that were present when you encrypted the files? If not, a quick Google of EFS recovery is bleak. Apparently there are some commercial products available to do this and I found a post that mentioned Microsoft themselves having a paid service. I have no experience with EFS so I can't give any advice. I hope your search is more fruitful.
 
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Thanks Freestone for covering there...

moonring - good detective work... with that extra knowledge it does make sense now, that all the tries so far have been fruitless...

and just like Freestone, EFS recovery is not my forte, and would not be able to help much...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
 
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Hi all,

I will have to add encrypted files to my list of possible reasons for Access Denied.
Click to expand...

Definitely Freestone. One of the hidden ( and very poisonous ) culprits of the files' access denial. While searching I saw many other people with the same problem and as the story goes I totally forgot I had encrypted my partition, and it badly bit me back now !
So I have to do the painstaking job of going into each folder, retrieve the good files, save whatever can be saved, use some other old backups ( DVDs ), and the rest is history.
I did some research on encryption, and found the same sad, sad perspective of unlocking these files. I saw some paid utilities out there ... Advanced EFS data recovery to name one, but don't know yet what to do.

Do you have access to the old certificates and keys that were present when you encrypted the files?
Click to expand...

Same thing here, I don't have enough experience with keys & certificates, but I see in the bad files' properties ( Details tab of Encryption part ) the same old user name, and the same Certificate Thumbprint, same for all the bad files, if that counts I included a screenshot below:

Code: 
User Name     Certificate Thumbprint
old_user    20AS 45TY 10Y6 .... 5544

moonring - good detective work... with that extra knowledge it does make sense now, that all the tries so far have been fruitless... and just like Freestone, EFS recovery is not my forte, and would not be able to help much...
Click to expand...
No problem Ben, I'll deal with it, another good lesson learned.

____
My advice for anyone that wants to use encryption is: DON'T use windows partition utility ( we tend to forget ), if you forget and reformat your hard drive, eventhough you backed up your work still encrypted, then kiss your files goodbye. Use a reliable third party encryption application instead, TrueCrypt to name one - great software, flexible, secure, free !!! Don't forget the password, though !!!


Thank You to all of you guys who shared with me.
 
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Well, the methods described in the links you provided help when the certificates are saved ..., actually I don't remember having saved a certificate somewhere though, and surely I have all the files.

Thanks anyway.

_____________________________
Correction in my previous post:

DON'T use windows partition utility ( we tend to forget ),
Click to expand...

should be:

DON'T use windows encryption utility ( we tend to forget ),
Click to expand...
 
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There is a bit more on recovery from encryption and recovery agents here.

post crash re-installation
thread779-915672

Backup Encrypted Files
thread779-520853



From .....Recovering a user's password. (Help and Support)

"If a user with a computer administrator account changes the password for another user, that user will lose all EFS-encrypted files, personal certificates, and stored passwords for Web sites or network resources".

EFS, Credentials, and Private Keys from Certificates Are Unavailable After a Password Is Reset
 
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In xp the certificate is supposedly stored here
%userprofile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA\User-SID

If you have some kind of hard drive recovery tool it is possible to slave the drive to another machine and run the recovery software and see if you can recover the deleted user profile.
I have never tried the user profile recovery but have had some good luck using getdataback to recover other lost info off a failed windows install.
 
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Hi,

Linney, in my situation I've no password or certificates saved, I don't even recall being prompted for one back then - so for me all the encrypted files are not recoverable.

Tlcscousin, thanks for your advice, but my backup consists only of my documents ( books, music, pictures, etc ) nothing related to previous OS install. I tested Advanced EFS data recovery trial, and it couldn't find any keys or certificates in my backup.

On the bright side, after much work I was able to recover most of my backup, about 95% of it. For some I had other backups, some were not encrypted, so what's left unrepairable, are some pdf books, some music folders, which I can find them again, and few folders with pictures, ( I guess I have to go back again in Himalayas, and take some other pictures - just joking :) .

Appreciate everybodys' help and I consider this thread fully answered.
 
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