Read Only after adding HD 1

[KayT]

Yesterday, my UPS battery failed; evidently causing a problem booting my computer (it hangs on log-in, but booted ok in safe mode). I took out the hard drive and put it into another computer case as a second drive, everything boots ok and I can read and access the files I need. The problem is that all of the files I need to access are Read Only. I've gone through changing properties (no luck) and tried the attrib -r through the command prompt (keep getting parameter format not correct). Any ideas of how I can change the files from read only?

 

[wolluf]

Is this ntfs filestore? If yes, try taking ownership and giving yourself full access.

Try the drive manufacturer's diagnostic to check it out.

 

[KayT]

I'm in way over my head - how do I determine if it is ntfs filestore?

 

[vacunita]

Assuming you are using Windows XP, (as you haven't actually specified)

Open My Computer click once on the drive and look at the Left pane under Details. It should have a list of details of your drive one of which is the File system.


Are you sure they are Read only?

what does the check box look like a green square or a check mark:

This:

or this:

The first one means Read only, the second one is just Windows way of un-marking it, but doesn't really imply its a Read only file.




----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[KayT]

Vacunita,

Sorry, I should have specified the operating system. The old hard drive is XP Pro, the computer it's going into is XP Home. The attributes box is the solid green square, and AutoCAD indicates when I open the file that it is read only or currently in use.

 

[vacunita]

Odd. If its the green square, then it isn't read only. Not sure why Autocad thinks it is.

You could of course try to take ownership of the folder if it its in and see if that lets Autocad open it up normally. Provided of course your file system is NTFS, otherwise no such restrictions should exist.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[cckens]

Also, vacunita, the green square is a "mixed bag" indicator, showing that some files under this directory ARE read-only. If you are unsure of the file, right-click it by itself and check the properties to see if it may be read-only by it's lonesome

cckens

"Not always my best shot, but I hit the target now and then"
-me

 

[vacunita]

I'll have to respectfully disagree.

As an example, I have 4 files in a folder. None of them are read only, as I can modify them as I please, and all of them show the Read Only checkbox as cleared. No green box or check mark. There are no more files there, hidden and system files are set to show. So I know its not that.

If I right click on the folder they are in, it shows the Read Only checkbox with a square. Yet neither the folder nor anything in it is read only.

Its just Windows not actually clearing the check box.

I can even verify it using the DOS command attrib on the folders and the files therein that nothing is set to read only. And yet the green box persists.






----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[Freestone]

The read-only attribute for a FOLDER is not used as you may think by XP, 2003 or Vista. Leave it to Microsoft to mislead like this:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;326549

 

[Freestone]

and tried the attrib -r through the command prompt (keep getting parameter format not correct)

If you use Explorer and show the Properties of a file, the read-only attribute can be set or reset from the General tab. If you want to do this from a command prompt, list the attrib syntax you are using and we can try to assist with that.

 

[Freestone]

Or if you want to reset the read-only attribute of all files within a sub-folder, then bring up the properties for the folder and clear the read-only checkbox and hit apply. Follow the resulting prompt per your choice. Note that subsequent checking of the folder properties will again show a green-square for the folder's read-only attribute, as described by the KB article referenced in my earlier post, but the files within the folder will have their read-only attribute set or reset correctly.

 

[Freestone]

Sigh, to beat a somewhat dead-horse even more...

Per the referenced KB (326549), "If you click Apply changes to this folder only, the Read-only attribute is changed for all the files in the folder" does not appear to be true for XP, or at least my installation. In order to change the file read-only attribute for files within the folder I have to select the option "Apply changes to this folder, subfolders, and files" . This may not be what is desired if files within subfolders exist whose read-only attribute one does not want reset. I don't have Vista to try this on.

 

[cdogg]

I took out the hard drive and put it into another computer case as a second drive, everything boots ok and I can read and access the files I need. The problem is that all of the files I need to access are Read Only.

Every instance of a Windows XP installation creates a unique SID (Security Identifier). When you create a user, that SID is applied to uniquely identify the name in Active Directory, which is helpful in a network environment. Think of it as a Social Security #.

When you put the old drive into another PC, the SID is no longer recognized and appears to be foreign. The Administrator and System usernames are not the same as the ones the current OS is using. In a network situation, this helps prevent unauthorized PC's from access. But here Windows understands that the old drive is physically connected. Being an administrator, you are at least given read access with the option to take ownership. That's exactly what you need to do to get full access. This link should help:

http://www.vistarevisited.com/2008/01/09/how-to-take-ownership-of-a-file-or-folder-in-vista/

Although the screenshots are for Vista, the steps are the same in XP. Also realize that you should only take ownership if you only want to get data off the drive. It may not work on its own after this step. Taking ownership of an entire drive, by the way, can take an extremely long time depending on the number of files. If possible, it would be best to hand pick the folders you need access to rather than the entire drive.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
[tab][navy]For posting policies, click [/navy]here.

 

[cckens]

All, I am properly chastised... such as it is.
I've seen the box and I'd known that it appears when I have folders underneath that are R-O, but never really investigated the ins-n-outs, per se.
Whodathunk that MS would create a functionality that doesn't do what it was supposed to do??? [note dripping sarcasm]

cckens

"Not always my best shot, but I hit the target now and then"
-me

 

[Freestone]

Nothing was meant to chastise anyone, just passing along information and trying to clear up confusion...

Anyway, we appear to have strayed from KayT's original problem. Are you still there, KayT?

 

[KayT]

Thanks everyone for the thought provoking answers (and comments) - I decided to approach from another angle this morning. I put the old hard drive back into the old computer and worked on repairing the XP errors; miraculously, it worked! I'm now contemplating the new computer waiting to be installed on my network - will screw up my courage to try to get more Vista/XP communication going this weekend. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing (makes me think I can make things happen easily!), thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge with me.