I need to (for recovery purposes) mount an NTFS partition so I can copy files off of it to an external drive using ubuntu.

How do I mount the drive so I can read it while running the live CD?
It says I don't have permissions to view it when i tell it to mount it...

You will find that a Knoppix live CD,or EBCD,

or the Ultimate Boot CD,or Trinity Rescue CD,

are easier to copy off files with.

If you still want to use Ubuntu,there is a page HERE (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=143945)

That's an old thread.

The latest release does mount your NTFS partitions. Which version of Ubuntu do you have?

I did it on a laptop not 2 weeks ago, using Gutsy and just plugging in an external HDD and moving all the clients Windows stuff across.

I didn' have to do anything, basically. I'm pretty sure Fiesty is the same.