Need help accessing files in an enclosure

[JBsDesktop]

My laptop's on/off switch broke this week and I took it in to be repaired. The technician removed the hard drive for me and put it in an enclosure. He told me he checked to see that I could bring up files.

He also told me it works like an external drive, which I have been using so I am familiar with them.

I cannot find any of my files on the drive. When I click on "Owner" under "Documents and Settings" I get an error message: Access denied. When I hold the mouse over it, I get an "empty folder" message.

I called the shop and the only suggestion I got was to search "Windows" for a file. I cannot bring up any files. When I do a broad search - such as *.doc or *.xls, I get only the files in the Program Files.

Can any one help me?

Joy

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

You probably need to take ownership, read this article:

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

 

[JBsDesktop]

Thank you for your quick reply. But I have 2 questions.

1. When I click on the icon to safely remove hardware - I get a message that the drive cannot be stopped at this time. Do I have to wait until I can stop the drive so I won't corrupt it, before I turn off the pc?

2. Senior moment here: which function key do I hit to start in Safe Mode?

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

The drive is probably in use if you can't stop it. Just remove it when you reboot your PC to enter Safe Mode if you feel the need to (just power down the system totally instead of rebooting, and then when it's powered off remove the drive). To access Safe Mode generally you tap F8 upon powering on the PC, and then choose Safe Mode off the menu.

 

[JBsDesktop]

Thank you. I will try all of the above when I get up more nerve. RIght now I am too scared to try, for fear I will mess up the whole hard drive.

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

You aren't going to mess anything up . Have a little confidence in yourself, and just follow the article published by Microsoft, it's a very simple procedure.