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General discussion

accessing files on another windows installation on the same partition

Feb 20, 2004 11:13PM PST

i had to reinstall windows on the same partition (as windows2). How can I access the files I had stored in windows earlier (desktop, my documents etc.).

Windows and windows2 exist as folders on the c drive.

I am using windows xp home edition, on a dell p4 laptop.

Please help- need to access files urgently.

Discussion is locked

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Your approach was incorrect
Feb 20, 2004 11:32PM PST

Save your files to CD or DVD then do a fresh install of XP. Having 2 XPs seems redundant.

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Re:Your approach was incorrect
Feb 20, 2004 11:51PM PST

but i cant see the earlier files in my documents etc. as i am not logged on to that installation of xp. how do i save those files to the cd?

thanks for your help.

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Re:accessing files on another windows installation on the same partition
Feb 21, 2004 12:02AM PST
i had to reinstall windows on the same partition (as windows2).

You seem to say that you were forced to install two similar versions of Windows on the same partition i.e. you have no alternatives.
How did you manage to to that ? I thought the firat version would have been over written. What was your original problem ?

To access the files, which I assume you can now no longer do so, either via My Computer nor via Windows Explorer, you may have to remove the HD and use it as a 'slave' in another computer or same computer with new 'Master' on which is installed Windows. This way, you should be able to browse to your files.
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Re:Re:accessing files on another windows installation on the same partition
Feb 21, 2004 12:35AM PST

i had to reinstall windows as i could not get onto the machine (had some lsass.exe error so it kept rebooting). since, i did not have another partition, i installed it in another folder on the same partition- hoping to retrieve the earlier files.

i can see the files on the c drive now, however the ones which were on the desktop and my documents- i cannot see.

however, since, i can log on now- do you think i should create a partition, install windows in that, and perhaps then i can see those files?

thanks for you help

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Re:Re:Re:accessing files on another windows installation on the same partition
Feb 21, 2004 11:55AM PST

To access your files, you must be at your correct user account, or you must have administrative rights. Try logging on as the administrator ? (Ctrl+Alt+Del Twice at the Welcome screen)

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Re:accessing files on another windows installation on the same partition
Feb 21, 2004 12:03AM PST

"How can I access the files I had stored in windows earlier (desktop, my documents etc.). "

What's not understood by many is that "access" is as simply as using Explorer or Search to find the file. Your definition of "access" may be that you want to OPEN the document. But you didn't ask that.

To use the document, one has to install the APPLICATION that can open/use the document in question.

I hope this gives you enough clues to install your APPLICATION that is needed to ACCESS the file in question.

-------------------

In the future, the lesson here is we only lose what we don't backup. CDR and CDRW is CHEAP CHEAP so use it.

And my secret weapon (tool!) is a KNOPPIX CD if there are FILES that a person needs to backup before they use a potentially destructive set to RESTORE CDs. Here's an article about KNOPPIX -> http://tips.oncomputers.info/archives2004/0401/2004-Jan-11.htm

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Re:Re:accessing files on another windows installation on the same partition
Feb 21, 2004 12:38AM PST

well i cant see the files through explorer or otherwise in my earlier desktop or my documents (cant see these folders in my earliers windows installation folder). If i can see those files, then i could may be copy to the cdr and then reinstall.

thanks.

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Looks grim, but do a SEARCH...
Feb 21, 2004 1:09AM PST

Use the Search tool, but start it at My Computer so it looks everywhere.

You didn't give much clues as to the file you were looking for, but if I was looking for DOCUMENTS of the DOC type, I would search for *.DOC files.

Bob

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Re:Looks grim, but do a SEARCH...
Feb 21, 2004 4:24PM PST

If you originally HID the files from other users, you will need to logon as administrator to see them.

Since your older acccounts don't exist on this computer they may not be accessible.

If they were not hidden, you should be able to find them under, c:\documents and settings\"user"
Where user is the old user name.

However, since you did a clean install, it may have overwritten you documents and settings folder.

I have done clean intalls into the same c:\windows
folder that already existed and it did not overwrite the data there. With one possible exception, when re-installing, do not make the account name during install the same as the previous user account names, that may overwrite all your data.

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Re:Re:Looks grim, but do a SEARCH...
Feb 22, 2004 5:25AM PST

oh- i dont recall having used the same username. but, just in case i have- is there someway of retreiving those files? the earlier windows installation was in c:\windows
while the new one is on c:\window2.

thanks.

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Looking very grim, You might not be doing a SEARCH?
Feb 22, 2004 5:41AM PST

I supplied an easy thing to try and you didn't write if you tried it. If you don't know how, just write such, but as it stands now, the files are most likely not to be found by you since the user's files are not in Windows but C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME

Bob

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Re:Re:Re:Looks grim, but do a SEARCH...
Feb 22, 2004 11:29AM PST

If 'Start>Search' produces no results, you probably have to take out the Hard Disk and connect it as a SLAVE to another computer with XP installed. This way, you can browse for or search for the files. Or you can get a new HD as Master and install XP, and install that HD with all your files as a slave.....