WHS file system security

S

sphinx99

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 23, 2006
Messages
1,206
I'm trying to rescue my data from a failed WHS system (it was a P4... it died) and have transplanted one of the 2TB drives from the WHS PP3 box to a windows 7 PC. It mounts and I can see and navigate the filesystem without issues, however I have permission issues accessing any of the files themselves, much less copying them to the new WHS environment. I've tried taking ownership of everything from the drive down to individual files to no avail. Is there some trick I'm missing?
 
In the root of the DATA drive you mounted find the shares folder
Right click shares
Chooses properties
Go to the Security Tab
Click Advanced
Go to the Owner Tab
Click Edit
Choose your user
Check the box "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects"
Click apply
Click OK through all the windows

Now try it and it should work
 
Negative, still can't access the files despite doing what you said. I am the owner of these files and can navigate the file tree yet I cannot access any of them...
 
how are you trying to access them in the tree?

You are in the \shares\foldernames tree right?
If you go to the \folders\.... tree it wont work
 
if there were more than one HD remember that each hd has the tree and the data looks like it's there even when it's not.
 
In this case, I'm certain this was the only drive.

The files are there. WHS has just hosed up the NTFS security somehow and I can't access them. Very frustrating.
 
Huge longshot here, but were these files downloaded through uTorrent by any chance? If so, did you make sure to have your "Completed Downloads" location set to //ServerName//etc... instead of directly d:/shares/etc...

If uTorrent or any other program put these files on the d:/shares/etc... directly, then you will have permission issues.
 
Nope. They were copied there from a Windows 7 PC.... now the drive is mounted in the same PC where the files originally use to reside on local storage, but permissions issues are keeping me from accessing them.
 
Thanks Old Hippie. I actually found those scripts by way of a wegotserved forum post but amazingly they aren't helping either. I still can't access these files. I am truly stumped, and getting a bit frustrated...
 
Did you give yourself explicit access to read the files? Having ownership allows you to see what's inside folders and what not, but doesn't necessarily mean you will be granted read/write access, you have to do that separately.
 
I gave myself as well as "Everyone" full control for the drive (as mounted in Explorer) and all child objects. I will try again...
 
sphinx99 said:
I gave myself as well as "Everyone" full control for the drive (as mounted in Explorer) and all child objects. I will try again...
Click to expand...

Well if you did then I'm not sure what's going on, that sounds very weird for sure :eek:
 
sphinx99 said:
Thanks Old Hippie. I actually found those scripts by way of a wegotserved forum post but amazingly they aren't helping either. I still can't access these files. I am truly stumped, and getting a bit frustrated...
Click to expand...

Bummer!

I'm sorry I can't be of any more help.
 
I've spent most of the day trying to figure this out and am stuck. This has seriously undermined my confidence in WHS.
 
Did you remove all the other permission settings? When I had to salvage data off my WHS drive it was a matter of taking ownership, adding myself as full control and then I was set. I'm quite stumped why you don't have access :(
 
Okay, here's what I can see:

1. I am the owner of the folder tree as well as the files. (Using one file as an example.)
2. The file has "Include inheritable permissions from this object's parent" checked and if I click Change Permissions to uncheck this box, I get a dialog saying that I do not have permissions to view the object's security properties and that I will have to take ownership of the object.

I don't know how Windows can tell me that I am the owner (and not) at the same time.
 
In an administrator command prompt window -

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>takeown /f G:\shares\Videos\test.avi /a

SUCCESS: The file (or folder): "G:\shares\Videos\test.avi" now owned by the administrators group.

C:\Windows\system32>copy G:\shares\Videos\test.avi c:\
The file cannot be accessed by the system.
0 file(s) copied.

C:\Windows\system32>
 
Try specifying a folder on the drive rather than the root, such as your my videos folder and put both locations in quotes, you might be seeing a lack of access to the copy location as well.
 
Just tried it - same effect. I become the owner of the folder and its contents, and I can navigate the folder structure without issue, but I can't access any of the actual files.
 
C:\Windows\system32>copy G:\shares\Videos\test.avi c:\
The file cannot be accessed by the system.
0 file(s) copied.
Click to expand...

I'm probably wrong as usual but that doesn't say anything about ownership....just that it can't be accessed.

I always thought those were two different things?

Not that it helps anyway but it looks like it can't find the files?
 
Wow, that sucks. WHS is starting to dissapoint me. (no useful standby ability (wtf?!?), SIS doesn't work between shares / backup

Now apparant loss of data if system drive dies?

I wonder how'd you beable to recover if what you needed were not your shares, but a backup?

I hope you're able to recover. Please update on the result in any case.
 
try unhiding folders and OS files
Then go through the DE directory
 
Ownership does not give you access rights. Ownership lets you change the permissions to add/remove users and groups that can actually access the files.

Verify the effective permissions that your user has for one of the files that you can't read. Make sure that your user has full control and that there are no other conflicting deny/allow permsissions, especially any inherited pemissions.
 
It's possible I was doing something wrong, or that the drive got hosed. I was able to recover data from the other six drives (in the old P4 box) without incident. But this one 2TB drive... nope. After some thought, I realized I didn't want to lose another day of my life to recovering blu-ray rips when the original discs are in a closet and I don't have time to watch these movies anyway, so I just reformatted it and stuck it into the new WHS box. For once, WHS's "just fill up a disk then move to the next one" design worked out well, as this disc mostly had rips that I could recreate.

At the end of the day, WHS's identity and its strengths and weaknesses all tie back to the "W" part - Windows. It makes WHS broadly compatible with hardware and extremely easy to use, but it also makes it virtually impossible to troubleshoot or diagnose due to the high level of abstraction and lack of diagnostic instrumentation.
 
It makes WHS broadly compatible with hardware and extremely easy to use, but it also makes it virtually impossible to troubleshoot or diagnose due to the high level of abstraction and lack of diagnostic instrumentation.
Click to expand...

Perfect.

I have a feeling that if I knew SBS 2003 inside and out I wouldn't have soo many undiagnosed problems but I don't feel to bad.

There were many unsolved mysteries including my no-workie-indexing, on the offical WHS sites last time I looked.

I feel because this OS was a little MS project with limited sales potential, it wasn't tested as well as others with larger potential.

When it works, it works just fine....when it doesn't.......:D
 
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