(Windows 7) cannot access 2nd HDD

[dragnandy]

Opps, the thread title is suppose to say 2nd partition, not HDD. I have a single 500gb harddrive in which i split to 2 partitions, one ~70gb and the other ~400gb. Anyways, i cant seem to access my second partition/driver. It is in NTSF btw

"E:/ is not accessible. Access denied"

Its odd because i read around google and other forums and one person said they could only access it in safemode. I can also do the same, but for some reason, i cannot explore all the folders or files. I set the folder options so i can view hidden files, but i cant see all the folders.
I have around 40gb of data (on the 70gb partition), but when i explore the drive, there is about 500mb of data. I also made sure my user account had permission and ownership.

Is there anyway to access this drive?

 

[crazyfinx]

By any chance did you install the OS on the 1st partition and leave the 2nd partition intact? Even though you're an admin in windows 7 there is a new security mechanism in windows 7 where you have to take ownership before you can access it. Below are simple instructions on how to do this. Hope this helps

How to Take Ownership in Windows 7
1) Locate the drive on which you want to take ownership in windows explorer.
2) Right click on file or folder and select “Properties” from Context Menu.
3) Click on Security tab.
4) Click on “Advanced” button.
5) Now click on Owner tab in Advance Security Settings for User windows.
6) Click on Edit Button and select user from given Change Owner to list if user or group is not in given list.
7) Click on other users or groups. Enter name of user/group and click ok.
8) Now select User/group and click apply and ok. Check “Replace owner on subcontainers and objects” if you have files and folder within selected drive.
9) Click Ok when Windows Security Prompt is displayed.
10) Now Owner name must have changed.
11) Now click Ok to exist from Properties windows.

Once you have taken the ownership of the drive, the next step is granting permissions to that drive.
How to Grant Permissions in Windows 7
1) Locate the drive on which you want to take ownership in windows explorer.
2) Right click on the drive and select “Properties” from Context Menu.
3) Click on Edit button in Properties windows Click ok to confirm UAC elevation request.
4) Select user/group from permission windows or click add to add other user or group.
5) Now under Permission section check the rights which you want to grant i.e check “Full Control” under the “Allow” column to assign full access rights control permissions to Administrators group.
6) Click Ok for changes to take effect and click ok final ok to exit from Properties window.

 

[gimp]

By any chance did you install the OS on the 1st partition and leave the 2nd partition intact? Even though you're an admin in windows 7 there is a new security mechanism in windows 7 where you have to take ownership before you can access it. Below are simple instructions on how to do this. Hope this helps
snip....

yeah, I've noticed that even if you do use the same username and password, Win7 seems to go by user account SID rather than actual credentials.

my laptop dual boots XP and Win7. User accounts are the same. But to view contents on the XP install in Win7, I still had to take ownership via my Win7 acct.

 

[dragnandy]

big thanks crazyfinx, i am able to access my drive now.

But like i said before in safe mode, i cannot seem to access all my files. I can explore the drive in normal mode Win7, but the files dont seem to be there anymore. Is there a way to recover them (if lost) or make them appear?