I can't access my own files

Question

I have been having a problem with my external hard drive, I think it is about to die, so I am in the process of copying all my files/folders to my wifes computer, which has a much bigger internal harddrive than my computer, but I have another problem besides the drive itself. I have run into this problem ever since running Vista, and thats the stupid security. Security isnt stupid, but you have to be a professional IT person to figure out the way Vista security works. Those stupid dialog boxes were definately NOT intended for the home user. I have files that I want to copy that aparently I dont have access to, even though I am the one who created them. I found an account named "Unknown Account (S-1-5-21......) that I am sure came from a user account that I had in a different incarnation of Windows Vista, and since have reinstalled. So I know where the SID came from, but because of that I am denied access to the files. When I try to remove that account, I am told that I cannot remove that account because of inherited permissions and I should disable inheriting permissions. When I untick that option, I am told that NO ONE will be able to access the files. When I go up one level, where the permissions are supposedly inherited from, that account isnt listed. What the helll? I want access to my files! What do I do?

Answer 1

Hi,
Thanks for posting in Microsoft TechNet Forum.
According to your description, for further troubleshooting, please help to confirm the following items.
1.     Is this issue occurring on your wife's computer during the process of copying files or on your own computer while running Windows Vista? Where are these files located?
2.     Does the current user belong to a group of administrators or a group of standard users?
3.     As you mentioned above that your external hard drive is about to die, it may be related to hardware defect. So could you please describe the symptoms in details?
By the way, I would like to suggest that you try to take ownership of these files then see if you can access them.
If you can’t access the external disk totally, try to take ownership of the hard drive:
1)     Click Start –> All Programs ->Accessories
2)     Right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type your password or click Continue
3)     Type: takeown /f filepath (Replace filepath with the location of your drive, example d:\)
4)     Press Enter, you will be prompted with completed successfully message.
5)     Type: icacls filepath /grant yourusername:f (Replace filepath with the location of your drive, and yourusername with your profile name)
6)     Press Enter, you will be prompted with completed successfully message.
7)     Then try to delete files in this drive and see if it works.
If it is just due to specific files and folders, try to take ownership of these files and folders:
How to Take Ownership and Full Control Permissions of Files and Folders in Vista
Note: This response contains a reference to a third party World Wide Web site. Microsoft is providing this information as a convenience to you. Microsoft does not control these sites and has not tested any software or information found on these sites; therefore, Microsoft cannot make any representations regarding the quality, safety, or suitability of any software or information found there. There are inherent dangers in the use of any software found on the Internet, and Microsoft cautions you to make sure that you completely understand the risk before retrieving any software from the Internet.
Meanwhile, I noticed that an unknown account (S-1-5-21......) is kept on your computer. You may need to delete this account in registry first.
1)   Press Ctrl + R to run regedit, then press Enter.
2)   Locate to this item: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
3)   Delete the registry of this unknown account.
Note: Remember to back registry before any modification.
Hope this helps. Thanks.