So this weekend I recovered the files from my PC laptop's hd. The aforementioned adapter worked like a charm with one notable issue (which isn't it's fault.) The laptop drive was NTFS - and none of the user names translate between the computers. (IOW the "tsanders" user on my Windows PC isn't the "same" user as tsanders on my laptop.) I had two folder that this presented a problem - my user folder, and the Windows folder.
The fix for this is to look at the "Security" tab for the folder - in there an Adminstrator can become the owner of a folder. But the trick is that in order to see the Security tab in XP Home you have to reboot into Safe mode.
There's another layer to this which is that this DIDN'T work to change the owner of the Windows folder - there's some other trick they've used to lock it out. I could SEE the security options for the Windows folder, but I couldn't change them, nor could I take ownership. I decided I didn't need anything out of my Windows folder that badly, but it's worth being aware of!
Another fun tip - Windows XP doesn't seem to read USB keyboards for the safe mode menu. I had to plug in the old-style PS2 connector in order to choose safe mode. Follow me on that - you hit F8 ON THE USB KEYBOARD, and it reads that, then brings up a menu where you can't navigate using the keyboard it JUST READ a keystroke from. I hate Microsoft.
The fix for this is to look at the "Security" tab for the folder - in there an Adminstrator can become the owner of a folder. But the trick is that in order to see the Security tab in XP Home you have to reboot into Safe mode.
There's another layer to this which is that this DIDN'T work to change the owner of the Windows folder - there's some other trick they've used to lock it out. I could SEE the security options for the Windows folder, but I couldn't change them, nor could I take ownership. I decided I didn't need anything out of my Windows folder that badly, but it's worth being aware of!
Another fun tip - Windows XP doesn't seem to read USB keyboards for the safe mode menu. I had to plug in the old-style PS2 connector in order to choose safe mode. Follow me on that - you hit F8 ON THE USB KEYBOARD, and it reads that, then brings up a menu where you can't navigate using the keyboard it JUST READ a keystroke from. I hate Microsoft.