Hi,
You need to take ownership of them. Right-click the folder, select
properties. Go to the security tab and click advanced. You can take control
of the folders on the owner tab. For the security tab to appear in a WinXP
Pro system, you must disable simple file sharing in the control panel/folder
options/view tab. For a WinXP Home system, you must restart in safe mode and
logon as administrator. More details here:
HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP [Q308421]
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308421
An additional note for WinXP Pro users: This procedure will not help you
recover data if the files are encrypted. All you will be able to do is
delete them. To recover encrypted files you will need the original
encryption certificate or a Recovery Agent from the installation under which
they were encrypted. Without one of these, the files are not recoverable.