Protected files

I suffered a major failure recently which caused me to have to re-install XP.
Everything worked fine and I even managed to recover the lost files 10Gb plus
to an external drive, they could not be seen by the new XP installation. The
problem is that whilst I can now copy these files back in to the new file
structure constructed by XP they are still tieing up 10GB of disk space in a
"protected" folder belonging to the original incident of XP. The folder is
named for the Administrator of the original incident of XP. I have checked
all the account features of the new Administrator and they are correct. XP
will not let me delete this folder. Can anybody help with a solution which
will enable me to recover this wasted space. Nik

"Nik" <Nik.DeleteThis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:9BC12BCC-6262-49F2-8BEF-5CF6CAC816D9@microsoft.com
> I suffered a major failure recently which caused me to have
> to re-install XP. Everything worked fine and I even managed
> to recover the lost files 10Gb plus to an external drive,
> they could not be seen by the new XP installation. The
> problem is that whilst I can now copy these files back in to
> the new file structure constructed by XP they are still
> tieing up 10GB of disk space in a "protected" folder
> belonging to the original incident of XP. The folder is
> named for the Administrator of the original incident of XP.
> I have checked all the account features of the new
> Administrator and they are correct. XP will not let me
> delete this folder. Can anybody help with a solution which
> will enable me to recover this wasted space. Nik

See if taking ownership of the files helps. Take a look at
these articles for more info:

How to disable simplified sharing and set permissions on a
shared folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307874/

How to take ownership of a file or folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308421

"Access is Denied" Error Message When You Try to Open a Folder
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/810881

Note: If you are running Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, you
must start the computer in safe mode, and then log on with an
account that has Administrative rights to have access to the
Security tab. To start in Safe Mode, reboot your computer and
start tapping the F8 key as soon as you see anything displayed
on the screen. Keep hitting F8 until the Advanced Startup
Options menu appears. Use the up and down arrow keys on your
keyboard to select Safe Mode. Hit Enter.

Good luck

Nepatsfan