retriving files from my old hdd

hi
i have this problem

my windows xp crashed, so i bought another hdd and made it my ****** drive and installed xp on tht
i made my original drive my slave drive.

Now the problem i have is tht i cant access my user settings on my old hard drive, because maybe they had a password on them.

i didnt want to format my hdd, and i was planning to buy another hdd anyways, so i tried this idea because i wanted my files backed-up still

please help if u know what the problem could be

thx

sorry, by bad, posted this in the wrong section..

Log in as admin to the local system.

go to the folder

> right click on folder
> click on properties
> security
> advanced
> owner
> select radio button replace owner on subcontainers and objects.

then apply settings and all ownership of the folder will come to the person logged in.