I have replaced an aging Windows XP machine with a new computer running Windows Vista Home Premium. I wanted to transfer all the files and data from the old computer to the new computer, so I connected the machines with a crossover cable and set-up a network. This initially seemed alright, as each computer could see the other. While I can pull most files to the new computer from the old computer, trying to initiate a file transfer from the old computer to the new computer produces an access denied message. I also receive this message when attempting to pull certain files to the new computer from the old computer. This mainly happens with ZIP and MP3 files but not always, so the issue appears to be random. Changing numerous settings in the computer security does not appear to have resolved the problem. Can you help?

An access denied message when transferring files between computers is generally indicative of a permissions issue. The reason you can successfully pull most files from the old computer onto the new computer is because Windows XP has much less security compared with Windows Vista, meaning that it is a lot easier to access file shares on a Windows XP machine than on a Windows Vista machine, simply due to the more hardened security in Windows Vista. Security and permissions issues are notoriously hard to resolve, as they usually require a systematic trial and error process to determine what is causing the access problem (as different security rules may be conflicting, resulting in unexpected behaviour). Since the crossover cable is just a temporary solution to transfer files between the computers, I would suggest that you don’t bother trying to put files from the Windows XP machine onto the Windows Vista machine, but instead just pull files from the Windows XP machine using the Windows Vista machine.

However, this raises the second issue regarding why you cannot transfer certain files between the computers, due to the dreaded access denied message. In the case of being unable to transfer particular files, the access denied message can mean several things. First, it is possible that the files are currently in use and thus cannot be copied. That said, this scenario is relatively unlikely since the problem occurs with ZIP and MP3 files (which are likely not in use). Therefore, the most likely cause is something wrong with file permissions or ownership. Again, this is a very difficult problem to diagnose without sitting in front of the computer, given the various different potential causes of the problem. Since this only occurs with certain files, my suggestion would be to transfer these files to the new computer using either an external hard drive, or copy the files to a DVD. While this is not a real solution to your specific question, it does provide a viable workaround.