Access denied hard drive from crashed computer

[jfinet]

Hi ... I have Dell desktop computer that died ... HD ok ... I put HD in external case devise ... to get access to my data ... it reads drive ok on my laptop ... however ... the files I want are in folder that is protected ... as I was administrator of dead computer ... and files protected ... access now denied ... how do I regain access to my data files? Dead computer is Xp based as is laptop ... appreciate any suggestions ... John