Need Geeky Help.

Should really be posting on a dedicated message board but cant be bothered to sign up to one and im sure someone here can help me.

I had a laptop that died that was running Windows, I had the Hard Drive taken out so I have all that I need on there. I have heaps of music and photos ect so I need to transfer them. My first issue is that I cant access the hard drive as it says that im not the owner or some shit. Iv tried to access it on various PC's and Laptops but still get the error message. How do I get around that?

The other thing that I need answering is, when I do finally get around getting access to it, is it possible to delete everything off the hard drive that I dont need including the Windows programme?

Lastly, I now have a MacBook, if I delete the Windows programme is it possible to use the Hard Drive with the Mac?

I have been traveling around the world for the past year and dont return till January so thats why I havnt got it looked at by an IT guy.

Cheers guys!

Is the Harddrive dead, or the operating system will not boot?
If OS "Windows" will not start, you could boot with live cd, and plug a USB into machine whilst running the live cd from cd-rom, then copy the files from the HD to USB. You could download "ubuntu" that is free. Or google a live cd..
If you Harddrive is dead, that a different matter, you may not recover much from the HD, also you need recovery software.

Should really be posting on a dedicated message board but cant be bothered to sign up to one and im sure someone here can help me.

I had a laptop that died that was running Windows, I had the Hard Drive taken out so I have all that I need on there. I have heaps of music and photos ect so I need to transfer them. My first issue is that I cant access the hard drive as it says that im not the owner or some shit. Iv tried to access it on various PC's and Laptops but still get the error message. How do I get around that?

The other thing that I need answering is, when I do finally get around getting access to it, is it possible to delete everything off the hard drive that I dont need including the Windows programme?

Lastly, I now have a MacBook, if I delete the Windows programme is it possible to use the Hard Drive with the Mac?

I have been traveling around the world for the past year and dont return till January so thats why I havnt got it looked at by an IT guy.

Cheers guys!

For the security you just need to take ownership. You are probably best doing this on a Windows pc. Right click on the folder you want to access and choose properties. Then click on the security tab and then click on the advanced button at the bottom there. This will open another window with more tabs. Click on the Owner tab and click on Edit. Click on the other users or groups button. You'll then be given a box to enter the names etc. In that box type Everyone then click on check names. It will turn underlined showing that it's been found as a user. This basically means everyone can access that folder. Just okay everything etc etc.

Once you've got access to your files you would be better off copying them somewhere temp, then format the drive and copy them back. The windows folders and security would be a right pain in the arse for you going forward. So just copy it all off, format and copy back. Even if that means borrowing a drive off someone.

Thanks mate. I have another external hard drive at home so I can copy all my files onto there and then format the one from the laptop.

Thanks again!