Private Folders – how to view contents

My system screwed up, blue screen after login. Anyway tried running Repair option from the XP Home setup. It then told me that i needed to re-authorize my XP home installation, after calling it wouldn’t continue and mentioned to try a clean install. I have a lot of files I need to rescue. SO – i installed XP home in a new installation and in a new directory. So, i can now use XP Home fine BUT i cannot view the files I need to copy. I believe I chose ‘Make My FIle’s Private’ during the initial sharing dialog. Now I cannot see the contents that I need – pictures, resume, portfolio, etc. I get an ‘Access is denied’ How can I make this folder accessable so I can back up my files?