Accessing "restricted" folder - my account - HELP?

Here's the story... My laptop crashed, said NTOSKRNL.EXE was corrupted.
Tried to go into repair console, got that problem fixed but it told me that
the \system directory was corrupted. After a long while, I ended up
re-installing XP Home in a non-standard directory. It works fine. ALL I
want to do is copy my old files onto an external HD so I can reformat the
laptop and start over.
The problem: My files are in the "access controled" folders of c:\documents
and settings. Is there a way that I (as the sole user of the computer, the
owner, the administrator, and knowledgable of all passwords on any accounts
on the computer) can access the information locked in the "User A" directory
from the old, corrupted version of XP? I can't get the old version of XP to
run, so I have to access windows explorer from the new XP version. Is there
any way to access this info to copy it to a CD? Safe Mode maybe? Registry
work? Like I said, I know the passwords and the loggin, so it's not like I'm
trying to do something shifty and steal someone else's info.
The other possibility I've thought of, but am hesitant to try, is to
reinstall XP in the main directory (c:\windows\). I know this will erase the
info in the "windows" directory, but I'm concerned about it deleting all the
info from that user account in the documents and settings folder.
Any comments, suggestions, or ideas would be most helpful! Thanks in advance.
.

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