If you make a live cd and boot from it, yes you should be able to access the hard drive provided the HD isn't dead. I would guess that the USB ports may or may not be Plug and Play on the live CD depending on the version of Linux you are using.
So give it a try it can't hurt. BTW Do you have the XP setup disk? You should be able to boot from that into the repair console.
If I had a setup disk....LOL
I just need to take the pictures and favorites and put them on the other 'favorites' menu.