how can i change my rear pads and disks?

Not a full answer but may help...
I tried to do this recently (Megane 2004 tourer). Haynes manual not yet available for this model, though older Haynes manual covers reasonably well (or other post re front brakes on this site), except...
All was fine until it was time to push back the pads. The handbrake actuator appears to have auto-adjusted for pad wear and resisted attempts to push the pads in. I fiddled with this for an hour and could not get it to reset (i.e allow me to push the pads back).
This is the only difficult task, so any guidance on this aspect would be gratefully appreciated! Thanks :o)

Dave S
September 2008