Recovering encrypted folders

[Guest]

My computer has 2 hard disks (c: and d. XP Pro is on drive c. I have some
important folders which are encrypted on drive d.

Disk c crashed and became totally unusable a few days ago. I replaced it
with a new disk and loaded XP Pro from scratch.

I didn't realize that a new copy of XP would make the encrypted folders on
drive d inaccessible. Any suggestions on how I can recover these folders? I
read some articles about "certificates" but don't know how to go about it.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Frank,

You would need the encryption certificates or a recovery agent created in
the original installation. Without one or the other, those files are lost to
you permanently. You cannot recreate these after the fact, they would have
had to have been created by the user account that encrypted the
files/folders while the system was in normal operation.

Are you sure the files were encrypted? If you are just getting "access
denied", it may just be an ownership issue. The files/folders are "owned" by
the user account and system that created them. Encryption only occurs when
you knowingly do it in an XP Pro system from the file/folder properites. If
it's just ownership, then this should help:
http://rickrogers.org/fixes.htm#Taking_ownership

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Richard Urban]

After the fact is too late. The time to backup your certificates is before a
system crash - much like backing up your personal files.

Sorry!

--
Regards,

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard

If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Bruce Chambers]

My computer has 2 hard disks (c: and d. XP Pro is on drive c. I have some
important folders which are encrypted on drive d.

Disk c crashed and became totally unusable a few days ago. I replaced it
with a new disk and loaded XP Pro from scratch.

I didn't realize that a new copy of XP would make the encrypted folders on
drive d inaccessible. Any suggestions on how I can recover these folders? I
read some articles about "certificates" but don't know how to go about it.
Thanks in advance.

If the your encryption certificates and keys were not backed up
before the reinstallation, and the workstation isn't part of a domain,
those files are gone, for all practical purposes. Encryption works
well and there is no "back door" or hack to access the files.
(Wouldn't be much point to EFS if it were vulnerable.)


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Frank.

Just how dead is that hard drive? Maybe it's unbootable, but could be
accessed as a secondary drive? If so, then a WinXP boot floppy might work
for you.

WinXP is so large that not even a minimal OS will fit onto a floppy. But,
if WinXP is installed into C:\Windows and that part of the disk is
undamaged, then you can create a floppy diskette that will bypass the System
Partition and boot WinXP from the HD. It's not really a "boot floppy" as
that term was used in MS-DOS or Win3x/9x/ME.

Typically, the only files that must be on the diskette are NTLDR,
NTDETECT.COM and Boot.ini; these files total less than .5 MB, so they will
easily fit onto a floppy. The Boot.ini may need to be edited to point to
the proper HD and partition. Often, this version of Boot.ini will work:

[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Professional"
/noexecute=optin /fastdetect

That should boot WinXP from a folder named \Windows in the first partition
of the first HD, typically C:\Windows. If your computer is not typical,
then you may need to edit it to fit your system. When trying to boot this
way, it probably is best to disconnect any other HD - at least until you
know you can boot. Then you can shut down, add your second HD, boot from
the floppy and copy all your needed files (encrypted or not) from the bad
drive to the good one.

I know nothing of encryption or certificates, so I'll let others explain
those.

Let us know how this works out for you.

RC