Access denied when accessing encrypted files

[Guest]

I have file encryption setup for some files on my hard drive (XP
Professional). Everything was working fine until I was prompted to change my
network password. I did this and am now unable to access the encrypted
files. I get the message Access denied when trying to open the files. If I
change my network password back, I am then able to open the files.

Our network is set to have users change their domain password every X number
of days. If they do and are then unable to access encrypted files on their
PC, what good is the EFS in XP?? From what I can see, you can not use EFS in
XP if you are on a network and changing your network password periodically.
Any input on this is GREATLY appreciated.

Thank you.
Rachel

 

[Guest]

A couple of questions... Do you have SP2 installed on your machine and is
your machine connected (online) to the network when you get "access denied"
to the files?

Thanks.
Pat

 

[Guest]

No, SP2 is not installed on this machine. Yes, the machine is connected to
the network when we get "access denied".

Rachel

 

[Guest]

There is a known issue with password changes that prevents EFS from working.
It can occur if a machine is offline when the user makes the password change
or is offline when the user first attempts to access an encrypted file after
changing passwords. Since your machines (You said "we") are connected, it
may be that you are having network connectivity problems. You may want to
have your network administrator look into this.

Installing SP2, which has some fixes for this issue, may help. Another
workaround is to back up your EFS certificate/key (to a .pfx file), and then
when you get access denied, import your backed-up certificate/key (run the
..pfx file).

See the following regarding the password change issue:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;322346

This link has the HowTo steps for backing up your certifcate/key
(Scroll down to "How to back up your certificate"):
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;223316

Thanks.
Pat