Access was denied

[Charlie Huang]

I have reinstalled the WinXp Pro in PC since the previous
was crashed. Fact is that some of the files in the
previous system were encrypted. Now I can't read them,
even I use same user name and password to login. Each
time I got the meassage "Access was denied" while I was
trying to open the file. I know I have to decrypt those
file by use same account who create the encrypt files.
However, I can't fix it up. Could any one tell me how to
fix this problem? or let me know if you know any way I
can restore the original account information?

Thank you!

Charlie /[email protected]

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

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

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

 

[Charlie]

Thanks Bruce, would you please tell me how to find out
the encryption certificates and keys? BTW, I can still
see the file's name and size.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

You would have had to have backed these up onto a floppy disk or
other medium _before_ reinstalling the OS. If you didn't do that,
there is *no* way to recover the encrypted files now.

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

 

[NobodyMan]

I have reinstalled the WinXp Pro in PC since the previous
was crashed. Fact is that some of the files in the
previous system were encrypted. Now I can't read them,
even I use same user name and password to login. Each
time I got the meassage "Access was denied" while I was
trying to open the file. I know I have to decrypt those
file by use same account who create the encrypt files.
However, I can't fix it up. Could any one tell me how to
fix this problem? or let me know if you know any way I
can restore the original account information?

Thank you!

Charlie /[email protected]

Did you encrypt the files (you would know if you did; you wouldn't
have to think about it). If so, you have probably lost the
certificates and keys you need to decrypt them. I suspect you are
confusing your terminology. Just because you are being denied access
to folders doesn't mean they are encrypted.

If you re-installed XP, and re-created the same account, you still
won't be able to access the old folders from the previous "identical"
account name. When you re-installed and recreated the account, the
SAM is different (SAM, put simply, is the security account manager)
even though the names are the same. That's why you can't access the
old files; the SAM reads the new account info, but the old account
info doesn't match that.

To overcome this, logon as Administrator and take ownership of the old
folders. Then assign access permissions to them for your new account.

See help for "Taking ownership of files and folders." It's all in
there.