Encrypted File Access

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tom
  • Start date Start date
T

Tom

Within the past three months I purchased a new laptop
with Windows XP on it. I encrypted several folders under
my current User Name to protect their contents. Since
then I have attempted to access them time and time again
and cannot. I have also attempted to unencrypt the files
and it is giving me a message Access Denied. I am a full
adiminstrator and have not changed any settings. Any
ideas as to the possible solution would be helpful!
Thanks in advance!
Tom
 
If you reset your user password [versus changed it], that can cause you to lose
access. If that is the case try changing your password back to what it was at the
time you encrypted the files. You also must try to decrypt them as the user account
that decrypted them. The administrator in XP Pro can not decrypt someone else's files
in a default installation. Efsinfo can help you determine the actual account that may
be able to decrypt the files It may also help to run Check Disk on your computer.
There is a possibility that your EFS private keys have been corrupted in which case
the files may never be recovered since it sounds like you did not backup/export your
EFS private keys. You might also try to decrypt them using the cipher utility. See
links below for more details including EFS best practices. --- Steve

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;223316
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;243026
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...hnet/prodtechnol/winxppro/proddocs/cipher.asp
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...net/prodtechnol/winxppro/support/dataprot.asp
 
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