Encryption problem?

[Guest]

I am currently running a new computer with a new copy of xp home edition. My
previous computer died(mobo) however the instal(xp pro service pack 2) was
buggy as hell. I have slaved my old hard drive into the new machine, but my
problem is that there were 2 other users on the old system, and I had set it
up so that they could not access my documents and settings, however now I can
no longer do so either. I've tried Unlocker and a few others, but all I can
do is rename it, it still won't let me access the files inside. Since
everything is still intact on the drive, is there anyway other than finding
another mobo and booting up the old machine to get access to these files? is
there a hack or file located on the drive that can open the file permissions?

 

[Guest]

I am currently running a new computer with a new copy of xp home edition. My
previous computer died(mobo) however the instal(xp pro service pack 2) was
buggy as hell. I have slaved my old hard drive into the new machine, but my
problem is that there were 2 other users on the old system, and I had set it
up so that they could not access my documents and settings, however now I can
no longer do so either. I've tried Unlocker and a few others, but all I can
do is rename it, it still won't let me access the files inside. Since
everything is still intact on the drive, is there anyway other than finding
another mobo and booting up the old machine to get access to these files? is
there a hack or file located on the drive that can open the file permissions?

Try going to Safe Mode (press F8 at booting till menu appears) and logging
as Administrator, then do whatever you have to.

 

[John Wunderlich]

I am currently running a new computer with a new copy of xp home
edition. My previous computer died(mobo) however the instal(xp pro
service pack 2) was buggy as hell. I have slaved my old hard drive
into the new machine, but my problem is that there were 2 other
users on the old system, and I had set it up so that they could
not access my documents and settings, however now I can no longer
do so either. I've tried Unlocker and a few others, but all I can
do is rename it, it still won't let me access the files inside.
Since everything is still intact on the drive, is there anyway
other than finding another mobo and booting up the old machine to
get access to these files? is there a hack or file located on the
drive that can open the file permissions?

You don't mention how you have secured your data. XP Pro has an
Encrypted File System (EFS) that XP Home does not. If you secured your
files with EFS and did not back up your certificates as recommended in
article:

"Best practices for the Encrypting File System"
<http://support.microsoft.com/kb/223316/en-us>

.... then you probably have lost your data.

IMHO, It is better to use a program such as freeware Truecrypt that
does not rely on OS-dependent hidden certificates to secure your data.

<http://www.truecrypt.org>

-- John

 

[Guest]

It would seem to me that the encryption key must still be on the drive, I
used the encryption found in the advanced properties box on xp pro, but
everything on the drive is still intact, so it stands to reason that the
certificates would be there somewhere as well. If not, is there a way to fix
and configure the install to be able to reboot it even once with my new
computer, or should I try to get the old girl to boot one more time, and use
xp pro's recovery consol, and if so, is there anything within the recovery
console I SHOULDN'T do?

 

[John Wunderlich]

It would seem to me that the encryption key must still be on the
drive, I used the encryption found in the advanced properties box
on xp pro, but everything on the drive is still intact, so it
stands to reason that the certificates would be there somewhere as
well. If not, is there a way to fix and configure the install to
be able to reboot it even once with my new computer, or should I
try to get the old girl to boot one more time, and use xp pro's
recovery consol, and if so, is there anything within the recovery
console I SHOULDN'T do?

The encryption key probably is still there. The key itself is stored
encrypted and is decrypted with a combination of the user's SID
(Secure ID) and the user's password and who knows what else.
Whatever you do, you don't want to delete your old user profile on
the disk or change the password by any means other than the normal
ways to change passwords. I would coax it to boot one more time and
immediately back up the certificates.

Good Luck,
John