Decrypt/Unencrypt External Hard Drive

  • Thread starter Thread starter C.B.
  • Start date Start date
C

C.B.

I was beta testing Windows 7 and encrypted both external drives. I placed
the password/key on one drive only and I also printed out copies. My
computer doesn't have a TPM. I unencrypted one of them but neglected to
unencrypt the other one. I then used Acronis to go back to Vista Ultimate.
Needless to say, I can't access the encrypted drive because I have no way to
enter the key.

Is there some way, within Vista Ultimate, to unencrypt the encrypted drive,
the drive that was encrypted using Win 7 Beta? Will I need to install Win 7
Beta again and do it from there or is this even possible since I've already
gone back to Vista Ultimate? I have appx. 250 GB of pictures, videos,
programs and other data on this encrypted drive. Is it wishful thinking
that I can recover this drive?

Jesus, I can't believe I've done this. I don't know if it's due to a lack of
attention due to my age or just plain stupidity. I would appreciate any
assistance you can provide. I don't mind installing the Win 7 Beta again but
I don't want to do it if it's not necessary.
 
C.B. said:
I was beta testing Windows 7 and encrypted both external drives. I placed
the password/key on one drive only and I also printed out copies. My
computer doesn't have a TPM. I unencrypted one of them but neglected to
unencrypt the other one. I then used Acronis to go back to Vista Ultimate.
Needless to say, I can't access the encrypted drive because I have no way
to enter the key.

Is there some way, within Vista Ultimate, to unencrypt the encrypted
drive, the drive that was encrypted using Win 7 Beta? Will I need to
install Win 7 Beta again and do it from there or is this even possible
since I've already gone back to Vista Ultimate? I have appx. 250 GB of
pictures, videos,
programs and other data on this encrypted drive. Is it wishful thinking
that I can recover this drive?

Jesus, I can't believe I've done this. I don't know if it's due to a lack
of attention due to my age or just plain stupidity. I would appreciate any
assistance you can provide. I don't mind installing the Win 7 Beta again
but I don't want to do it if it's not necessary.
Click to expand...

Since you have the key, you may be able to unencrypt the data if you
reinstall Win7. If that doesn't work, the folks at Elcomsoft might be able
to help.

http://www.elcomsoft.com/aefsdr.html

If that all fails, you are out of luck.

Malke
 
Malke said:
Since you have the key, you may be able to unencrypt the data if you
reinstall Win7. If that doesn't work, the folks at Elcomsoft might be able
to help.

http://www.elcomsoft.com/aefsdr.html

If that all fails, you are out of luck.

Malke
Click to expand...

Thanks Malke. I appreciate the reply. However, I used Bitlocker to encrypt
the externals. I'll reinstall Win 7 Beta and see if I have any luck. I
thought that maybe there was some way I could use gpedit.msc to put the
recovery key in some kind of folder in Vista Ultimate but I'm not familiar
with gpedit.

C.B.
 
Problem solved. I simply reinstalled Win 7 Beta, clicked on the encrypted
drive and typed in the password that had been set during the first Win 7
installation. The drive is now visible and all entries respond when clicked.
I haven't tried to "unencrypt" the drive yet. I'll worry about that when I
uninstall the beta 1 in preparation for the next Win 7 beta.

The only reason I uninstalled the Win 7 Beta was because it doesn't always
recognize the external drives and IE 8 is a pathetic mess, as is usually the
case with IE, add-ons or no add-ons.
 
omg i dont believe it, i have the exact same problem. see i had windows vista on my laptop when i baought it, some months later i changed to windows 7 beta just to check it out... and yes i too messed around with my laptop and encrypted my drive D which was full of pictures and videos. it was kool at the time because no1 could get into my files. but then a month ago i installed windows vista and now i can't access my drive. i'm going absoloutly crazy, i dont want to risk losing my files. is the installing windows 7 the only way i can access my drive??



C.B. wrote:

Problem solved.
28-Jan-09

Problem solved. I simply reinstalled Win 7 Beta, clicked on the encrypted
drive and typed in the password that had been set during the first Win 7
installation. The drive is now visible and all entries respond when clicked.
I haven't tried to "unencrypt" the drive yet. I'll worry about that when I
uninstall the beta 1 in preparation for the next Win 7 beta

The only reason I uninstalled the Win 7 Beta was because it doesn't always
recognize the external drives and IE 8 is a pathetic mess, as is usually the
case with IE, add-ons or no add-ons


Previous Posts In This Thread:

Decrypt/Unencrypt External Hard Drive
I was beta testing Windows 7 and encrypted both external drives. I placed
the password/key on one drive only and I also printed out copies. My
computer doesn't have a TPM. I unencrypted one of them but neglected to
unencrypt the other one. I then used Acronis to go back to Vista Ultimate.
Needless to say, I can't access the encrypted drive because I have no way to
enter the key

Is there some way, within Vista Ultimate, to unencrypt the encrypted drive,
the drive that was encrypted using Win 7 Beta? Will I need to install Win 7
Beta again and do it from there or is this even possible since I've already
gone back to Vista Ultimate? I have appx. 250 GB of pictures, videos,
programs and other data on this encrypted drive. Is it wishful thinking
that I can recover this drive

Jesus, I can't believe I've done this. I don't know if it's due to a lack of
attention due to my age or just plain stupidity. I would appreciate any
assistance you can provide. I don't mind installing the Win 7 Beta again but
I don't want to do it if it's not necessary.

Problem solved.
Problem solved. I simply reinstalled Win 7 Beta, clicked on the encrypted
drive and typed in the password that had been set during the first Win 7
installation. The drive is now visible and all entries respond when clicked.
I haven't tried to "unencrypt" the drive yet. I'll worry about that when I
uninstall the beta 1 in preparation for the next Win 7 beta

The only reason I uninstalled the Win 7 Beta was because it doesn't always
recognize the external drives and IE 8 is a pathetic mess, as is usually the
case with IE, add-ons or no add-ons



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Please, next time use more decriptive subject.

Nobody but you can guess what The same problem is
and therefore will not probably read the message.

It is similar to sending a postcard
with "To my grandma" in the address field.
 
omg i dont believe it, i have the exact same problem.
Click to expand...

Please do NOT change the subject line.

Please note:
This is NOT a chat room and although you think you are posting to a forum
run by Techarena - you are actually posting to a global Usenet Newsgroup.
Techarena forums leach off the Microsoft News Servers in order to make them
seem far busier than they really are.

You will get a far better experience if you use a newsreader and subscribe
to these groups directly, rather than through TechArena.
Setting up Outlook Express/Windows Mail to access Microsoft newsgroups
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

Accessing the MS newsgroups in Outlook Express/Windows Mail Newsreader
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroupsetup.mspx

If you must stay with TechArena then please follow Usenet custom by quoting
the post you are replying to, and replying to the thread.

Thank you.

http://members.shaw.ca/dts-l/goodpost.htm
 
Did you polish your NET COP badge today?



This is a chat room. Where have you been for the lat 7 years? Head up
your ass as usual?
Click to expand...
Perhaps a chat room for some, but not for most of us. The advice "don't
change the subject line" may not be necessary for chatting, but it sure
is for those who use a newsreader and sort the threads by subject.
Gordon at least said "Please," which is much more polite than your last
question. <vbg>

Bill
 
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