Key lost and cannot access encrypted files anymore!!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Johnny
  • Start date Start date
J

Johnny

My system crash and had to reinstall windows XP after
formating. Unfortunatly some of my files/folders in my
2nd partition had been encrypted and i had also not
backed up my certificate entries.

Is it possible to restore the encrypted files? My thesis
is in there!!! Please help!

Regards
 
Before encrypting anything important, you should back up your
personal encryption certificate (with its associated private key)
and the recovery agent certificate to a floppy disk and store it in
a secure location. If you ever lose your original certificate
(because of a hard disk failure, for example), you can restore
the backup copy and regain access to your files. If you lose all
copies of your certificate (and no recovery agent certificates exist),
you won't be able to use your encrypted files. No back door exists,
nor is there any practical way to hack these files.
(If there were, it wouldn't be very good encryption.)

HOW TO: Remove File Encryption in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;308993

Without a backup of the original Encryption Certificate Key, encrypted files
are unrecoverable as they will stay encrypted forever. There is no recovery
method since the encryption algorithm is now completely different with a
reinstall of Windows XP.

See if the following articles help in any way:

HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308421

Best Practices for the Encrypting File System
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;223316

Encrypting File System in Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/deploy/cryptfs.mspx

EFS Files Appear Corrupted When You Open Them
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;329741

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| My system crash and had to reinstall windows XP after
| formating. Unfortunatly some of my files/folders in my
| 2nd partition had been encrypted and i had also not
| backed up my certificate entries.
|
| Is it possible to restore the encrypted files? My thesis
| is in there!!! Please help!
|
| Regards
 
From what you have said you have lost the files, unless
you have a full backup of the old system done at a time
after you started using EFS and for which you remember
the password of the account you used, or better a full
backup with system state that could be used to restore
the old system to bootability (again, with known password
of the account you were using), or, if the machine was in
a domain.
 
Johnny said:
My system crash and had to reinstall windows XP after
formating. Unfortunatly some of my files/folders in my
2nd partition had been encrypted and i had also not
backed up my certificate entries.

Is it possible to restore the encrypted files? My thesis
is in there!!! Please help!
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, without the certificate - you are done.
Backups - hard lessons learned well, so they say. =(
 
Back
Top