How to fix error error 0x80071771 situation

Question

Hello guys. I am having an error 0x80071771 situation. My Lenovo laptop got damaged, but it has been a struggle getting a replacement motherboard. I decided to remove its internal hard disk which I am now using as an external hard drive in my other Dell laptop. Issue is there are some files that I previously encrypted using the old laptop (through the Encrypting File System) but now when I try accessing them on my Dell laptop, I can't. It brings up error code 0x80071771.

There is a private key (.pfx file) that I saved on the hard disk, but I cannot remember the password. I also cannot decrypt it via the Lenovo laptop because it is damaged.

Both laptops Win 10 Pro. The dell is a Latitude E7240 while the Lenovo is a ThinkPad x250.

The encrypted files are PDF, .MOV, .IMG, .JPEG and .MP4.

Kindly advice.

Answer 1

Hello,

I'm afraid that without the password for the private key (.pfx file), it’s going to be very difficult to decrypt the files. The Encrypting File System (EFS) in Windows is designed to be extremely secure, and without the correct decryption key, it’s virtually impossible to break.

Please remember, data encryption is designed to protect sensitive information from being accessed without authorization. If there was an easy way to bypass it, it wouldn’t be very secure.

For this error code, it also related to permission issue,

Error 0x80071771, The specified file could not be decrypted (thewindowsclub.com)

Please Note: This response contains links to third parties, which we provide for convenience of reference, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the validity of any information and content in this link.

Best Regards,

Hania Lian

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