Lost encryption key

Question

My harddrive crashed but i was able to pull my documents off it using a Sata to USB cable. However some of the folders were encrypted. Is there anyway I can decrypt them or is there a way I can get the key. I am lost and I have some very inportant documents in those folders.

Answer 1

If you have encrypted folders/file and transfer them to a fresh installation of XP you can only decrypt them using the encryption key

from your original XP installation.

If this is the case, the key to decrypt these files was managed by Windows as a Certificate in your Certificate store of your

original installation. These certificates are, in turn, encrypted to your Secure ID, your password, and many other things.

This information would be lost on a new XP install.

The easy way to restore access to your files is to restore your certificate from the backup that you dutifully performed according to

the paragraph "Why you must back up your certificates" in the article:

"Best practices for the Encrypting File System"

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/223316/en-us

If you don't have a copy of your certificate, then you must restore your old system from an image-style backup, login, and then

extract your certificate.

Otherwise, your data is history.  EFS is quite secure and there are no back doors I know about.

Because it is sometimes not made clear or fully understood regarding the importance of backing up the certificate, EFS has affectionately

been referred to as the "Delayed Trash Can".

Allegedly, you may be able to hire someone that specializes in recovery of encrypted files to try to help you.

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