External hard drive has become ENCRYPTED? WTF? How do I proceed?

[Poohbee]

Remember in order to use the security features you have to be signed on as "Administrator" not a user with administrator rights.. I had the same problem and the only way I fixed it was by going to Administrator and then doing what was posted above. Good Luck

 

[CTho9305]

Linux won't help. MS implemented EFS properly.

 

[murphy55d]

Still nothing.

I logged on as Administrator and I still get the access denied dialog.

 

[jonmullen]

In control Pannel->Administrative tools there either should be an icon for user accounts or it should be in the Computer Management program. What users does it show on your computer?

 

[murphy55d]

Administrator, Guest, Help Assistant, Matt, SUPPORT_388945a0

 

[murphy55d]

 

[stash]

You cannot decrypt a file by simply taking ownership and then changing the permissions of it. The same goes for putting the drive in a Linux system...it will have no effect. The file is encrypted meaning you need the corresponding key to decrypt it. That, or wait a loooong time to crack it.

Also, the local Administrator is no longer the default recovery agent on a standalone (not part of a domain) Windows XP box. If you did not explicitly create a DRA before the file was encrypted, the only way to decrypt it will to be to log in as the user that encrypted it, which will give you access to the key.

You say these files are on an external hard drive. Is it possible that the drive was attached to a different computer and encrypted there? You need to find that out. Otherwise, you will never gain access to those files.

 

[murphy55d]

I just bought the hard drive like 2 weeks ago and it was NIB, I just transferred the files over myself.

 

[kursplat]

your f'ed and thats it unless you can get the encryption key. maybe you accidently checked the box or something . it doesn't matter. your not getting in with out the key. FAQ'S about encryption.
sorry and good luck

 

[murphy55d]

Fvck. alright. Thanks guys.