Now I've gone and done it

[CRX-YEM]

Well Last weekend in trying to get my digital camera installed I decided it'd be best to
format and reinstall my OS. Well a reminder to all that are using Win2k/XP/2003 server, if you enable EFS encrytion on any files you may have wanted to protect. Don't forget to export your public key before formating the drive. or you'll end up like me, up a creek without paddles.

I connot read any files on my D: drive which I use for data storage that I enabled EFS on. I could kick myself in the nutz right about now.


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now here's the fucked up part I do have copies of the original keys windows made on my old hard disk, but not in any for the certificate manager can import.


this sucks

 

[phunky.buddha]

Doh. Lost encryption = teh sux0rz

 

[DarkHand]

Save the encryption for the plans for the revolution, or the covert government spy info.

No need to encrypt your mp3's and porn.

 

[CRX-YEM]

well, after windows 2000 sp4 , the my documents folder is set to EFS automatically

 

[phunky.buddha]

Is it? Mine's not encrypted at all. I can access it as any user.

 

[CRX-YEM]

hmm, under any user, files in the my documents folder ??
are you using win2k or xp ??

see the problem I had is I created the files with an install of win2k (call it install A) moved files to D:\My documents.

formated reinstall, win2k (install B), now my computer had a new SID , fresh install, which creates a new public/private key pair, different than the original install A.

So without the proper key set with EFS enabled. (right click, properties, advanced, efs checkbox checked) than there's no way you gonna see those files again ever, unless and this is the major leason I leraned, you export you public/private key and put them on a disk of some sort for a backup copy in case anything like this happens again.