Vista and file encryption

Chalkbot

I have a scenario that is frustrating me to no end.

I have two computers, we'll call them OLD and NEW to differentiate.

Here's the info that will be relevant to each one:

OLD
Windows XP Pro
2 x 32GB WD Raptors RAID 0
1 x 320GB Storage HDD

NEW
Windows Vista Home
1 x 200GB HDD

After I built NEW, I wanted to move the 320GB Storage HDD from OLD, as it holds all of my personal files and I will no longer be using OLD myself. That happens without a hitch. I get it installed in NEW and configure it to be the default location for My Documents, and I can see everything that I had on there from when it was in OLD. Great.

Now the irritation that I keep having is that random files on the Storage HDD will have their name in green letters in file explorer window, which means they are encrypted. I don't have permission to open them, even as Administrator. I never used the file encryption tools in XP, but evidently it decided that some of my things needed to be encrypted, now I can't use them on NEW.

What do I do? Is there a way to unencrypt them or grant myself permission to use them?

wunderbar

I believe you're pretty much fucked. Only the original user account that encrypted the files can decrypt and open them.

stigweard

Go to the properties, security tab, click advanced, and then the owner tab. Add your admin user as the owner and apply. It should give you back the ability to change those. IF they really were efs encrypted, you are pretty much stuck without putting the drive back into the old machine.

Chalkbot

So, assuming there is no way to regain access to the files on my NEW Machine, I can still put it back in the OLD one and un-encrypt them all?

Alternatively, is there not a way to import the user profile from the OLD machine and then use that to un-encrypt them on the NEW one?

FyreWulff

They were under your profile?

You need to boot it up under OLD and shift them into a directory on C. Files that are in folders on your desktop are encrypted. Files in C:/not-your-user-directory are not.

There's also an option somewhere that turns off profile encryption, but it's been ages since I've used XP. Sorry.

Dark Shroud

You can unlock them, but it's a long process that's detailed at microsoft.com. I used to have to link because I have this same problem with files sitting on a second hard drive.

Chalkbot

Well, I'm willing to go through a long process. It can't be longer than recreating all the files from scratch. If anyone knows the link he's talking about, let me know.