Windows 10: How to open an encrypted file that was made before system restore

I encrypted my txt document and lost some important data. Is there any way that I can open the file after the computer that I had it on has been system restored? I have saved the file to an extended storage, so the file is safe, however it is encrypted now with data from my previous installation of windows

:)

 

How to open recovered encrypted files

Hi Navid,

Thank you for posting in Community.

We understand your concern and we will provide the assistance required to help you resolve the issue.

You can lose access to encrypted files if you install a new operating system or upgrade your current one, or if your current operating system fails. The following steps can help you regain access to encrypted files.

As you have stated that, the recovered files belonged to the previous OS I would suggest that you transfer the encrypted files to an external drive and perform the steps mentioned below:

• Insert the USB that your certificate and key are saved on.
• Open Certificate Manager open Run Command and type
  certmgr.msc in the dialog box, and then press Enter.‌
  

Note: If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

In the left pane, click Personal.

• Click the Action menu, point to All Tasks, and then click
  Import. This opens the Certificate Import wizard
  and then click Next.
• Click Browse and navigate to the file's location, click
  Open, and then click Next.
• If you have navigated to the right location but don't see the certificate you are importing, then, in the list next to the
  File name box, click Personal Information Exchange.
• Type the password, select the Mark this key as exportable check box, and then click
  Next.
• Click Place all certificates in the following store, confirm that the
  Personal store is indicated, click Next, and then click
  Finish.
• After you import the certificate, you should have access to the encrypted files.

Hope this information helps.

 

encrypted files

Hi Iman,

Error message 0x80071771 means that you need to restore the file encryption key in order for you to decrypt the encrypted files. On the other hand, you can still try these steps and see if it will work:

• Right-click the file or folder that you want to decrypt.
• Click File ownership and click Personal.

Feel free to contact us if you need assistance with Windows.

 

Windows XP file encryption

LOL thanks, I think its standard windows XP file encryption