Windows 10: Restore from backup of encrypted personal files: can they just be opened like before with...

This is about security: I use an external drive for backups. I don't want to encrypt the whole external drive, just like I don't encrypt all my personal files on my computer, but only some folders. My question is: If I need to do a system restore one day, which will also restore my personal files: Will the encrypted folders/files still be as before and I simply open them with the password I encrypted them with? Right now, I'm using Aomei as backup and 7-zip for password protection of some folders. Thank you.

:)

 

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.

 

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 stopping backup to external drive

Hi T-Byrd,

You can easily view the encrypted files on your local hard disks by running a specific command in
Command Prompt.

1. Select the Start button.
2. Type Command Prompt and then hit Enter.
3. In the Command Prompt window, type the command below and then press
   Enter.
   • cipher /u /n /h
4. This cipher command will search your local disks for all encrypted files that belong to the current user and will list down its location.

If you're still having trouble with backing up your personal data, you can refer to
Andre Da Costa's forum article.
The article he created outlines the steps on how to manually backup and restore files in Windows 10.

Let us know if you need further assistance.