Windows 10: The specified file could not be decrypted

Hi, I downgraded by OS from Win 11 to Win 10 Pro and now i am getting an error , " An unexpected error is keeping you from applying properties to the file. Error 0x80071771 - The specified file could not be decrypted". so based on the suggestions already given, i try to take ownership and now i get an error " An error occurred applying attributes to the file: <File path and name>. The specified file could not be decrypted." Only few .xlsx and .docx files are giving this error. Please help with the steps to resolve this.

:)

 

Corrupted Win10 Profile, and Can't Decrypt Files

Hey there, Andre:

Thank you very much for your quick response. I finally got a chance to try troubleshooting per your suggestions. Here's what I came up with.

I apologize if I wasn't clearer in my issue originally. The files themselves were never actually ON the same drive as the OS. THE OS was on drive C. My files were on drive F. However, I had somehow encrypted those files with my profile... and now that
profile is corrupted.

I tried the suggestions on that you linked, and these are my results:

• Option 1: Change File Ownership to "Personal" in the context menu results in following error:
  
  • An unexpected error is keeping you from applying properties to the file. IF you continue to receive this error, you can use the error code to search for help with this problem.
  • Error 0x80071771: The specified file could not be decrypted.

• Options 2 and 3: Decrypt Folder or File, (respectively), in Advanced Attributes:
  • Trying to remove encryption by deselecting the "Encrypt contents to secure data" checkbox in the Advanced Attributes window yields the following error:
    • An error occurred applying attributes to the file: F:\EXAMPLEFOLDER\EXAMPLEFILENAME: The specified file could not be decrypted.
• Options 4 and 5: Decrypting Folders and Files in Command Prompt, respectively:
  • When running cmd prompt in Admin mode, and executing the cipher /d and cipher /d/s: commands, the following error is thrown:
  • F:\EXAMPLEFOLDER\EXAMPLEFILENAME\: the system cannot find the path specified.0 file(s) [or directorie(s) were decrypted.
  • This is problematic, because I can click on the folders and files themselves from the windows GUI.
    

I still have the corrupted profile on my computer... is there a way to reach into it to extract the cipher?

Thank you so much for your help! (Didn't expect to take a crash-course in Windows security, but there we are, LOL).

Best,

Chris

 

File system decryption - cannot decrypt file

m:\Dat1\>cipher /d m:\Dat1\my.txt

Decrypting files in m:\Dat1\

my.txt [ERR]
my.txt: The specified file could not be decrypted.

0 file(s) [or directorie(s)] within 1 directorie(s) were decrypted.

m:\Dat1>cipher /c my.txt

Listing m:\Dat1\
New files added to this directory will not be encrypted.

E my.txt
Compatibility Level:
Windows XP/Server 2003
Users who can decrypt:
Certificate thumbprint: 5E65 6397 2032 D218 4C7C 054D C54D 9740 60D2 3268
No recovery certificate found.
Key information cannot be retrieved.
The specified file could not be decrypted.

The main questions:

1) IF I have in my Windows account imported certificate (Personal, pfx) having exactly SAME thumbprint - should Windows decrypt file?

2) If Windows has several EFS certificates installed - does it select certificate to decrypt file automatically?

 

Error: Error: 0x80071771, The Specified File Could Not Be Decrypted when accessing an Encrypted file

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



I understand that you are unable to access the files that you have encrypted and you receive an error while decrypting the files.



I suggest you to refer the suggestions provided by Shafeeq_Khan in the thread

Error: 0x80071771, The Specified File Could Not Be Decrypted replied on April 14, 2019 and see if that helps in resolving the issue.



Please reply with the status of the issue, we will be glad to help you further.



Regards,

Nikhar Khare

Microsoft Community - Moderator