JSI Tip 4475. How to I restore my Encrypting File System (EFS) private key?

NOTE: See tip 4474 for how to backup the EFS private key.

NOTE: The text in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article is provided so that the site search can find this page. Please click the Knowledge Base link to insure that you are reading the most current information.

Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q242296 contains:

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SUMMARY

This article describes how to import an EFS recovery key that was previously exported to file on a disk using the procedure outlined in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

If you lose your Encrypting File System (EFS) private key (for example, your computer installation is destroyed), a designated EFS recovery agent must restore the files. The designated recovery agent uses his or her EFS recovery agent private key to decrypt the files so they can be recovered.

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Restore the Designated Recovery Agent's EFS Private Key on Another Windows 2000 Installation

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Troubleshooting

After you successfully import the certificate, you should be able to use the local Administrator account or the recovery agent account to decrypt the files on the computer that failed. To confirm this, open one of the encrypted files (it should be accessible). If you want to make the file accessible to a new user or the original user, you must decrypt the file by removing the advanced properties encryption attribute. The new user can then re-encrypt the files using the new private key.

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REFERENCES

For additional information, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

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