Re: Installation & Encryption Nightmare
From: Bruce Chambers (bchambers@nospam.cableone.net)
Date: 02/08/03
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From: "Bruce Chambers" <bchambers@nospam.cableone.net> Date: Sat, 8 Feb 2003 10:42:19 -0700
Greetings --
If the user's encryption certificates and keys were not backed up
before the reinstallation, and the workstation isn't part of a domain,
those file are gone. Encryption works well and there is no "back
door." (Wouldn't be much point to EFS if it were vulnerable.)
Bruce Chambers
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
---- You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once. -- RAH "Mark & Dominique" <wastingmy@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:006f01c2cf97$670271e0$d4f82ecf@TK2MSFTNGXA11... > First, I apologize for anything extraneous or irrelevant, > but I > > don't know the different between irrelevant details and > crucial > > ones, so I'm just telling it all, and apologizing in > advance. > > STARTED WITH: XP PRO installation (in Dec 2001) from the > MSDN > > installed on a year-old AMD Athlon 1800. > > FAILED SP1: It didn't like the Security Key and refused to > allow > > SP1 to install, so we went out and bought a new copy of XP > PRO > > OEM. > > SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME: Last summer. we > encrypted > > the "Documents and Settings" folder as a safeguard in case > the > > computer was ever stolen. There were two user accounts: > Mark and > > Dominique. The files were encrypted from the Mark account, > > although both accounts are administrators. > > THE STUPIDITY: We didn't make security key certificate -- > never > > dreamed anything could happen to make the accounts just > > "disappear". > > WHAT WENT WRONG: An "upgrade" to a new version of XP Pro > OEM SP1 > > was attempted in the C:\WINDOWS directory and became > botched > > after the blue installation screen claimed it couldn't > copy > > several dozen files from the CD. > > Quitting the installation several times and trying it on a > > second PC worked fine, so it wasn't the CD. There seemed > no > > option but to skip the files it couldn't read and continue. > > AND NOW: When trying to boot normally, we get an error > that says > > something about the Product Key cannot be verified. We are > only > > able to boot into C:\WINDOWS Safe Mode, and only able to > login > > as the Admin using the old password (so this must still be > the > > original Admin acct). The two accounts (Mark and > Dominique) are > > now "missing" from the XP login screen -- but if we could > get > > those accounts "back" and log into them, then the files > could be > > unencryped, a security key certificate generated, or the > folder > > itself unencrypted. > > POSSIBLITY:Prior to doing anything on C:\WINDOWS, we > exported > > the entire registry to a file called registry.reg (79MB). > We > > still have that. Could the Mark and Dom accounts be in > there > > somewhere and importable? > > THINGS WE TRIED: > > 1) From C:\WINDOWS Safe Mode, importing the registry.reg > file > > didn't work and prevented even Safe Mode from working. > Copying > > files (like "security" and "software") from > C:\WINDOWS\REPAIR to > > C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG allowed access to Safe Mode > again. > > 2) Looked for a "Restore Point" when in Safe Mode but > there > > didn't seem to be any. > > 3) Tried "Last Known Good Configuaration". > > 4) NTFSDOS from Winternals said the files weren't there > when > > trying to see them from a command prompt under NTFS DOS. > > 5) As Administrator, tried to create a recovery agent or > export a security key certificate. While it did create > one, it didn't seem to work when logged onto D:\WINDOWS > (do you have to be logged into a regular acct. on the > C:\WINDOWS directory for this to work?) > > WHAT WE WANT: > A) To recover the user account (Mark) and unencrypt the > files. > > OR > > B) As Administrator of C:\WINDOWS, to create a usable > recovery agent or export a security key certificate, and > to know how/who to login as to get it to work (i.e., does > it not work in Safe Mode? or not as Admin?) > > OR > > C) To get at the files any way possible and get them out > of that > > encrypted folder. > > Thanks for any ideas you may have. > > Mark & Dominique, Idiots At Large (who know just enough to > be truly dangerous)
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