I have an encrypted folder on my C drive in windows 7. I do not have the key / password. I transferred it from my old XP by mistake. Is there a way to delete this folder without a format? I do not need this folder or want it left on my computer. I have tried to delete this folder from explorer but only receive error messages. Is there a way to delete this folder or a program that will do it? Thanks -- RHC

Hi Ricky,What is the error message? Access Denied?Because you allow to delete the encrypted folder and file without the keyunder EFS system.

The folder transferred over as Windows Old on my upgrade from XP Pro. 64. I was able to delete everything but an old folder inside that has encrypted files. I did not mean for these files to transfer but they did. They are some old SecuROM bull from an old game I used to have. I just want to get rid of them. The error message is "Item not Found" and will not let me delete this folder. I absolutely hate SecuROM. I do not know why these files transferred when I installed Windows 7. Thanks -- RHC

Hi Ricky,I have some ideasfor this case "Item not Found"1. Try to delete the folder in Safe Mode.2. Try to deltete the file delete the folder from the Command Prompt with administrator privileges. Find Command Prompt in your Start menu by typing 'Command'in the search box, then right-click it and select Run as Administrator. Switch to your folder location and type 'del filename.xyz' 3. Run CHKDSK /F to scan and fix your disk, and try again.

Hi Ricky, If only one folder cannot be deleted, I would like to suggest you try a third party tool, Unlocker. Note: The third-party product discussed here is manufactured by a company that is independent of Microsoft. We make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability. 1. Right click on installation file and click Run as administrator to install it. 2. After finishing the installation, right click on the file which you want to delete and click Unlocker to remove it. Whats the result? Arthur Li - MSFT

I just downloaded the program. I installed it but when I right click on the scrambled folder Unlocker does not come up. I tried running the program but it would not look at the folder. Every time I try to delete the folder or the 2 files I get an error message saying the files could not be found. The files names are encrypted and shown empty but i can not erase them or the folder they are in. I wish I could find a program that would erase the folder under Admin. control. It just irritates me that I can not get rid of something on my hard drive that I did not put there. Thanks for the info. -- RHC

Hi Ricky, I suggest you double check the above steps and check if you can see the following picture after installing Unlocker. If so, you may click Unlocker to remove the folder you want. Arthur Li - MSFT

You are correct. I have tried to install this program (Unlocker) 3 times. It shows up as running but NEVER on a right click. I even tried installing it with Admin. permissions. What am I doing wrong? Thank you for helping. RHC

Hi Rickey, This time, I would like to suggest you perform the following steps to check if we can delete it. Suggestion 1: Download and install 7-Zip. Launch 7-Zip and go to the location where that specific file is located. Try to rename it in 7-Zip Explorer and delete it again. Note: The third-party product discussed here is manufactured by a company that is independent of Microsoft. We make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability. Suggestion 2: Try the suggestion Robinson Zhang provided on the following thread. http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itproappcompat/thread/260ca00a-0392-4000-9cd0-c05e73120f56 Good luck!Arthur Li - MSFT

I have tried your method and the two listed on your link. Both fail with the same error as mentioned before. There are two files in this directory. One is 1301 kb and the other is 16 kb. I ran cmd.exe with admin. controll and used dir /a /x /p. The real file names are outlandish. When Windows 7 sees them they are a bunch of weird symbols. When dir /a /x /p lists them, they are 11 question marks, PI symbol, and then 9 question marks. No Dos 8.3 names listed. I can not rename, erase, or delete either of these two files and therefor can not get rid of the folders. Thanks for the info. Back in olden days of DOS & Windows 95, there were programs that would erase anything on a hard drive no matter what without having to format the hard drive. Do you know of any programs that will remove encrypted files or corrupt files from a hard drive? By the way, I have 7-Zip and it would do nothing but compress these files. No renaming or deletion. I thank you again. -- RHC

Hi Ricky, I am sorry to hear that it still cannot be deleted. I suggest you refer to the following link to export the EFS certificate from your old Windows XP and import it to Windows 7. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Certificates-frequently-asked-questions If the issue persists, I suggest you hide it as a workaround. In the future, you can format it when reinstalling the operating system. Good luck!Arthur Li - MSFT