No, unfortunately when you loose the encrypting certificate you loose the ability to decrypt the data. It is like loosing the key to the door, only the difference here is that there is no locksmith to come in and decrypt the data for you.Blogging about Windows for IT pros at www.theexperienceblog.com

I have all my personal data backed-up in an external hard drive. I did Windows Encryption for many folders in this hard drive. I do not have back-up of the certificate used for encryption. Unfortunately, I lost my laptop that I used for this encryption. Is there any way I can retrieve the files? I currently have a Windows 7 Dell laptop. The laptop used for this encryption had Windows XP Media Center.

No, unfortunately when you loose the encrypting certificate you loose the ability to decrypt the data. It is like loosing the key to the door, only the difference here is that there is no locksmith to come in and decrypt the data for you.Blogging about Windows for IT pros at www.theexperienceblog.com