ok here is my problem - I had windows 7 release candidate installed on this system to try it out thinking I would afford the real deal but have not yet - I encrypted 4 folders while in windows 7RC and stored them onto an external hard drive - I forgot about decrypting them before restoring back to windows xp pro - I now cannot open those fileswhat I want to know is there a work-around to get rid of this issue? - if there is more relevant information needed, please ask and I will answer to the best of my abilitythanks

Hi,one thing you have to remember about encrypting and decrypting files in Windows is that you always need your encryption certificates/keys. When you turn on Encrypting File System in Windows, encryption keys are automatically created and associated with your user account. If you reformat a computer or move the files to another computer, you first have to export the encryption keys in order to regain access to the encrypted data. If you do not have these encryption keys say you did not backup the certificates for the User that originally create the encrypted files, you will not be able to decrypt the data. Sadly, there is no way around it, the encryption is very strong and cannot be broken.Did you backup your user profile?

thought I did but alas I did not. I did already destroy those files which took me the greater part of the last 3 years to amass. - That will teach me a lesson on encryption, LOL.Thanks anyway.