I recently switched my OS from Ultimate 32bit, to Professional 64bit. On my extra hard drive (where all my documents are stored), I had a folder that I originally chose to "encrypt contents to secure data" under the 'advanced attributes' section of the folder properties. Now that I've switched OS, I can access that folder and see the files that are in it, but I cannot open them. I've tried replacing ownership, and setting new permissions, which it lets me do just fine. But I still get an 'access is denied' error every time I try to open them. When I go to 'advanced attributes', the box is still checked next to 'encrypt contents to secure data', and if I uncheck it, and hit apply, i get the 'access is denied'. So how can I remove the encryption, so that I can access my files?? Please help!! Kevin

Hi Kevin, It seemed you used the Encrypting File System (EFS) feature. I am sorry to let you know if you don't export your certificate, after reinstalling system, your account profile is not the original one, you need the certificate to open the files. Best Regards, NikiPlease remember to click "Mark as Answer" on the post that helps you, and to click "Unmark as Answer" if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.