How to recover EFS-encrypted data when it gets lost
The Encrypting File System (EFS) was first introduced in Windows 2000 and, as Microsoft claims, is an excellent encryption system with no back door. However, the most secure encryption can be ambiguous. It would efficiently prevent hackers and other illegal intruders from breaking into your system and getting access to your well-encrypted data. The other side of the coin is that both a regular user and a seasoned administrator can lose important data due to unforeseen circumstances. It is also the case with EFS.
Neil Strom from Oklahoma, US, encountered the loss of EFS-encrypted data. “My original situation was that I had some problems with Windows consistently crashing all of the sudden. So, I tried several things to fix it, and none of them seemed to work. I decided that I should probably reformat the entire computer and then reinstall Windows, “explains Neil. Before reinstalling the system he went through the process of trying to backup files, including documents, pictures, schoolwork files (such as PDFs, programming files, etc.), resumes, Microsoft Outlook email and calendar backups (.pst files), etc., and put them on an external hard drive.
