Cannot access encrypted files xp pro ... simply turned it on - cannot turn it of

[DRB Trading]

since the messy install of the version 3 update ... when my xp pro (hp workstation) mysteriously started using an extra 200+ mb of RAM ... making it marginally useful for running my financial apps (which take a lot). Now i cannot get to any file type within an encrypted folder, cannot decrypt the folder - with no explanation of why or how ... about time toss the HP Workistation in the garbage and start over

tough to pick a category

- security ... yes it is a problem
- general ... yes, the pc is almost unusable

Defender - useless (takes too much overhead to run - only 2 - duel 5130 Xeon Processors) - doesn't find anything wrong what-so-ever

Norton 2011 Security Suite - guaranteed to find a bad cookie here and there but that's about it

This all started with Service Pack 3 ...

 

[Cyberat_88]

There's nothing wrong with SP3, Defender and Norton however....
Download Avast! or AVG, somewhat good for FREE and less resource munching.
I prefer Avast! because it did not go bloated like AVG 10. Download Malwarebytes for anti-spyware/rootkit. Remove all traces of Symantec from registry, disable Defender from Services. You can get either ZoneAlarm or Sygate for a software firewall if you feel needing it. I prefer hardware as in make sure your Net. Router has Firewall. Dual Xeons is pretty fast, however HP recovery discs are horrible. Do a clean install from an OEM XP Pro, before drivers upgrade to SP3. Install only HP drivers and not the bells and whistles they bundle with the PC. None of the Dumb controller bars.
If you're logged in as the original user that encrypted the files, you should be able to remove that feature and make it accessible. Go to control panel, users, change account type, see if it allows turning off privacy for your docs, right click folder, properties, go to security, see if your username is there and allowed full control. Turn off system restore for the drive you work on to save proc. time and HD space. Turn off Indexing service to access HD faster. Optional, install XP on another drive and use your work drive as secondary, so you can retrieve the files and copy them outside encrypted folder.