EFS Data Recovery for Windows 10 & 7 - Restore files from damaged EFS partitions

Theo Lucia

Jun 29, 2023 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions

You can create multiple partitions of a physical hard disk, which lets you store data efficiently. Each partition of the disk holds different sets of data and system files that are important for system boot. Typically, a partition table has a primary partition and an extended partition. You can have a disk of high-quality make, but there are still chances that its partitions can get damaged. If this happens, you will encounter data loss that can be very harmful.

If you are a Windows 10 and 7 user, then this article is for you. We will show you how to restore files from damaged partitions.

What is Encrypting File System (Efs)

Encrypting File System (EFS) provides the core file encryption technology to protect critical and sensitive files on NTFS file system volumes with a certificate or key. Adopting EFS means that unauthorized users need to ask permission when accessing files and folders. Otherwise, Microsoft Windows will deny access to the locked data. If you move the EFS-encrypted hard drive to another computer, you can not access files on the device encrypted with EFS, either.

Reasons behind Damaged Partition

The most common reasons why partitions could be damaged are as follows:

Computer virus

The most common cause of partition damage is computer viruses. The severity of damage is based on the type of virus your computer is under-attacked. Your computer might have a type of virus that won’t let you recover files. Your only true defense against computer viruses is to have an antivirus installed on your computer. Also, make sure that’s regularly updated.

Improper operation

If you are a new computer user with no knowledge of the hard disk and its partitions, it’s easier to use it improperly. Improper operation is one of the causes that partitions get corrupted and eventually damaged to the point that it becomes irreversible.

Defective software

Defective software installed in your computer is another reason why partitions get damaged.

Power failure or instant shutdown

One of the common reasons why partitions get damaged or corrupted is the disconnection between the computer and the source of power. The instant or improper shutdown can also lead to partition damage. Make sure that you shut down your computer after usage.

How to Repair Damaged Partition and Recover Partition Data Using Wondershare Recoverit

If your computer’s hard drive has partitions that you’re no longer able to access, chances are they are corrupted or damaged. In this case, you can try to recover your data first. Here, we are going to provide solutions to recover data from damaged partitions.

One of the best ways to recover data from damaged partitions is Wondershare Recoverit. It’s an effective partition recovery software for both Macs and computers.

First off, you need to repair the damaged partitions. When done, you can start lost file recovery. With Recoverit Data Recovery, you will be able to restore most of the data stored in the repaired partition.

Here is a step-by-step guide to help you recover damaged or formatted partition files:

Wondershare Recoverit Data Recovery

The partition data recovery program can easily recover lost data files from damaged or corrupted hard drive partitions. Undeleted files from partitions due to any data loss scenarios.

You need to download Wondershare Recoverit Data Recovery on your computer. Using this software, you can easily and effectively perform partition recovery, deleted file recovery, and RAW hard drive recovery.

Follow the next simple steps so you can recover data from the damaged partitions of your hard disk.

Step 1. Select the location

Select the damaged partition where you lost your files. If you cannot find the partition, you can click "try again" to select a partition.

Step 2. Scan the damaged partition

Recoverit Data Recovery software will start scanning the damaged partition to search data files. It will take some time to finish scanning.

Step 3. Preview files before recovering

Once done with scanning, you can see each file in the preview to decide whether to recover it or not. Out of all the files, select the ones that you want to recover.

When you recover the files, make sure that you store them in safe storage media. Recoverit Data Recovery is an easy-to-use and effective application to access a damaged partition and restore your data back. You can download it and follow the steps as explained to recover your data from damaged partitions.

Part 2. How to Repair a Damaged Partition

If you have a damaged partition and you want to repair it, the process is not difficult. By knowing the exact steps, you can repair a damaged partition very easily. To repair a damaged partition on a Windows computer, you can use Windows CMD. All you need to do is to follow the below steps and you can successfully repair a damaged partition.

• On the start menu, type in cmd in a search bar.
• Right-click on cmd.exe and select Run as administrator.
• Type in chkdsk *: /f /r /x(the* is your drive letter which you need to repair.)

Ideally, you’d want to prevent damage to your hard disk partitions. Fortunately, there are a few practices you can adopt to avoid getting in trouble. We are going to provide some prevention tips and tricks in the next sections. These are very easy-to-follow tips that can help you protect your data and prevent your partition from damage.

Tips & tricks to prevent your partition from damages

If you perform the following practices, you can avoid the need to perform partition repair:

• Whenever you connect an external device to your computer, always scan them to prevent infecting your computer with viruses.
• Make sure to avoid performing invalid operations on your disks.
• Do not install pirated software.
• Make sure to avoid performing sudden computer shutdown or power off. These actions may cause damage to the disk.

Tips & tricks to protect your important data in a partition

It’s never a good idea to keep all your data in one place just like storing all your eggs in a basket is never a good idea.

Following are some of the ways to protect data stored in partitions:

• When you have important data stored in your partitions, make sure that you have a backup of your data stored someplace safe. Two of the common ways are to duplicate the files and store them in a different partition or store them in cloud storage.
• Another common way is to keep a recovery partition to help you recover everything in the damaged partitions. In fact, this practice makes partition repair a smooth and easy process.

How to Open EFS Encrypted File

EFS is one of the multiple ways to encrypt individual files and folders in Windows. Here, we focus on discussing the possibilities of unlocking EFS-encrypted files only. Visitors who are looking for solutions to decrypt BitLocker files or recover encrypted files by ransomware should go to the linked pages.

Usually, there are two groups of people requesting EFS decryption. One is with the password, while the other is without the password due to own mistakes or key corruption.

More Related: How to Recover Data from Bitlocker Encrypted Drive?

Use the password

The EFS encrypted files have a lock displayed on the icon. To unlock these files, all you need to do is to log into your computer using the password.

Without Using the password

Forgetting the password is the case, or sometimes it's because the encryption keys are corrupted by a hard drive error. This time uses the File Properties to decrypt EFS files.

1. Press Windows + E to open file explorer. Right-click on the file and select Properties.
2. Switch to the Security tab, and click Advanced.
3. Clear the Encrypt Contents to Secure Data check box.

Conclusion

If you have a computer and one or more of your hard disk partitions are damaged, you can use the above ways to recover your files and repair the partition. Remember that data is an important asset and you should ensure its protection. We have explained some ways you can use to prevent partitions from being damaged.

We hope that this guide will prove helpful to you in recovering files from a damaged partition.

FAQS

1. Can you recover encrypted files?

Yes, you can recover encrypted files.

2. What is an EFS recovery agent?

Recovery agents are users who can recover encrypted files for a domain.