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What error message does she get?<br />
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If possible, tell her to wait for the call from the IT dept. They will know what to do.
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If it was encrypted, you would not even see the files. You said that files were visible. Thus, the stick was never encrypted.<br />
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Why not format the stick and restore the files from backup?
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My understanding from her is that its a 4TB USB drive that she has all her stuff with no other copies anywhere. <br />
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The file structure is still visible, but the files do not open. Let me check to see if she is getting an error message.
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msidnam

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Good Question. Let me ask. I have a feeling she plugged it in, saw that it was doing something and then unplugged it.
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McKnife,<br />
You were right. it wasn't bitlocker. It was symantic encryption. The information I was missing is that she started a new job and when she plugged in her drive to the new companies laptop she couldn't access the files. This is because her old companies laptop used symantec and since she wasnt plugged in to the laptop that did the encryption it would show the files but not let her open.<br />
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so now she is trying to get in touch with her old I.T. people to see what to do.<br />
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Thanks everyone.
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<div class="content wysiwyg-content">
A friends company laptop has Bitlocker and they had it set to automatically encrypt any external drive plugged in. She plugged in her personal drive, it got encrypted and now none of the files can be opened. the file structure is still there but just cannot open. Contacted their tech support and they unencrypted it but still cannot open any files.<br />
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Has anyone come across this before or know how to fix? It's Windows 10 Pro. She tried asking her I.T. people how to fix after they unencrypted but they are not returning her calls.
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A friends company laptop has Bitlocker and they had it set to automatically encrypt any external drive plugged in. She plugged in her personal drive, it got encrypted and now none of the files can be opened. the file structure is still there but just cannot open. Contacted their tech support and they unencrypted it but still cannot open any files.

Has anyone come across this before or know how to fix? It's Windows 10 Pro. She tried asking her I.T. people how to fix after they unencrypted but they are not returning her calls.

bitlocker encrypted usb drive, I.T. decrypted it but can't open files

Encryption is the process of encoding messages or information in such a way that only authorized parties can read it. In an encryption scheme, the intended communication information or message, referred to as plaintext, is encrypted using an encryption algorithm, generating ciphertext that can only be read if decrypted. For technical reasons, an encryption scheme usually uses a pseudo-random encryption key generated by an algorithm. An authorized recipient can easily decrypt the message with the key provided by the originator to recipients, but not to unauthorized interceptors.

Encryption

Windows 10 is a personal computer operating system featuring the "universal application architecture" (UAP); apps can be designed to run across multiple devices with nearly identical code, including PCs, tablets, smartphones, embedded systems, Xbox One, Surface Hub and HoloLens. Windows 10 also includes a virtual desktop system, a window and desktop management feature called Task View, the Microsoft Edge web browser, support for fingerprint and face recognition login, voice-based search (Cortana), new security features for enterprise environments, and DirectX 12 and WDDM 2.0 to improve the operating system's graphics capabilities for games.

Windows 10

This topic area includes legacy versions of Windows prior to Windows 2000: Windows 3/3.1, Windows 95 and Windows 98, plus any other Windows-related versions including Windows Mobile.