How to disable the Encrypting File System (EFS) feature in Windows.
Windows 10, 8, 7, and Vista Command
- Hold down the Windows Key and press “R” to bring up the Run window.
- Type the following then press “Enter“.
fsutil behavior set disableencryption 1
EFS is disabled. If you ever wish to enable it again, use the command fsutil behavior set disableencryption 0
Windows 2000 and XP NTFS Volumes
- Hold down the Windows Key and press “R“.
- Type “regedit” and click “OK“.
- Navigate to the following registry location:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
- SYSTEM
- CurrentControlSet
- Control
- FileSystem
- Look for an entry on the right side for “NtfsDisableEncryption“. If it doesn’t exist, you will need to create it. To do so, right-click on “FileSystem” and select “New” > “DWORD Value“. Give the value a name of “NtfsDisableEncryption“. Press the “Enter” key when you are done.
- Right-click the “NtfsDisableEncryption” entry and click “Modify“.
- To “disable” EFS set the “Value data” to “1“. (To enable EFS again, set the Value data to 0 or delete NftsDisableEncrpytion)
- Restart the computer to apply changes.
- Now when trying to encrypt a folder, the following error will be produced:
An error occurred applying attributes to the file:
{file path and filename}
Access is denied.
Auspicious B says
“The Encrypt Contents to Secure Data block has remained grayed out.”
This is the same on my computer – can someone tell me how to enable my access to encrypt folders / files? I am not a programmer, but can enter simple commands if anyone can provide clear instructions. Thanks!
Brian says
Doesn’t work for me. Have changed NtfsDisableEncryption DWORD from 0 to 1 and back to 0. The Encrypt Contents to Secure Data block has remained grayed out. I’ve rebooted after changing it each time.