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• Why Can't I Encrypt Files Windows 10
• Encrypt Data Grayed Out
• Why Can't I Encrypt Folder
• Encrypt Data To Secure Contents Greyed Out

If you share a computer with other people, like family members or with colleagues from work then keeping your personal information safe and secure is critical. To do so you can use Windows' in-built Encrypting File System (EFS) to encrypt your info. However, for some reason, Microsoft decided to make EFS unavailable for Windows Home Edition users, which means that you need to upgrade to Pro, Enterprise, or Education editions to use this tool. You will not be able to use the Encrypting File System on Windows 10 Home Edition.

Why Can't I Encrypt Files Windows 10

Encrypt contents to secure data on my folder is grayed out? I want to encrypt data on one of my folders on my PC. I am wondering how to enable encryption on my system. In the right pane, double-click on the “Do not allow encryption on all NTFS volumes” policy to edit it. Select Enabled and click OK. Reboot your computer for the policy to take effect. The option “encrypt contents to secure data” should be greyed out and you’re unable to encrypt or decrypt folders/files with EFS.

Normally, to encrypt any data in Windows 10 you have to right-click on the desired file or folder and then select Properties from the context menu. Click on the Advanced button under General tab located within the Properties window, then in the Advanced Attributes window put a checkmark next to 'Encrypt contents to secure data'. Press OK to save changes and your files or folders will be securely encrypted. However, what can you do if the 'Encrypt contents to secure data' option is grayed out or disabled? You'll be stuck and left unable to encrypt your data. Luckily, there is a solution to this problem, so let's take a look at our options.

Encrypt Data Grayed Out

How to fix Encrypt contents to secure data bring grayed out using Registry

1. Press the Windows Key + R key combination then type 'Regedit' and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
2. Go to the following registry location: 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlFileSystem'
3. Choose 'FileSystem' then in right window pane select 'NtfsDisableEncryption DWORD.'
4. Normally, the value of the NtfsDisableEncryption DWORD is set to 1 but we need to change its value to 0. Then click OK to confirm and proceed.
5. Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer to save the changes.
6. After the system has restarted you can right-click on the file or folder which you want to encrypt and select Properties.
7. Under the General tab click on the Advanced button at the bottom.
8. Now in the Advanced Attributes window, put a checkmark next to 'Encrypt contents to secure data'.

That should fix the problem. However, if this method didn't work for you there is a second option that could resolve the issue.

How to fix Encrypt contents to secure data bring grayed out using CMD

1. Press the Windows Key + X key combination then select Command Prompt (Admin).
2. Enter the following command into cmd and hit Enter: 'fsutil behavior set disableencryption 0'
3. Restart your PC to save the changes.

After the system has been rebooted, the encryption option in the Advanced Attribute window should be available.

Not all editions of Windows OS support Encrypting File System(EFS). In the unsupported editions if you go to properties and advanced you see that the check button “Encrypt contents to secure data” option is not configurable and is greyed out. Below listed are the Windows editions which does not support native windows EFS feature.

• Windows XP Home
• Vista Home Basic
• Vista Home Premium
• Windows 7 Starter
• Windows 7 Home Basic
• Windows 7 Home Premium

Below is a snapshot on Windows XP Home edition.

Some Questions on File Encryption:

Why Can't I Encrypt Folder

I am running one of the EFS unsupported editions; Does it mean that I can’t encrypt files on my computer? Need for speed the run patch 1.3 pc download windows 10.

No, you still can encrypt files. You can use any of the third party encryption tools available in the internet. Go through the reviews and pick up the best one that suits your requirements.

My Windows supports EFS and encrypt conents to secure data is not disabled. But the details button next to it is greyed out. Why?

Encrypt Data To Secure Contents Greyed Out

The Details button gets activated only when the file is in encrypted state. You can check this yourself. This button shows which users have transparent access to read the file.