Feb 13, 2019 EFS is available for all editions of Windows 10 except Windows 10 Home edition. The EFS option is very easy to get access to by just going to Properties of a particular folder and check a check-box that says “Encrypt Contents To Secure Data” in the Advanced tab. Sometimes, this option is grayed out and you cannot encrypt data in this scenario. To remove encryption from a file or folder, follow the first three steps in the encryption process above and deselect the box: Encrypt contents to secure data. How to Encrypt an Office Document. Want to encrypt a Microsoft Office document? It’s easy to do. We’ll use Microsoft Word 2019 to encrypt a document here, but the steps will be.
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Encrypt Contents To Secure Data Greyed Out Overview
For some people, you would often need to encrypt some folders to make it safe and private for yourself. But the case is that you can’t encrypt a folder on Windows 10 as encrypt contents to secure data is unavailable for you, as it is not enabled.
When you want to activate Windows encryption option, your access to encrypt contents to secure data is denied. You cannot tick the box to make it encrypt a folder, it has just greyed out without any sign.
Many of you become confused why Windows 10 won’t let me encrypt a folder. In fact, the reason is understandable. You have problematic encryption options on Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 10 Home, etc.
Hence, before you get ready to fix greyed out encrypt contents to secure data, you may as well learn to know more how to correctly encrypt a folder.
How to Encrypt a Folder on Windows 10?
![Encrypt Data To Secure Contents Greyed Out Encrypt Data To Secure Contents Greyed Out](/uploads/1/3/4/1/134185073/934962134.png)
It is likely that it is not Windows 10 can’t encrypt a folder due to encrypt contents to secure data greyed out but you have no idea how to enable the Windows 10 encryption or the option Windows 7.
To let Windows 10 encrypt a folder or file, obey the following steps.
1. Right click the folder you want to encrypt to open its properties. Here take the folder Windows 10 Skill as an instance.
2. In Properties window, under the General tab, click Advanced.
3. In Advanced Attributes, tick the box of Encrypt contents to secure data and hit OK to take effects.
Then the folder will be encrypted and no one else can see it unless you permit.
That is how you can encrypt data on Windows 10.
Now when you find encrypt contents to secure data unavailable for you, move on to solve this encrypt folder failed error.
How to Fix Encrypt Contents To Secure Data Greyed Out Windows 10?
If you are unable to encrypt a folder on Windows 8 or 10 as the presence of encrypting contents to secure data access denied, it is necessary to fix this not enabled encryption option in the local registry editor.
Steps to Solve Windows 10 Greyed out Encrypt Contents To Secure Data:
1. Type regedit in the search box and right click it to Run as administrator.
2. In Group Policy, go as the path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlFileSystem
3. Under FileSystem, on the right pane, find out NtfsDisableEncryption and right click it to Modify its Value data.
4. Change NtfsDisableEncryption Value data from1 to 0. And then hit OK to save changes.
The moment you close registry editor, you can try to check the box of Encrypt contents to secure data to see if it is still grayed out on Windows 10 or 7.
Now you can have an answer why Windows 10 won’t let you encrypt a folder, how to properly encrypt a folder, and also how to solve cannot encrypt with the unavailable Windows 10 encryption option Windows 10.
Related Articles:
Security is a sensitive issue, and a lot of users feel the need to encrypt their files and data. However, even though there is a pretty easy method to do it in Windows 10, in the option where you can Encrypt Contents to Secure Data, users face a common problem.
If you are facing this issue, then you are probably familiar with Windows 10’s EFS or Encrypted File System. This issue is very common with Windows 10 users and is easy to fix. If the Encrypt Contents to Secure Data is greyed out in the advanced section of properties, and you are confused about what to do, you have come to the right place.
In this article, we will give some information but the issue, and give an easy method to fix “Encrypt Contents to Secure Data Greyed out” issue so that you can easily Encrypt your files.
Contents
- 2 How to Fix “Encrypt Contents to Secure Data” Option Greyed Out
How to Enable Grayed out ‘Encrypt Contents to Secure Data’ Button
Microsoft provides Encrypted File System in all editions of Windows 10, except Home Edition. EFS is an extremely useful tool that helps you encrypt and secure your files in such a way that only your Windows account shall be able to access them. This helps secure your privacy.
EFS is very easy to use, all you have to is right click on the file/folder, select properties, click on Advanced and check the Encrypt Contents to Secure Data Option.
However, this option is grayed out for a lot of users, and they don’t know how to enable. In this article, we will be looking at popular fixes that have worked for the majority of users.
Note: EFS will not work and you won’t be able to encrypt the contents if the File System is not NTFS
How to Fix “Encrypt Contents to Secure Data” Option Greyed Out
There are many ways by which you can fix this problem.
1. Windows Registry
This is an extremely common reason for the Encrypt Contents to Secure Data being grayed out, that the registry values are incorrect. This can happen to any PC and is easily repairable. To fix the registry values:
- Press Windows Key + R
- In Run, type regedit to open the registry window
- In the Registry Editor Window, find the following path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetControlFileSystem
- Double Click the File System key and it will expand in the right-hand side
- Search for NtfsDisableEncryption key.
- Set its value to 0
2. Fix Encrypt Contents to Secure Data Problem using Command Line
EFS can also be enabled with the Command Line in Windows. It’s a simple command, and once you do that EFS will be enabled and Encrypt Contents to Secure Data will not be grayed out anymore. To do this, here are outlined the steps:
- Press the Windows key and in the search bar, type cmd.
- When command prompt comes, right click and run it as administrator.
- Now type the command:
fsutil behavior set disableencryption 0
- Press Enter. The command prompt will now prompt, and you will have to reboot the PC for the changes to take effect. So, close Command Prompt and Restart the PC.
Encrypt Contents To Secure Data Is Greyed Out
That’s it! The next time your PC reboots and opens, you can try again to encrypt the files by right-clicking, clicking on Properties -> Advanced, and you will observe that the Encrypt Contents to Secure Data won’t be grayed out anymore.
3. Services.msc Method
Microsoft Professionals recommend this method for the same issue, so it’s worth a try, although we haven’t noticed too positive remarks regarding this. Since Microsoft advises this method, we feel it is a valid solution. Here’s how to go through with it:
- Press Windows + R, then type services.msc.
- Double-click on Encrypting File System (EFS), under General, change the Startup type to Automatic.
- Click on Apply,
- Then click OK.
- Restart your PC.
Upon restarting, the issue should be resolved and Encrypt Contents to Secure Data will not be grayed out anymore when you try to encrypt the contents of the folder/file.
Final Take!
We hope that by reading this article, you were able to resolve your issue, and when you try to encrypt your contents in a folder, the Encrypt Contents to Secure Data will not be grayed out like before. Encryption can be extremely valuable, that is why it is important that if this feature is not working for you, you find a solution.
If you have any queries regarding the methods described above, you can drop us a comment down below and we will try our best to get back to you with a relevant answer.
That will be all for today’s article about Encrypt Contents to Secure Data Grayed Out.
Check out more articles on our website for such interesting and similar content, and keep reading.
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