0X00001777: The File Isn't Encrypted — Here's the Fix

You're Stuck on Error 0X00001777

Yeah, I know — you try to open a file you're sure was encrypted, and Windows throws back that 0X00001777 nonsense. It's frustrating. But let me save you the rabbit hole of reinstalling EFS certificates or running SFC scans. The culprit here is almost always a broken or missing encryption attribute on the file or the folder it lives in.

The Real Fix: Reset the Encryption Flag

Here's the direct approach that works 90% of the time. Open an elevated Command Prompt (search cmd, right-click Run as Administrator). Then run this:

cipher /d /s:"C:\Path\To\The\Folder"

Replace the path with the actual folder containing the problem file. The /d flag decrypts the folder and everything inside it. The /s flag does it recursively — all subfolders and files get decrypted. This forces Windows to clear the broken encryption metadata.

Wait — what if you need the file to stay encrypted? Then do this instead:

cipher /e /s:"C:\Path\To\The\Folder"

This re-encrypts the folder fresh. It rebuilds the encryption key mapping from scratch. After that, the file should open without the error.

Why This Happens (and Why the Fix Works)

Windows uses EFS (Encrypting File System) to mark files as encrypted. That mark lives in the file's NTFS attribute, not in the file content itself. When that attribute gets corrupted — from a botched backup restore, a system crash mid-write, or even a bad copy from a network share — Windows can't find the encryption metadata. So it throws 0X00001777.

The cipher command strips that broken attribute clean off. Then it either removes encryption entirely or lays down a fresh, valid attribute. No more broken metadata, no more error.

Less Common Variations

Sometimes the file itself is fine, but its parent folder is the problem. If the folder's encryption attribute is borked, Windows can't resolve the file's encryption status. In that case:

1. Move the file to a different drive (like a USB stick) using move in command prompt. That strips NTFS attributes.
2. Move it back. Now it's unencrypted, and you can apply encryption fresh.

Another scenario: third-party encryption tools (like VeraCrypt, BitLocker, or old EFS-USB utilities) sometimes leave their own metadata that conflicts with Windows EFS. If you've used such tools, check if the file is actually encrypted by that tool — not Windows. In that case, decrypt it from the tool's interface, then re-encrypt with Windows EFS if needed.

Also, if you're on a domain-joined machine and recently changed your password, the EFS recovery agent might not have updated. Try logging off, logging back in with your new password, then running cipher again.

Prevention: Don't Let This Happen Again

Three things cut this error off at the knees:

• Back up your EFS certificate. Go to Certificates mmc (certmgr.msc), export your personal certificates with private keys. Save that .pfx somewhere safe. Without it, a corrupted file is unrecoverable.
• Don't copy encrypted files to FAT32 or exFAT drives. Those filesystems don't support EFS attributes. The copy process often corrupts the metadata, and you'll see this error when copying back to NTFS.
• Use BitLocker instead of EFS for whole-drive encryption. EFS is per-file and brittle. BitLocker encrypts the entire volume, so you never deal with this attribute corruption nonsense. If you need per-file encryption, use a modern tool like VeraCrypt.

And one more thing: if you see this error on a file you got from someone else, it's likely they encrypted it with their own EFS key — not yours. You'll never open it without their certificate. Ask them to decrypt it first, then send it again.

"The cipher command is your best friend here. It's been in Windows since NT4, and it's never let me down for fixing broken EFS attributes."