Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Windows file encryption query

This is topic Windows file encryption query in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 07-19-2008, 06:53 AM:

My previous laptop was stolen, and for various reasons I need both XP (in this case Professional, x86) and Vista (Ultimate, x86) on the new one. I've also put Linux on it for added security when using the Internet away from home. So I've divided the computer's 160gb internal HDD into four partitions, all primary:

0 - Vista System (NTFS, active, 50gb)
1 - XP System (NTFS, 30gb)
2 - Ubuntu system (Ubunto 8.04, x64, Ext3, 10gb)
3 - Data (NTFS, 60gb)

'My Documents' is on 3, plus all the temporary file folders generated by the various installed applications. Given that I do have some sensitive data in there and given what happened to the last laptop, I would like to use the Windows file encryption facility to at least protect against amateurs should this one get nicked as well. However, I'm guessing that if I encrypt the 'My Documents' contents using Vista, XP won't be able to open any documents, and vice-versa. Is there any way of exporting the encryption key from one OS to the other, so that both versions of Windows can read the encrypted files?

BTW, I know all the horror stories about people encrypting files and then being locked out of them after an OS failure, virus etc. The 'My Documents' on my laptop is a straight copy of the same stuff on my main home PC, which is unencrypted and which I copy across to the laptop through an ethernet cable every couple of weeks or so. So in the event of anything happening to lock me out of the encrypted stuff on the laptop, I'd always be able to replace it with the files from the desktop files (which are also backed up onto a portable HDD weekly which sits in my office drawer at work for the rest of the time).