How do I fix this?

[Learin]

My colleague gave me a flash drive loaded with important office files. The folders are all messed up and refuse to open in some cases. My Antivirus says it's safe but I can't open any files without having a message in gibberish pop up on my screen. I've uploaded a screenshot, just in case you want to see what it looks like. Any help would be really appreciated.


Lee.

 

[Paul_Chance]

Either the drive or the files are encrypted (probably the files). You'll need to ask your coworker for the key (and the encryption software used).

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Either the drive or the files are encrypted (probably the files). You'll need to ask your coworker for the key (and the encryption software used).

Agree. He should have known better.

 

[jondoen]

Encryption is my first thought too. File encoding is the next.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Or, could the files been created on a different OS...Linux, Mac...aren't parts of the filing system the same...yet different?

 

[jondoen]

Or, could the files been created on a different OS...Linux, Mac...aren't parts of the filing system the same...yet different?

That would account for the miscommunication of the file encoding sort since they can see the device's storage meaning the partition type is correctly being read.

If the drive wasn't working I.e. empty or needs formatting then that would account for a partition type issue (HFS, EXT etc.)

 

[Learin]

If the files are encrypted, I'm damn sure that A-hole doesn't know the key. He just gave it to me, saying the files are all messed up.

Is there any way I can get around this thing without screwing myself?

 

[NightL]

Don't take responsibility for it and make it very clear that you will not take responsibility for any workflow issues.

If the files are important they will be backed up else where - if not, get another job in a workplace where such safeguards are in place. Think about it - if important files are not backed up, what else is screwed up in the organisation?

I have seen this sort of thing years ago - it was the result of a virus.

If you are determined to work on the issue - make a copy of that USB drive first. You really should just give it back and ask the person to see if it will open OK on the computer that the files were copied from.

try searching for
files folders renamed with random characters

 

[subwannabe]

Sounds to me like he wants you to take the fall for the fucked up files so that he's in the clear.

 

[Learin]

I made a backup on my laptop, formatted the flashdrive and returned it to my honourable colleague, saying that my laptop's Antivirus deleted everything.


The look on his face was totally worth it.

Anyway, I was just hoping to find a way around this encryption thingy without having to bang heads. Yes, my office cloud has a backup of the original files. I'll have to take it out tomorrow. Truly a waste of time figuring out something I can't possibly do.

Thank you for the help. Even if there was no solution for me. If any of you find an encryption breaking software, or something like it, please feel free to contact me. I'll be very grateful

 

[glynndah]

The dates are odd. Any chance there's a time traveler working in your office?






Sorry. I couldn't resist.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I made a backup on my laptop, formatted the flashdrive and returned it to my honourable colleague, saying that my laptop's Antivirus deleted everything.


The look on his face was totally worth it.

Anyway, I was just hoping to find a way around this encryption thingy without having to bang heads. Yes, my office cloud has a backup of the original files. I'll have to take it out tomorrow. Truly a waste of time figuring out something I can't possibly do.

Thank you for the help. Even if there was no solution for me. If any of you find an encryption breaking software, or something like it, please feel free to contact me. I'll be very grateful

Unless you have access to a supercomputer any encryption breaking software you get/buy/steal will take forever to break even the simplest encryption.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

The dates are odd. Any chance there's a time traveler working in your office?






Sorry. I couldn't resist.

Yeah, those have also been scrambled by something.

 

[Primalex]

This doesn't look like encryption.

Is your laptop "slightly" older? If you have large USB flash drives and an old bios or USB controller, your data is going to end up like that, because the controller messes up the offset calculations - which explains why the data is fine on your coworkers PC, but not your laptop.

 

[box13]

This doesn't look like encryption.

Is your laptop "slightly" older? If you have large USB flash drives and an old bios or USB controller, your data is going to end up like that, because the controller messes up the offset calculations - which explains why the data is fine on your coworkers PC, but not your laptop.

Like it can't calc a partition offset greater that 4GB or something? I was skeptical, but it seems the most likely cause.

So it may be the OP's fault, in this case.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Like it can't calc a partition offset greater that 4GB or something? I was skeptical, but it seems the most likely cause.

So it may be the OP's fault, in this case.

Why? Because she has an older laptop?

 

[Learin]

If a year old Dell with i5 processor and 8GB RAM sounds old, then old it is.

 

[box13]

If a year old Dell with i5 processor and 8GB RAM sounds old, then old it is.

Well then, I'm back to "I dunno". My speed-reader skills made it sound like it could be possible if you were trying to read a "large" USB drive in an "old" (like Windows XP) computer, or maybe a SDHC card in a defective reader.

Neither of these seem to apply here. More experimentation might help...trying the thumb drive in different computers and determine either a) which computers can't read the directory, or the files, or b) when does the contents of the drive become corrupted. Or maybe there's an option (c) too, like a virus or some unintentional encryption setting.

I only deal with a Linux box, a Windows 7 VM, and occasionally another Windows 7 machine, so I've never seen the issue. Which is very unhelpful.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Let's see, my Dell is six years old. I have upgraded the disks and the OS but I am always reading from and write to 128Gbyte flash drives without problem, so it's no the computer that is reading them.

Now the computer that wrote them...

Are you sure he's not using a Mac?

 

[Learin]

Let's see, my Dell is six years old. I have upgraded the disks and the OS but I am always reading from and write to 128Gbyte flash drives without problem, so it's no the computer that is reading them.

Now the computer that wrote them...

Are you sure he's not using a Mac?

That could be it. Our office used to have some very old Mac terminals not long ago. Maybe those files are remnant of those antiques.



Either way, kind gentlemen, I have a fresh copy from the office cloud. It works fine on my laptop now.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

That could be it. Our office used to have some very old Mac terminals not long ago. Maybe those files are remnant of those antiques.



Either way, kind gentlemen, I have a fresh copy from the office cloud. It works fine on my laptop now.

Glad to hear it. Good luck and have a great day.