McAfee Drive Encryption status stuck on Deactivation in progress

When attempting to decrypt a sytem protected by McAfee Drive Encryption you may see that the system status shows “Deactivation in Progress” but the volume state shows as “Decrypted” this makes it difficult to re-encrypt the system or to remove the drive encryption software from the machine.  The following steps may help in recovering from this issue.

    • Log into ePO and assign the default policy to enable Drive Encryption (My default) to the machine you are working on (Modify policy on single system — Edit assignment).
    • Start the machine in safe mode and disable the McAfee Drive Encryption Agent Service (services.msc).
    • Reboot the machine and login to Windows – There is a delay or around 3 minutes between accepting the disclaimer and being able to enter your password.
    • Once logged in, open McAfee Drive Encryption Status Window and the McAfee Agent Status Monitor.
    • Open Regedit and naviagte to:
      • 64-bit (Win x64) supported systems: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\McAfee EndPoint Encryption\MfeEpePC\Status.
      • 32-bit (Win x86 ) supported systems: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\McAfee Endpoint Encryption\MfeEpe\Status.
    • Look for the CryptState value. This String Value should reflect as Volume=C:,State=Decrypted. The same applies if additional drive letters were encrypted.
    • Look for the Activated Value, if this is set to Yes, please edit it and set as No. If this is already set as No then do not change the value and proceed below.
    • Save and close regedit.
    • Open Services and re-enable the McAfee Drive Encryption Agent service.
    • Collect and send props in the McAfee Agent Status Monitor window to get a valid status (where it states Deactivation in progress) in the Drive Encryption status Window – this may take time as the hard drive is being accessed constantly.
    • Monitor the policy enforcement in the drive encryption status window – encryption should restart, this may take a long time to start encrypting so get on with your day, the status should show “Policy Enforcement Has Started” whilst you wait, and once encryption starts the status changes to Active and Policy Enforcement Complete.

2 comments

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