PGP is unable to open your keyring files at the specified locations...

Products

• Symantec Products

Issue/Introduction

After rebooting your computer, you receive the following error:

You may also see either missing keys, only the public portion of a public-private keypair, or the key name displayed in italics.

Cause

This happens when your PGP keyring files are not available when PGP Tray attempts to start during the boot up of the system. This can occur due to various reasons such as the following:  

• The keyrings are located in a folder that is temporarily unavailable. By default the PGP keyrings are located in the Documents\PGP folder and the error can occur if your Documents folder has been redirected to a network share that is unavailable.  Typically, network locations will work if the PGP Desktop client can still access the Documents\PGP folder.
• If your keyring files have been deleted.

Resolution

Workarounds

1. If your Documents folder has been redirected to a network share, confirm the status of the network drive or share and that it is always available.  Using a network drive is fine as long as the drive is always available. If your machine is offline, or otherwise unable to access the share for any reason, then Symantec recommends you copy the keyrings locally and do not use the network share for the keyrings specifically. 

2. If your keyring files in the PGP folder in Documents have been inadvertently deleted use the following steps to correct the error.  

1. Open Notepad (Start > All Programs > Accessories > Notepad)
2. Select File > Save As then navigate to the My Documents > PGP folder.
3. In the File name field, type pubring.pkr then click Save.
4. Click File > New then Select File > Save As. Confirm you are still in the My Documents > PGP folder.
5. In the File name field, type secring.pkr then click Save. You should now have two files in the PGP folder that appear as PGP key icons.
6. Close Notepad.
7. On the PGP Keyring Files screen, click Try Again.

3. If you have created a backup of your PGP keyring as a .asc file, you can then import the files to restore your PGP keys.

4. If you have backed up your keyring files to another location using the automatic backup feature, you can copy the files to the My Documents > PGP folder and then update your keyring properties by right-clicking All Keys under the PGP Keys Control box. Backup keyring files are named secring-bak.skr and pubring-bak.pkr.

5. You can also move the keyring to a new location that does not use folder redirection using the directions in the following article:
180200 - HOW TO: Change the Default Keyring Folder Location

6. You can also try to re-enroll the SED client by using the directions in the following article:

How to re-enroll Encryption Desktop for Windows Clients

 

If you have done all the above and still have issues, reach out to Symantec Encryption Supportfor further troubleshooting.