What is "protected content migration?"

[freewheeling]

After using Easy Transfer and rebooting I got a window with a key icon on it that said that to complete protected content migration I had to enter the password for my account on my old computer. Well, it's exactly the same as on my new computer, but when I entered that password it said it was incorrect. I tried about every password I know and kept getting the incorrect message so in frustration I closed the window. Now I don't know what it was or how to open it again. I tried doing a search in the help section on "protected content migration" and nothing comes up, and when I do a Google search I just get a bunch of problem descriptions similar to mine, but no solution. Where did this window come from and how do I bring it up again, and how do I type in the *correct* password? Do I have to translate it into Gaelic or something?

 

[freewheeling]

This is just great. I have some critical emails from my old account that I can't access because of this stupid "protected content migration" thing, and I can't even start the dialog again so that I can even take a guess at what might work. One guys says that he got it to work by just entering the numeral "1" after his old password. I thought I'd try that, but how to I start the protected content manager again?

And how silly is this? Apparently Microsoft help doesn't even know what this is.

 

[freewheeling]

Here's a typical response from a Microsoft tech.

Hi,
Welcome to Microsoft Answers community.
To transfer data from the migration file to the new account, follow the steps below.
1.Log off of the old user account and then log into the new user account.
2.Click Start , Computer , C:\ , and then open the from_old_computer folder.
3.Open the SaveData file. Grant permission to continue, if prompted.
4.Select the name of the new user account that you just created from the drop-down list and then click Next .
5.Review the selected files and settings and then click Transfer to import the files and settings into the new user account. Wait while the transfer completes.
6.Click Close after the transfer completes.
7.Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
8.Log back into the new user account, type the password for the old account into the password field on the Protected Content Migration window, and then click Confirm my account information and update content protection .
Let us know if this helps
Regards
Sreekanth.

It's clear that he doesn't even understand the question. There isn't an "old account" to log on to. It's gone, tripping the light fantastic. It's only a memory somewhere in the depths of Easy Transfer. This response simply doesn't make any sense. There isn't an old.computer folder, nor is there a "save data" file anywhere. The Easy Transfer takes a good three hours to complete, so I have to do it all over again? Why can't this fellow talk sense????

 

[freewheeling]

This makes me so angry. I see now that I was supposed to leave my old OS intact so that I could access it after making the transfer in order to get a transfer key, but nothing in the instructions said to do this before I created the transfer file and shut down the old OS. I was asked for a password only, which I entered when making the transfer. So now because MS failed to mention this critical step in the setup, I can't get access to my own files.

 

[freewheeling]

OK, after reading a few more accounts it's clear that that transfer key thing is only relevant if you're connected from the old computer to the new computer via a network link. What I did is create the MIG file (Easy Transfer Store) on my old computer storing it on the drive of another computer on the network as a temporary hold. Then after I got the new OS up and running I connected to the temporary file, clicked on it, entered the password, and the transfer happened over about a two hour period. Then after the transfer completed successfully I got that dialog box that asked me for the password for my old system in order to validate protected content migration. I entered the password I'd created for the file, which was the password for both my old and my new account, and it told me that was the wrong password. Then the dialogue box closed, and now I can't get access to my old emails.

So something is seriously messed up, and I have no idea how to fix it. If I try the transfer again I'm going to end up with duplicates of everything, and it still probably won't accept the password. Any ideas?

Update: I did the transfer over again, except that I unchecked nearly all of the files in the transfer, and said that the transfer store was on an external drive. Then I connected via the network to the transfer store, and did a quick transfer of some inconsequential files after entering the password. After that was thru and I had rebooted I got the dialog box in the attached snip (without the crossed-out username and computer name). I again entered the *correct* password and got the message you see, that the password is incorrect. I thought a visual aid might make it more substantial. I'm scared to close the dialog box, because I can't get it back, but have no idea what to enter as a password.

Update 2: It's called the DPAPI Key Migration Wizard. I pinned the darn thing to the taskbar so I'd know where to find it. But still, what the heck is it asking me for?

 

[freewheeling]

Final update, since no one seems to be paying attention. Perhaps someone will eventually get some use out of this thread. I kept entering variations of my password that included special characters, and at some point it just accepted the password and allowed the protected content. I still don't know what I did. Perhaps it's just a matter of entering something often enough, but this definitely seems like a bug in Easy Transfer. My actual password didn't work, but I think others have noted that some variant of their password, sometimes with the addition of regular characters like numerals, or in my case special characters, eventually worked. If anyone has any ideas about what might be causing this peculiar sequence of events please post a response.