Encrypted Folders

I have Windows XP Pro, and I encrypted a folder withing the hard drive. I vaguely remember it asking for a password but I didn’t put one in. I believe I just hit the default thinking I was stopping the encryption. I have followed the instructions on the Microsoft site, I have even tried moving the folder to a new folder to see if I could get to the folder and it still says access denied? Any ideas that I have missed? Thanks