Windows 10: Bitlocker encrypted my external drive and I can't find the key

I have a big problem. My work surface decided to encrypt my personal external drive as soon as I connected it for the first time. I have my last 6 years of files and information encrypted and I have no idea what the password is or where it is stored. I have a few questions, so I'll start writing down what I've tried and the questions I have.


When I go to bitlocker I can see my external drive under "bitlocker to go", and it shows up as locked. When I try to unlock, a popup shows up on the top-right and it says something like "load key from usb unit". The crazy part is that my work surface has just one USB port, where I have the external drive connected, so it's literally impossible that I saved the key in a USB unit.


That brings a couple of questions:

• How is it possible that bitlocker decided to encrypt my external drive without my consent or telling me anything about it?

• How is it possible that it asks for a USB unit when I can't connect the external drive and a USB unit at the same time?

Looking for solutions online I found a few things. The first one I tried was to open the console as admin and write "manage-bde -protectors -get D:", because my encrypted external drive is D:. The following information showed up:


Volumen D: [Etiqueta desconocida]

Todos los protectores de clave



Clave externa:

Id.: {5216B160-9446-4117-A4FB-58EBB97BBA81}

Nombre de archivo de clave externa:

5216B160-9446-4117-A4FB-58EBB97BBA81.BEK


It's in Spanish, but I guess that format is standard enough. It gives me a reference to a file, where I can allegedly find the recovery key. I did a search on the surface, but that file wasn't found anywhere. So that's another question.

• Where can I find the file 5216B160-9446-4117-A4FB-58EBB97BBA81.BEK?

I also read that the password might be stored in my microsoft account, and that I could see the recovery key going into https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey . I tried that, but I'm asked to log in and I have no clue what my user and password could be. I've tried with a hotmail account I own, but then I'm asked for a code that I should have been sent either to another email account or my mobile phone, but I never receive any code. So that's another question.

• What's my microsoft account and how can I receive that code?

I also read something about AD. I went there but I have no idea what I'm looking for in that place.


I've also tried to contact Microsoft on the phone to no avail. And microsoft support in general doesn't look very helpful so far.


So, in summary, Microsoft decided to encrypt my personal external drive. They decided to store my passwordsomewhere, and apparently that could be a few different places. So my last question is this.

• How can I decrypt the external drive following a list of steps that are not missleading or have multiple different branching options?

I'd really appreciate any help. Thanks!

:)

 

Bitlocker encrypted external drive without user authorization

I primarily use a 2TB external hdd on my dell xps laptop.

The laptop is on a Windows 10 home edition OS, with bitlocker turned on by default (possibly by the local distributor of the laptop) on the C drive. I have left it on and made no changes to it.

When i plug in the external hdd into the laptop, it works fine, with no indication that it is encrypted or locked. The bitlocker settings page on the laptop does not show that the drive is encrypted and i can just plug-and-play the hdd with no problems.

But on my desktop PC (or any other PC other than the dell laptop), the same external hdd shows that it is encrypted by bitlocker and requires a 48-digit recovery key, which i do not
have. I have checked on my microsoft account where the recovery key for the laptop is saved, but only the recovery key (with the key ID) for the C drive of the laptop is found, not the external drive.

As i understand, bitlocker-to-go - which encrypts external removable drives - is a feature only available on windows 10 pro. My desktop PC, which i use occasionally with the hdd, is
windows 10 pro. But my laptop is windows 10 home and would not have that feature available to it.

Is it possible that since the laptop C drive is bitlocker encrypted, it somehow extended its encryption to the removable external drive? Because the external drive works perfectly
when connected to the laptop, with no indication that it is bitlocker locked. But if thats the case, why does the laptop 48 digit recovery key didnt work on the external drive? Would it help for me to turn off bitlocker on the laptop and let it decrypt the
C drive? But if i do this, do i leave the external drive connected while it is decrypting the C drive?

I knew the drive is encrypted by bitlocker as the prompt window to unlock the drive states 'Bitlocker #alphabet'

 

Bitlocker Drive Encryption

Recently I was attempting to encrypt my drive with bitlocker because windows was suggesting to encrypt them via the security page when logging into my account. Though, when I do attempt to encrypt them with bitlocker it states that my drive is already
encrypted via bitlocker. I was wondering if there was a different way that it needs to be set up because I was hoping to add the extra layer of security to my drives with bitlocker encryption and password protecting them via a recovery key.

 

I can't open a encrypted external hard drive with bitlocker

I don't want to turn off the encryption, I want to be able to open it in my laptop

Hi,

See if this assists you:

"BitLocker recovery keys: Frequently asked questions"

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...cker-recovery-keys-frequently-asked-questions

"Find my BitLocker recovery key"

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...b-aa71c00ea55e/find-my-bitlocker-recovery-key

"How to Unlock a Drive using BitLocker Recovery in Windows 8 and 8.1"

BitLocker Recovery - Unlock a Drive in Windows 8

Cheers.