Windows 10: BitLocker PIN/recovery is not working

I have a serious issue and I hope someone can help me out to recover my data. Unfortunately my BitLocker has locked me out of my own PC, although I have both the BitLocker PIN and the recovery code however, the ID mismatches.

Some background information:
1. I have Windows 10 64bit operating system with C system and D data partitions
2. Yesterday I was performing some operations:
- Extended/shrinked/added hard disk partitions
- Observed that my C drive was not encrypted with BitLocker so I clicked on "Bitlocker > Resume protection". This appeared to be working without asking me for any PINs or passwords.
- Cleaned up my system files with the windows Disk cleanup tool because my C drive was almost full.
- Had to reboot the machine and it started to install a Windows system update it took a while
- I also observed it did a BIOS firmware update actual BIOS version 1.13.0


After the restart, the system was asking me for my BitLocker PIN what I entered. It prompted me, that I should also enter the recovery key for BitLocker due to some recent changes on the drives. Unfortunately the key ID what I was prompted did NOT match with the recovery key ID what I had in my records, therefore the recovery code what I entered was not accepted. I am certain that I wrote the correct recovery string and I am sure it was generated for this PC/system.



What could I do to recover my data? I am mainly interested in the data located on partition D.

The potential solutions what I currently think of:
- Is it possible that the recovery key what I have is only valid for drive D? If yes, how could I access it? right now I am unable to boot up Windows normally
- Could I format and reinstall windows on drive C without affecting partition D?
- Would it help if I buy an external SDD rack and try to access drive D through a different PC? Would the BitLocker PIN be sufficient in that case to decrypt the drive?
- Would a system restore be somehow possible? Right now I am unable to start Windows.
- Any other suggestion is highly appreciated.


Thank you.

:)

 

recovery bitlocker blue screen

Hi Rick,

Please follow the suggestions below and check if you are able to boot to your desktop.

• Places to look for your BitLocker key:
  • On a printout you saved. Look in places you keep important papers.
    
  • Saved on a USB flash drive. Plug the USB flash drive into your locked PC and follow the instructions. If you saved the key as a text file on the flash drive, use a different computer to read the text file.
  • In your Microsoft account. To get your recovery key, go to
    BitLocker Recovery Keys.

• Or ask someone for help:
  • Ask someone with administrator privileges on the same PC to unlock it with their key.
  • If your PC is connected to a domain (usually a work or school computer), ask a system administrator for your recovery key

Hope this helps in resolving the bitlocker recovery keys. Keep us posted on the bitlocker recovery key issues. We are happy to help!

 

bitlocker recovery key

Hi Singh,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

In order to get clarity on this issue and assist you with appropriate troubleshooting steps, please reply with the answers to the questions below.

1. Are you not able login to your computer due to BitLocker Recovery Key?
2. Did you ever setup BitLocker Recovery Key on your computer?
3. Are you not able to login to your Microsoft Account to find the BitLocker Recovery Key?
4. Are you using Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Professional?

Meanwhile, try finding BitLocker Recovery Key if you have ever setup BitLocker Recovery Key for your computer.

Please elaborate on the issue, so that we can understand the concern and get back to us to help you further.

 

BitLocker on Surface Pro 3 not working correctly

Hi JulianSchubert,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Community

TPM will lock itself out after a few incorrect authentication attempts. These could be due to incorrect PIN entry for BitLocker or incorrect PIN entry for TPM virtual smartcard PIN. For TPM version 1.2, the lockout behavior depends
on individual TPM manufacturer. For TPM 2.0, the specification states that the TPM will enter lockout after 32 incorrect attempts.

To terminate this BitLocker recovery loop, you need to suspend BitLocker within WinRE, I suggest you to follow the below steps.

Step 1:

1. Choose the “Skip this drive” link at the bottom of the page where you are asked to enter the recovery key. You should be presented with a menu that will let you get to a command prompt (The sequence is Advanced
   options -> Troubleshoot -> Advanced options -> Command prompt).
   
2. Once you have a command prompt,
   use the following command to check the BitLocker status of the C: drive:
   manage-bde -status c:
   
3. If the status is returned as locked, you’ll need to use the following command to unlock it using your recovery password:
   manage-bde -unlock c: -rp <your 48-digit recovery password>
   
4. Once the drive is unlocked you'll need to use the following command to suspend protection:
   manage-bde -protectors -disable c:
   
5. Then exit and reboot. The computer should now successfully boot Windows. Once there, use the BitLocker control panel to resume BitLocker protection.
   
6. You can reset TPM lockout using
   tpm.msc
   

Note: The recovery loop can occur for other reasons such as cases where TPM is disabled or malfunctions. You can still use the above steps to suspend BitLocker and boot Windows in such cases

Hope it helps.