Windows 10: Bitlocker Process - 2 bek (startup) keys and one recovery key

I don't know if this what should happen but I was watching the process of key storage as I went through the BitLocker encryption process.

To see what was happening on the usb drive to which I was saving the startup and recovery keys I had to enable 'show system files' in order to see the .bek key.* I have seen posts stating that these are 'hidden files'. Maybe they are both? I am assuming that if the restart to check that usb key works succeeds, then presumably the machine is 'booting' from the usb key (.bek file)...?

• Turned bitlocker on the C drive
• usb drive was preselected to save STARTUP KEY
• clicked on save
• ONE bek key created on USB drive
• Question re save location for recovery key > selected save to usb flash drive
• USB drive preselected > clicked on save
• Another bek key and recovery key saved with same timestamp
• clicked on next > encrypt entire drive > run check > restart

So TWO .bek (startup) keys......Does anyone know why two?

One for each partition although I did not yet have BitLocker turned on my data partition.
Or maybe one for the Windows recovery partition?* Although I thought I had read that this remained unencrypted...?

:)

 

Surface Pro 3 with Windows 10 doesn't create a .txt when activating BitLocker

Using the powershell command line doesn't work, when BitLocker gets enabled it creates a
.bek, but I want the .txt Recovery Key. When I try to use the powershell command to create the
.txt file it errors saying that it does not understand the -protector value.

Also enabling BitLocker from the GUI, it greys out options to save a recovery key on the domain/file server, even though it is in a domain and has access to the file server.

Also searching for the .bek file in Windows Explorer, it doesn't appear even when hidden item(s) is disabled.

Do anyone think its because BitLocker is out of date or update? I don't really use BitLocker Encryption enough to know what is happening or why sometimes it will export a recovery key to a .txt or create a .bek file.

 

my lumia 550 asking bilocker recovery key

I have no bitlocker recovery key in my one drive please help me how to get bitlocker recovery key and my smartphone is microsoft lumia 550 please someone help me

 

Just worked out what it is. There is a bek key for StartUp and a bek key for Recovery. A bit confusing as there is also a 'BitLocker Recovery Key' (different format to bek Recovery key)....???

Can anyone shed any further light?

UPDATE:
Must be that the system partition requires both startup and recovery .bek keys.

The data partition appears to only have one .bek key, presumably a recovery key.

The encryption of both system and data partitions has created just one BitLocker Recovery Key in a text file for each partition.